v

 

Middlesbrough Lions  58-59 Hull Wasps

What a game! Middlesbrough Lions controlled 33 of the 40 minutes and were looking favourites to pick up their first league win, despite hosting tough opposition in Hull Wasps. The game climaxed with a thrilling 1pt finish which unfortunately went the way of Hull after Middlesbrough failed in the last 1.5 seconds with their final play not coming off as planned.

Lions have for the first time this season proven their potential, having left each of the last three games believing they could have won. Against Hull, Lions displayed some great passing, great team work and great defence against a team that holds the record of biggest winning margin in the entire British League of 72pts over Reddish Rebels. A vocal crowd rallied behind the Lions, hailing the determined display and this time it was the fans saying Lions should have won, not the team feeling sorry for themselves.

With the sweet over the bitter is still firmly placed in the taste buds of the Middlesbrough Lions team, knowing that a two minute spell from the second minute of the fourth quarter was a crucial set back as the Wasps produced an 8-0 run to claw their way back.

The game swung in Lions favour early on as Lee Norton opened the scores with a big three pointer in the first minute. After a poor 2 of 19 shooting display the previous game; Norton started as everyone at Eston hoped he would continue. In quick response was Rob Birchmore for Hull with a sweet 2 pointer. In the third minute Lions extended their lead as James Thomson sliced a pass into the path of Damian Warriner who converted the lay up.

Lions were aware of the threat of Wasps’ Jamie Goodwin and throughout the game, Acho Anyigbo and Ryon Dixon took turns in restricting his impact and in fact the Wasps leading scorer was held to just 6pts. The 6’11” Polish centre; Michal Kucmierczyk started brightly though with two consecutive low post moves to bring the visitors within a point, 7-6 at the mid way point. James Rayner then went to the line after being fouled by Dean Hanson and hit both shots and to compound the situation for Lions, Wasps then took a 3pt lead when Kamil Pilarkski made a fast break lay up.

With two minutes left in the first quarter, Lions showed good character and composure by continuing their good play and allowing the opportunities to create rather than forcing the situation. This patient and controlled approach found Norton open for a 3 pointer which the guard nailed and went on to instigate a 6-0 run from Anyigbo and Warriner to finish the first quarter 16-10 in front.

In the second quarter Norton drove through a crowd for his eighth point and Warriner followed with an equally impressive lay up to extend the lead to 8 after Rice opened the period for Wasps. As Kucmierczyk and Pilarkski formed a Polish duo for 4pts Lions response was a positive one with Norton sailing in another 3 pointer to maintain a 7pt cushion, 23-16. The next three minutes would be a tale of fouls as Lions gave away 4 shooting fouls, Anyigbo, Marshall and Hanson the culprits although 3 of 8 from the line was not good enough to take the lead. In the last minute of the half, a rejuvenated Damian Warriner was looking back to his best with a strong basket off the dribble but two late shots from Hull would dampen Lions enthusiasm with the half time scores now at 25-25.

Lions were quickest off the mark in the third period as Andrew Marshall showed his offensive attributes with two good moves in the key. A solid performance from Norton in this quarter added 15pts for Lions. Lions were up 8pts with just three seconds left and when big Kucmierczyk hit a buzzer beating 3 pointer to finish the quarter 47-42, still in favour of the home team, but a concerning factor was apart from Marshall’s 4pts early on, only one other Middlesbrough player marked the sheet in Ryon Dixon and this was his only scoring contribution of the game. Lions would finish with just two players in double figure scoring and six players not scoring at all.

For the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, both teams struggled as the intense defence was admirable at both ends. It would take three minutes before a shot was converted when Kucmierczyk hit his ninth straight point. Lions had done a great job of locking down the danger of Pilarkski and Goodwin, but in the fourth minute the pair added 6pts in Lions only dip of the game. Goodwin showed grit in an unusually quiet game but still having the ability to squeeze two crucial shots to take a 3pt lead, only their second lead of the game.

Middlesbrough were now on the back foot and nerves were beginning to show with Warriner going to the line after being fouled by Kumierczyk, his fourth, to be followed shortly by his fifth fouls signalling the end of his involvement. Warriner made 1 of 2 attempts but still Lions were 2pts behind, 48-50.

Middlesbrough again struggled with their fouls which led to Rayner converting 4 free throws to earn an 8pt lead with just three minutes remaining. Lions though were not giving up without a fight and 5pts from Warriner along with a basket from Marshall brought the home team to within a single point with less than a minute left. The crowd was now registering on the Richter scale, but with the scores at 55-56 a long range effort from Lee Norton brought gasps of silence as the shot missed the hoop. A more accurate shot could have possibly been the better option and Wasps picked up the lose ball and attacked the Lions. With 43 seconds Marshall fouled Myles Anderson who went to the line and hit both shots under a barrage of noise from the home fans. The pendulum was now swinging firmly in favour of the visitors until with 14 seconds on the clock Lee Norton made amends for his earlier miss with a sweet 3 pointer that brought the crowd to its feet to celebrate a tied score and an opportunity to rescue a game that just seconds earlier was almost lost.

Hull, in control of possession, marched forward in search of the final word and as Rayner drove through a crowd a foul was called on Warriner which sent the Wasps to the line in what would seem a cruel way for Lions to lose should Rayner score as only 1.5 seconds remained. As it happened, the loudest noise of the game was enough to put Rayner off his first attempt but not his second, forcing Lions Coach; Sid Nicholls to call a Time Out and formulate a buzzer beating play to win the game.

With Norton in-bounding the ball at half court the plan was for Warriner to set a screen to free up Anyigbo for the ‘alley oop’ shot which would all have to happen within 1.5 seconds. Unfortunately a miscommunication led to Warriner opening up, receiving the ball and with an off balance shot failing to find the target. It was a disappointing end to an exciting game. A thrilling encounter for the fans and the unlikely win for Hull will deepen the wound for Lions who will feel they did enough to earn victory.

Lee Norton was the games top scorer with 30pts and was a nose hair away from the MVP, but with some crucial shots, 17pts, 8 rebounds, 2 steals & 2 blocks Michal Kucmierczyk’s display was not only valuable but the most significant factor of the Wasps win.

Top scorers
Lions: Norton 30, Warriner 14, Anyigbo 6, Marshall 6 Dixon 2
Wasps: Kumierczyk 17, Birchmore 10, Pilarkski 8, Anderson 7, Rayner 7 Goodwin 6

 

Game Stats   Lions Wasps Coach: Simon Nicholls Asst Coach: James Thomson Captain: Acho Anyigbo Coach: Chris McKenna Asst Coach: Captain: Jamie Goodwin Referees Mark Patton   Rebounds 29 30 6 6 5 4 3 3 Anyigbo Warriner Marshall Norton Dixon Mputeya 8 5 4 4 3 Kucmierczyk Anderson Birchmore Rayner Goodwin Assists 16 11 5 5 4 3 Dixon Warriner Marshall Norton 3 2 2 2 Birchmore Fawcett Pilarkski Rayner Blocks 1 Hanson 2 1 1 1 1 Kucmierczyk Birchmore Goodwin Pilarkski Rayner Steals 12 10 4 2 2 2 Warriner Mputeya Norton Thomson 3 3 2 Birchmore Kucmierczyk Fawcett   Turn Overs 26 24 5 5 4 4 3 Dixon Warriner Anyigbo Marshall Mputeya 5 5 4 Kucmierczyk Pilarkski Anderson

Game Stats continued   Floor Shooting 19 of 40 21 of 56   Parsons Nicholls Thomson Warriner Peddie Dixon Marshall Norton Hanson Mputeya Anyigbo M - - 0 6 0 1 3 6 0 0 3 A - - 3 12 0 2 9 8 0 2 4   Rayner Rice Wordsworth Fawcett Anderson Pilarkski Goodwin Kucmierczyk Keegan Munro Birchmore M 0 1 0 1 1 4 3 7 0 0 4 A 4 4 0 5 4 9 9 12 0 1 8 3 Point Shooting 6 of 20 1 of 6   Parsons Nicholls Thomson Warriner Peddie Dixon Marshall Norton Hanson Mputeya Anyigbo M - - 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 A - - 0 0 0 4 1 14 0 1 0   Rayner Rice Wordsworth Fawcett Anderson Pilarkski Goodwin Kucmierczyk Keegan Munro Birchmore M 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 A 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 Free Throw Shooting 2 of 8 14 of 24   Parsons Nicholls Thomson Warriner Peddie Dixon Marshall Norton Hanson Mputeya Anyigbo M - - 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 A - - 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 2   Rayner Rice Wordsworth Fawcett Anderson Pilarkski Goodwin Kucmierczyk Keegan Munro Birchmore M 7 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 A 10 2 0 0 8 0 0 2 0 0 2

Game MVP: Michal Kucmierczyk, Hull Wasps

 

Ravenwood Roofing	Tees Valley Leisure Eston Sports Academy	Game Time Basketball Parties	Chiquito Teesside Park	PSD

 

 

© Game Time