Middlesbrough
Lions suffered another 20+
defeat at the hands of Wirral
Hornets. It was yet again a game
that Lions left the court
feeling they could have and
should have won, but having felt
the same way in the previous
losses to Bury and Durham its
high time for the Middlesbrough
outfit to start backing up these
claims.
Yes, Lions have had a tough
opening with Hull in the cup, a
faultless display by Durham in
the league and a strong
performance from Bury and now
third placed Wirral Hornets and
yes Lions are beginning to gel
and perform themselves and yes
its only three games into a
twenty game season but its only
so long before the excuses run
out.
Against Wirral, Lions again
looked composed at the start
with good ball movement and
openings creating from good
player movement, a nice pass
from James Thomson found the
wide open Michael Peddie in the
first minute to give Lions a 3-0
start after Acho Anyigbo hit a
free throw.
In the second minute, Hornets
leader Chris Whitehead drove to
the basket for 2pts and shortly
after was followed by Tom
Wilkinson converting 2 of 4 free
throws. Baskets were then traded
by both sides until the seventh
minute when Wirral produced a
9-0 run to take the scores to
9-17 in favour of the visitors.
The only solitude from a poor
finish being a buzzer beating
off balance 3 pointer from
Lions’ Ryon Dixon.
In the second quarter one
identified problem for Lions was
forcing the pass, with Hornets
continuing to pick the pockets
of Middlesbrough and add 8pts in
the first five minutes, Lions
only response being a drive from
Lee Norton. Whitehead was
proving the thorn in
Middlesbrough’s side and whether
alone or through a crowd was
managing to work his way to the
hoop. In the sixth minute Lions
big
man; Dean Hanson, who was
enjoying a good game at the
defensive end with 6 rebounds
already put in a basket under
pressure but the home team were
still down 11pts, 16-27. A foul
by Lions Thomson placed Sean
Whitehead to the line where he
converted both attempts and this
signalled a further three
shooting fouls for Hornets with
Lions feeling a little hard done
by. The resulting conversion was
just 3 of 6 but this took
Hornets to an 18pts lead. Lions
were
also
reeling from some of the
officials decisions and this
proved unhealthy for the team as
they lost focus on the game.
A late flurry from Lions rescued
6pts as Peddie, Norton and
Warriner contributed.
Unfortunately for Norton his
second basket of the game would
represent his last as the
usually potent guard struggled
with 2 of 19 shot attempts. At
half time the scores were 22-36
in favour of the visitors. An
unsavoury incident at the end of
the half saw the experienced
Sean Whitehead of Hornets drop a
shoulder into 18 year old
Peddie’s face, although the refs
didn’t see the incident and
despite a vocal crowd and Lions
bench reaction, there would be
no reprimand.
The third quarter was Lions
best, unfortunately their best
was to tie the Hornets period
score of 19. A full court man to
man defence was intended to deny
the inbound pass and contain the
ball and the Lions were just not
quick enough at picking up their
players. Even when containing
the players fouls were given
against Lions at a puzzling
rate. Ryon Dixon and Acho
Anyigbo put in a good shift for
Middlesbrough but in a period
that Lions were beginning to
play well they were disrupted as
Hornets were put to the line for
an incredible 12 free throws and
Lions having none. Lions though
were at least converting their
baskets with Rob Parsons hitting
two shots from mid range in the
eighth minute which made amends
for an earlier spell of three
rushed shots. The defence was
also shaping up as they limited
Hornets to just five baskets,
the rest of the points coming
via free throws.
In the ninth minute, frustration
crept into Warriner resulting in
the pushing off Chris Whitehead
to the floor, earning an
unsportsmanlike call from the
refs. Warriner said after the
game “I was
really annoyed that our players
were getting pushed about and
receiving no calls, yet we were
being called for the slightest
thing. I retaliated at yet
another foul on me and I know I
shouldn’t have done, but you can
only take so much.”
Michael
Peddie wrapped up affairs with
two baskets including an
incredible off balance lay up
which was delivered under
contact resulting in an almost
blind shot which spun off the
glass and into the hoop.
Amazingly there was no call for
the foul. Lions had everything
to do, down 14, 41-55.
The fourth and final quarter saw
Ciaran Green open the period
with a strong drive. This was
quickly responded to by Lions
Anyigbo who muscled his way to
the basket for 2pts. Sean
Whitehead would then continue
his battle with young Peddie and
after making a mid range shot
continued to taunt his marker,
although Peddie would finish the
better man in both stats and
grace. In the second minute a
dangerous foul by Collin Cook
saw the Hornet move under Lions
Anyigbo as he was in the air,
resulting in the African landing
awkwardly in a concerning
moment. A repeat of this
occurred in the fourth minute,
this time by Barden and although
unsportsmanlike fouls were not
given Lions were happy enough to
at least receive the calls.
In between this drama Dixon
found his range with two huge
3’s to rally Lions although
Anyigbo was proving the spark as
a great pass from Peddie
connected with a cutting Anyigbo
for a monster dunk, although to
the disappointment of the crowd
was disallowed due to a foul by
Hornets Cook. Anyigbo would
suffer from the line, finishing
with 4 of 11 attempts. Hornets
amid the chaos were continuing
to provide calculated order with
five different players providing
10pts in the first five minutes.
In the sixth minute; Warriner
was fouled out for Lions and
will be disappointed with his
below par performance. In his
defence he led the team in
assists, one ahead of Thomson on
4, proving he is still a capable
player despite his dip in form.
A single free throw from Thomson
in the sixth minute would be the
last points accumulated by Lions
as Wirral produced another 11pts
to wrap up the game, 6 of these
from free throws. Wirral were by
no means a dirty team and
produced a solid performance
that was worthy of the 22pt
victory.
An overview of the game revealed
Lions actually tied the open
floor shooting with both teams
making 23 shots. Lions also took
21 more attempts than
Hornets 53 which indicates Lions
misses cost them at least 50pts
when considering 3pt attempts,
this being the difference
between a comfortable victory
and a heavy loss. Lions felt
hard done by with the fouls,
having received a mammoth 30
calls, while Wirral received
just 14 and the home team may
have a small case, especially
when of the 14 Wirral fouls, 8
were in the final quarter, yet
the Wirral display was
consistent
throughout.
The resulting free throws for
Hornets provided 24 additional
points and should have been more
as the visitors attempted an
incredible 41. Lions managed
just 8 free throws from 22
attempts and 14 of these were in
the final quarter.
Despite the disappointment of
the home team, the refs are not
the reason Lions lost the game.
If Lions had made just 50% of
their free throws and 50% of
their floor shooting they would
have scored 84pts, enough for a
6pt win.
The positives to come from the
game on Lions part are the
offence seems to be working with
good movement of players and
ball leading to decent shot
selection for the most part. The
areas for improvement are
accuracy, defensive alertness
and free throws.
Acho Anyigbo was the key man for
Lions with 13 points, 12
rebounds and 2 blocks and had
good support from Ryon Dixon on
12 points and 50% shooting from
3 point range but the spark for
Lions was the inspirational
display from 18 year old Michael
Peddie who hit 11 points with a
60% conversion and a number of
highlight plays.
For the game MVP; 19 points, 4
rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals
from Chris Whitehead earned the
honour with 30% from the floor.
The only fault in a great game
being just 55% from the foul
line.
Lions continue their tough start
to the season with the visit of
second placed Hull Wasps to
Eston Sports Academy on Sunday
15th November. Tip off is at 4pm
and tickets are on sale now at
£8 adults and £5 children
although a season long special
offer of half price is available
when accompanied by a voucher
from
www.middlesbroughlions.co.uk
