w/e 19/03/06

Ton up “Hurricanes” too good for the “Vikings”

Cadet Men’s Premier Division North

York “Vikings” 93 – 104 Northants “Hurricanes”

Having lost to the “Vikings” at home the “Hurricanes” had every incentive to gain revenge after their long trip north despite the fact that they had no hope of reaching the end of season Play Offs.

The contrasting styles of the two teams was evident in the early exchanges with York looking to drive to basket at every opportunity while the “Hurricanes” looked to get the ball to their big players close to basket. Initially the pace of the game was too high for the county boys who were guilty of losing possession of the ball far to easily. To their credit they adjusted well and led 25-19 at the end of the first quarter.

This lead was extended to 55-44 at half time but Coach, Tony Stewart had been forced to use a zone defence to contain the York attacks. In the third quarter York responded with a pressing defence and this caused problems for the county ball handlers who once again were guilty of turning the ball over and by the end of the quarter the lead had been reduced to six at 78-72.

With the game very much ‘on the line’ Coach Stewart gambled with a pressing defence of his own and this had the immediate effect of snatching the initiative away from the “Vikings”. The only problem came with the county boys picking up fouls and with only four minutes of the period played the “Hurricanes” found themselves in the penalty. Thankfully the York boys were unable to capitalise from the free throw line missing no les than seven free throws.

This piece of good fortune was enough to ensure a win for the delighted “Hurricane” team for whom Tom Care scored 25 points. Care was well supported by Michael James who netted 22 and Alexander Stewart who contributed 17 and dished out 10 assists but possibly the ‘star of the show’ was Matt Rawsthorne who had 20 rebounds to go with his 16 points.

w/e 05/03/06

“Hurricanes” come up trumps against Trafford

Northants “Hurricanes” 85 – 78 Trafford

The “Hurricanes” recorded a rather surprising but well deserved win over Trafford who beat them by 12 points earlier in the season. The win came as an even bigger surprise as the county boys were playing catch-up for most of the game. This situation came about as a result of the team turning the ball over against the Trafford pressure defence. The Manchunians mounted an 11-2 charge and led 47-40 at half time.

Coach, Tony Stewart switched t a zone defence and immediately confidence grew in the “Hurricane” ranks and resulted in an 11-2 surge which gave them a 51-48 lead. By now the atmosphere at courtside was electric as a big crowd gave their vocal support the county boys. Trafford responded well to the pressure and by the end of the period had re-established their lead at 59-58 but now there was belief in the county ranks as they went into the last ten minutes of play.

The two teams traded baskets but midway through the period baskets from the outstanding Tom Care and Michael James plus a big score from Jourdan Blessyn gave the “Hurricanes” the advantage at 77-73. Trafford reduced the deficit to a single point but two three-pointers plus two free throws from Care saw the “Hurricanes” home by 85 points to 78.

For the county boys Tom Care led all scorers with 28 points. He received excellent support from Michael James with 20 while Matt Rawsthorne contributed 10 points and pulled down 14 rebounds but Coach Stewart was quick to emphasis that this had been an all-round team performance with all the players making key contributions.

w/e 26/02/06

“Hurricanes” are second best against “Arrows”

City of Sheffield “Arrows” 68 – 56 Northants “Hurricanes”

The “Hurricanes” hopes of making the Play Offs suffered another blow with this defeat at the hands of City of Sheffield “Arrows”. At the start of the game it looked as if the county boys were going to run away with the game leaping out to a 14-6 lead. The team then went to sleep scoring just 2 points to the “Arrows” 16 as the home side lead 22-16 after the first quarter.

The “Hurricanes” held a distinct height advantage and their tactic in the second period was to get the ball to their big players and play tough defence. This latter strategy was achieved with the Sheffield side limited to just 13 points however the “Lightning” big men were hesitant close to basket and the team managed only 11 points in this period and at half time trailed 35-27.

The game plan remained unchanged in the third quarter and once again the team put up an excellent defensive effort but when the county big players attempted to shoot they were fouled by their opponents. This resulted in 12 free throws but only two were converted. The county boys restricted the “Arrows” to just 15 points during the period but managed only 10 themselves and went into the last ten minutes of play trailing 37-50.

On several occasions during the last period the “Hurricanes” got the deficit down into single figures but the “Arrows” finished the stronger of the two teams running out winners by 68 points to 56.

In the 12 points set back Alexander Stewart had his most productive game of the season with 23 points while Michael James supported well with 11. In the absence of Matt Rawsthorne sidelined with an ankle injury, not one of the “Hurricane” big players could get into double figures and in the end this proved to be a decisive factor.

The team remain in 5^th place in the league and this weekend is at home to high flying Trafford.

w/e 19/02/06

Nightmare second periods destroys “Hurricanes”

Northants “Hurricanes” 49 – 72 Manchester “Magic”

The excellent Manchester programme has become a yardstick for all other clubs in the country. Once again a county team was found wanting against the northerners but in this latest encounter the final score only tells part of the story. The score in all but the second quarter was 49-42 in favour of the “Magic” all the damage being done in the second period of play which saw the “Hurricanes” outscored 23-7. It might be suggested that Manchester ‘took their foot off the pedal but that simply wasn’t the case as the county boys battled with pride and passion to overcome their shocking second quarter performance.

Coach, Tony Stewart was left to contemplate the fact that for three periods of this game his team gave as good as they got and they certainly weren’t 23 points inferior to Manchester. The loss means that the “Hurricanes” are 4^th in the Premier Division North but they have played more games than other teams. Like the Junior Men this team needs a win against one of the top teams to secure a Play Off place.

In the 72-49 loss no player managed to score in double figures but the team gave every evidence that it can compete with the best in the league, providing they don’t go to sleep for a quarter for the game.

The team are in action again this weekend when they travel to City of Sheffield “Arrows”

w/e 29/01/06

“Hurricanes” make it three in a row with win over “Dakotas”

Cadet Men’s Premier Division North

Solihull “Dakotas” 69 - 88 Northants “Hurricanes”

The Northants “Hurricanes” (Cadet Men) made it three wins in a row in 2006 with a comfortable win away at Solihull “Dakotas”. Coach, Tony Stewart was anxious that after the massive win over Leicester “Cannons” the previous week his team might be a little complacent just as they had been against York “Vikings” just before Christmas.

In the early stages of the game both sets of players struggled to overcome the tricky playing conditions. The “Hurricanes” were also handicapped by their inability to convert free throws and after eight minutes of play they found themselves trailing 21-17. The “Hurricanes” were then able to get their fast break going and a 9-zero surge including their first ‘made’ free throw, gave them a 26-21 lead after the first quarter.

Needing a good start to the second period the “Hurricanes” got just that thanks to an excellent spell of play which saw them outscore their opponents 13-zero which extended their lead to 18 points. Solihull was able to stem the tide to a certain extent but at half time the county boys had established a comfortable 54-31 lead.

During the second quarter Coach, Stewart had run into the problem of introducing new players into the game. These players had been sitting on the bench and were freezing cold and found it difficult to ‘get into the game’. This problem persisted during the third period and despite the excellent rebounding of Simon New the “Hurricanes” just couldn’t get their running game going. Stewart was now rotating players in and out of the game on a regular basis just to keep them warm and this rather disrupted his team’s rhythm . Despite this the “Hurricanes” were able to take the period 20-18.

The “Hurricanes” looked a lot more fluid at the start of the final quarter running in a number of uncontested lay ups but then seemed more intent on getting out of the freezing cold gym. Their game sharpness went but they still ran out winners by 88 points to 69 a win which pushes them up to 3^rd in the Premier Division North.

In the 19 points victory Matt Rawsthorne continued in his rich vein of scoring with 25 points. He received excellent support from Simon New who scored 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds while Tom Care, Michael James and Ralph Foreman all scored in double figures, and mention should be made of Robin Jack who dished out an impressive 10 assists.

This weekend the “Hurricanes” have a home game against Tameside

w/e 22/01/06

Sevenoaks Suns 63 Ipswich Tomcats 61

The Suns fought to maybe their hardest win of the season against a very tough Ipswich team. With both teams having the same records going into this game it was sure to be a tense affair.

The 1^st Quarter started out with both teams playing tough defense and struggling to get any sort of fluency on Offense. Phil Giddings started off well for the Suns scoring some mid range jump shots and getting some hard fought offense rebounds. The 1^st quarter ended 10 – 10.

The 2^nd quarter started off the same as the 1^st with tough defense being played by both teams. Sami Gadd began to mark his mark on the low block with some great low post moves. Michael Kensington also began to get some easy points in transition. For Ipswich Swift started to cause problems as he did in the first encounter and was getting his points through the Tomcats offense. At half time the Tomcats led by one 26 – 25.

After some tough words at half time by Coach Vear the Suns came out firing on all cylinders with Michael Hamid and Andy Roser controlling the guard position and running the offense. Winston Surrey and Jamie Smyth who was still recovering from an ankle injury came off the bench to give the Suns a much needed spark on Defense. The Suns won the 3^rd Quarter 22 – 11 and went into the last quarter up by 10.

The Tomcats came out firing in the 4^th quarter with the coach introducing a full court press that the Suns were struggling to deal with. The referees were also letting the kids play and not calling hardly anything the final period. The suns managed to soak up the pressure and maintain there cool to hold on for the one of the tensest wins of the season.

After the game Coach Vear said “I am so proud of the team today, we were missing our starting back court today but it shows how deep our team is with Michael and Andy coming in and producing the goods, with only two teams going through to the playoffs every game for us now till the end of the season will be like final”.

Scorers: Kensington 22, Giddings 12, Gadd 12, Hamid 7, Roser 4, Surrey 4, Smyth 2

“Hurricanes” hit the jackpot with a win over Leicester

Cadet Men’s Premier Division North

Northants “Hurricanes” 89- 84 Leicester “Cannons

The “Hurricanes” and Leicester “Cannons” rivalry goes back over many years and for the most part it has been the Leicester team that has dominated. Years of suffering were put to rest at Moulton College last Sunday with the Northants youngsters triumphing in an excellent, but controversy ridden game.

From the outset there was a steely resolve about the “Hurricanes” play and midway through the first period a 10-zero charge gave them an 18-10 lead. A Leicester time out stopped the rot and by the end of the quarter “Cannons” had closed to 22-21.

The “Hurricanes” had based their play on counter attacks but in the second period Leicester were successful in stopping these fast breaks. Meanwhile “Cannons” were using their height advantage close to basket to take the quarter 23-20 and establish a a 42-44 half time lead.

The “Hurricanes” were well fired up at the start of the third quarter and when Tom Care converted a fast break lay up and a pair of free throws in the sixth minute of the period it gave the county boys a 55-52 lead.

Then came the controversy of the match, “Cannons” coach Bob McFadden protested a decision and was given his second technical foul of the game. Under the rules he should have been dismissed from the game but with no other licensed adult to look after the Leicester boys the match officials allowed him to stay. Leicester responded with a 13-2 charge on the back of an aggressive zone press defence to give themselves what appeared to be a decisive 65-57 lead.

Sensing that their team was in trouble the Northants supporters responded with vocal support which lifted the county boys to new heights and three minutes into the final period of play a steal and score by Michael James gave the “Hurricanes” the lead 68-67. Possibly of more consequence was the fact that two of the “Cannons” starting five along with the “Hurricanes” Matt Rawsthorne had fouled out of the game.

Rawsthorne’s departure gave coach, Tony Stewart a big head ache as he attempted to match up against Leicester’s tall centre Morgan Johnson-Harris. Enter Jourdan Blessyn who proceeded to play out of his proverbial skin as he pulled down rebound after rebound and provide a physical presence close to basket. Leicester’s main threat was coming from Tom Pereira but every time the guard” scored the “Hurricanes” were able to respond with drives from Tom Care and put backs from Simon New.

By now both teams were close to exhaustion but the county boys were able to summon a late effort to pressurise the Leicester players. Decisive ‘steals’ were made leading to easy scores and now it was the “Hurricanes” who took the initiative with a 10-4 charge giving them an 86-79 lead. Leicester closed to 86-84 but when Tom Care scored at the end of a fast break the county boys sensed victory and a Simon New free throw put the icing on the cake as the “Hurricanes” ran out winners 89-84 to the delight and relief of their supporters.

The five points win moves the “Hurricanes” up to 4^th in the Premier North table and with it just a glimmer of making the end of the season Play Offs. For the “Hurricanes”, Tom Care top scored with 37 points, Alexander Stewart had 11 while Simon New was back to his very best with an awesome 16 points and as many rebounds.

This weekend the “Hurricanes” travel to Solihull “Dakotas”

w/e 15/01/06

The East Kent Crusaders earned a much needed win this weekend against a tough Kingston Wildcats team in Canterbury. The Crusaders cruised to a 27 point victory over the Wildcats, 70 - 43.

The Crusaders, who have a record of starting well this season, came out of the gates flying. With Ryan Richards hitting the first 8 points for East Kent and Nick Niksic putting in hard work on the boards at both ends, the Crusaders were up at the end of the first quarter 20 - 16.

The second quarter saw Coach Reed employ a new tactic, using 4 of his forwards together along with only 1 guard. With Captain Rob Dagger handling the ball the rebounding strength of the Crusaders proved too much for Kingston, as East Kent ran out to a 13 point lead at halftime, 38 - 25.

East Kent started the second half, much as they had finished the second, Dayne Loader and Adam Drewry brought some great defensive presence and energy to the floor, but again it was Richards piling on the points at the offensive end. A dunk on the fast break from Richards saw the quarter end in the Crusaders favour 57-36.

The final period brought pressure from Kingston, but again rebounds from Niksic, tight defending and smart offence saw East Kent ease away from Kingston. The game ended with a comfortable Crusaders win 70 - 43.

After the game Reed said, "After our run of poor form we have been in need of a win. The way that the guys have trained this week, and the intensity and hard work from everyone today made sure that we broke that string."

Richards finished top scorer with 36, while Akin Lisk-Carew added 9.

“Hurricanes” blow away Birmingham

City of Birmingham 43 – 85 Northants “Hurricanes”

After their long Christmas lay off punctuated for many of the players by stressful ‘mock’ examinations; this comfortable win came as a big relief. It was important that the team got off to a good start and with one of Birmingham’s best players suspended for disciplinary they did just that leading 23-11 after the first quarter.

This lead was extended to 50-21 at half time and to all intents and purposes the game was as good as over. By now Coach, Tony Stewart was using the match as a training exercise and he switched to a zone defence which rather took the pressure off the Birmingham players allowing them more time to convert perimeter shots. Even so the “Hurricanes” took the quarter 24-15 increasing their lead to 74-36.

With game already won the county boys were guilty of relaxing in the final period of play eventually running out winners by 85 points to 43 which keeps the team in 6^th place in the league table

In the comfortable win Tom Care top scored with 30 points. He was well supported by Matt Rawsthorne who ‘netted’ 18 while Simon New and Michael James both got into double figures. This weekend the team play perennial rival Leicester “Cannons” who currently occupy 3^rd place. A win against their local rivals could boost the team’s chances of making the Play Offs but the “Hurricanes” haven’t beaten “Cannons” for two seasons.

w/e 18/12/05

Sevenoaks Suns 98 Brighton Cougars 41

Match Report

After a string of 3 straight losses the Sevenoaks Suns bounced back to a convincing win over the Brighton Cougars. The first quarter started well for the Suns with their offence working well. Longbottom, Webb & Gadd found easy scores with the Suns defence working hard to force turnovers. The first quarter ended 30 – 9 to the Suns.

The second quarter started well for the Cougars with easy scores for Scanlon & Edwards. The Suns stepped up the pace and were finding easy points in transition with Kensington, who was having a season’s best game, getting points through the fast break. Roser was also hitting outside shots with him hardly missing all afternoon. The introduction of Giddings, Surrey & Fleming gave the Suns an extra spark that saw them step up the pace. The Cougars played well though only losing the quarter by 4. At the end of the half the Suns were up 45 - 20.

The Suns came out firing in the 3^rd quarter with Longbottom finding his team mates for easy scores in transition. An introduction of a full court press saw the Suns also pick up some easy scores with Webb playing excellent defence. Gadd also used his low post moves to great effect getting some easy scores and finding the cutting Kensington & Longbottom for lay ups. The Suns won the quarter 26 – 15.

The 4^th quarter once again saw the introduction of Giddings, Fleming & Surrey. Giddings who played great defence all afternoon with countless rebounds started to hit his medium range jump shots and got easy fast break points, along with Fleming who patiently found his points of the offence. Surrey also got involved with good patient play off the offence. The Suns began to pull away with it and won the 4th quarter 27 – 6. The game ended Suns 98 Cougars 41.

Coach Vear commented “I am very proud of the way the players have bounced back from 3 tough losses. They always give me 110% and I am lucky to have a great bunch of kids who want to learn. Every player contributed to the scoring today, and that is the sign of excellent team play.”

Suns Scorers: Kensington 27, Gadd 14, Longbottom 13, Roser 13, Webb 12, Fleming 9, Giddings 8, Surrey 2

w/e 11/12/05

Tamar Valley U16s Vs Solent Stars U16 II

Solent: 92 Tamar Valley 62

Scorers: T.Woods 36pts; Jacob Evans 19; Josh Pape 13; Louie Kirkman 11; Chris Evans 5; Andy Salmon 4; Dan Gibson 2; Thomas Hatchett 2

The Solent Stars U16 II team (a team of U15s) came back from their defeat last week to beat Tamar Valley Cannons by 30pts. This is a great win for the Solent U15 team against Tamar who are a top contender in the league. Stars were disappointed with the display they gave last weekend and came to put things right from the start.

Tamar could not contain Jacob Evans who pulled down 34 rebounds and 19 points and Tom Woods (36 pts; 12 rebounds)

Andy Salmon and Chris Evans controlled the game with good ball handling and vision to see the open man which resulted in many fast break points.

The ever improving Louie Kirkman also chipped in with some nice hussle plays which resulted into points.

The game did allow us to play the whole bench and it was a real team effort.

“Lethargic “Hurricanes” are second best against York

Cadet Men’s Premier Division North

Northants “Hurricanes” 63 -69 York “Vikings”

After their encouraging performance ‘on the road’ against Trafford the Northants “Hurricanes” went into their game against York “Vikings” full of confidence. The six point defeat was a massive disappointment but the Northants boys had only themselves to blame after a lacklustre performance lacking passion and commitment.

Trailing by 8 points at 22-14 after the first quarter, the “Hurricanes” could look back on ten minutes of missed lay ups and put backs. Things were a little better in the second period which was tied at 20 all but the “Hurricanes” could look back on no less than eleven missed free throws during the quarter.

Trailing 42-34 at half time the team needed a good start to the third quarter but it was York who had the impetus as they poured in 10 unanswered points. The “Hurricanes” responded through Matt Rawsthorne and Tom Care but the county boys still couldn’t maintain the pressure and going into the last ten minutes of play the “Vikings” still held the advantage at 61-48

Throughout the game the “Hurricanes” had been confused by York’s changing defences but in the final quarter they just concentrated on playing simple basketball. During the last ten minutes of play they outscored their opponents 15-8 but that wasn’t enough to secure victory York running out winners 69-63.

In the six points set back it was once again Matt Rawsthorne and Tom Care who dominated the scoring for the Northants boys these two ‘netting’ 21 and 16 points respectively but no other county player could get into double figures

The East Kent Crusaders run of home losses continued this week with Waltham Forest Spitfires getting the better of them on Saturday.

The game started as a hard fought affair with defenses being tested to good effect at both ends. However both teams’ offences improved towards the end of the quarter, with the score level at 17.

The next quarter saw just 14 points scored as the Crusaders and Spitfires cancelled each other out. The Crusaders intensity on defense led to no second chances for Waltham Forest. However, the Spitfires press caused all kinds of problems for East Kent, forcing turnovers and bad decisions. The scoreboard at half time read 24-24.

The third quarter was all Waltham Forest. A series of turnovers from the Crusaders' backcourt saw the Spitfires race away with a seemingly unassailable 50-31 lead.

The fourth saw a spirited comeback from the Crusaders with Ryan Richards taking charge and scoring their first 11 points after the break (on his way to a team high 28). However it proved to be too little too late, as Waltham Forest closed out the 62-50 victory.

Speaking after the game, Captain Rob Dagger said "It’s a disappointing loss. We worked hard all week in practice to bounce back from last week's loss, but it just didn’t come off for us in the end yesterday. We found it hard to cope with their pressure, but most of all, found getting points extremely hard"

The Crusaders will finish the year when they travel to Ipswich on Saturday.

w/e 04/12/05

The East Kent Crusaders under 16s let a win over the undefeated Baddow Eagles slip between their fingers this weekend at Canterbury High School.

Both sides started well with a high tempo first quarter ending with honours even at 17.

The second quarter saw Baddow edge ahead with a series of good offensive moves and some inspired shooting. However East Kent were able to cut the deficit to 3 points by half time.

The Crusaders came out of the gate on fire after a rousing half time team talk. Key offensive plays from Pratik Giri and new signing Richard Heath-Hall gave the Crusaders a commanding 9 point lead at the end of the 3rd quarter, 60 - 51.

Once again however, the final period proved to be the Crusaders' undoing. After a first minute when both teams scored 2 baskets each, Baddow went on a superhuman run, scoring 28 unanswered points. The Crusaders could not seem to find a reply for the Eagles pressure defence and the final score of 81 - 64 left the Crusaders feeling hard done by after dominating much of the game.

Head Coach Nick Reed said "It's an awful way to lose a game, but you have to hand it to Baddow for digging in down the stretch and making the plays when the game was on the line. We showed our 2 sides more than at any other game tonight; our side that can beat any other team we face and our side that seems to struggle under pressure."

Stef Kelk finished top scorer with 15 points, Akin Lisk-Carew had 12 and Rob Dagger and Heath-Hall had 10 each.

“Hurricanes” come up just short against Trafford

Cadet Men’s Premier Division North

Trafford 87 – 75 Northants “Hurricanes”

The Northants “Hurricanes” came off second best against Trafford at the John Ameachi Basketball Centre but only after a tremendous effort. The county boys made an excellent start pulling out to a 13-10 lead with Alexander Stewart orchestrating a number of effective fast break attacks. Trafford were able to slow the “Hurricanes” down and by the end of the first period had established a 30-22 lead.

This lead was extended to 10 points by half time prompting a switch to a zone defence by stand-in coach, Tim Nuttall. This ploy was partially successful but Trafford were able to retain the initiative going into the last period of play with an 11 points lead at 71-60. This lead was extended to 15 after three minutes of the final period. At this stage Nuttall took a time out and called for an aggressive pressing defence in a last ditch attempt to pull the game out of the fire. The tactic worked superbly with the “Hurricanes” scoring 13 unanswered points to get the score to 77-75 in favour of the northerners with just three minutes of the game remaining.

Unfortunately, at this stage the influential Matt Rawsthorne fouled out of the game with 20 points. Trafford were able to close out the game at 97-75 but the county boys led by 26 points from Tom Care could be well pleased with their efforts.

The “Hurricanes” will be looking to get back to winning ways this weekend when they take on York “Vikings”

w/e 20/11/05

95 IPSWICH BOBCATS –v- BRIGHTON COUGARS 53

Ipswich got back to winning ways after two tough games against the top two teams in the division.

Ipswich could not have asked for a better start when Jacob Swift stole the ball and hammered down a spectacular dunk for his first points of the game after just thirty seconds. Brighton didn’t have much size in their squad and struggled to contain the athletic Tomcats who ran their offence excellently to pick apart their opponents defence. Christian Daley was dominating the paint with his superb rebounding and improving post game and Luke Fry was able to get open on the perimeter and connect on two early three point attempts as Ipswich held a double digit lead at the end of the first quarter.

Ipswich new-boy Eben Thompson was introduced in the second and the electrifying guard was the catalyst for the Tomcats to spark their defence into life. Ipswich’s pressing defence caused a number of turnovers from their opponents and the lead began to grow before the half was brought to a close in emphatic style as Sam Saggers stole the ball and fed Swift for another eye-popping break-away slam.

Ipswich lead at half time by twenty-five points and continued their dominance after the interval even though they took their foot off the gas slightly. Consecutive three-pointers from Eben Thompson and Luke Fry got the crowd excited as did a Sam Saggers three-point play.

Ipswich again extended their lead in the final quarter while in cruise control. Bruce Crowley enjoyed his best spell of court-time of the season and picked up a number of rebounds and steals. Thompson found Christian Daley for a spectacular alley-oop lay up and Ipswich continued to dominate and won the game by their largest margin of the season with a 95-53 scoreline.

Coach Nick Drane was very enthusiastic in his comments about the match; “It all came together today. We played our best defence of the season, we were far more disciplined than in any other game and everybody did their job well. Eben Thompson gives us another dimension at both ends of the floor and he takes some of the pressure off Luke Fry who now has somebody who is able to help him handle the ball. Christian Daley had a massive game today, if you look at the stats he had eighteen points and fifteen rebounds, that’s awesome. Luke Fry dished out ten assists, his ability to bring others into the game is amazing and Jacob has hit thirty-four points today, he also helped more on the boards which was great to see and his two dunks were out of this world.”

Ipswich Tomcats top scorers: Swift 34, Daley 18 and Thompson 16.

“Hurricanes” get the better of hard nosed “Arrows”

Cadet Men’s Premier Division North

Northants “Hurricanes” 66 – 57 Sheffield “Arrows”

The “Hurricanes” (Cadet Men) bounced back from their defeat against league leaders Manchester with a battling win over Sheffield “Arrows”. Once again the “Hurricanes” had to rely on the scoring of Tom Care (19 points) and Matt Rawsthorne (16 points) for the bulk and coach, Tony Stewart was unhappy about the fact that his team missed no less than 17 free throws. .

The game got off to a slow start with the Sheffield boys quiet prepared to foul to stop the “Hurricanes” scoring. This tactic was fully justified and very successful as the county boys missed 7 free throws in the first quarter of the game. After a hard fought ten minutes the “Hurricanes” led 16-14 and the team knew they were going to be in for a tough game.

At the start of the second period the Northants boys were able launch their fast break and scored the first 8 points of the quarter to lead 24-14 three minutes into the quarter. The “Arrows” were quick to adjust and by early coverage of their back court they were able to stop the Northants break and with it most of their scoring options. The “Hurricanes” were restricted to just four points in 6 minutes and at 28-27 at half time the northerners were right back in the game.

The “Hurricanes” had a considerable height advantage and they were successful in getting the ball to their big men close to the basket but with the exception of Rawsthorne they were guilty of missing easy shots or missing free throws when they were fouled. A quarter of attrition saw the “Hurricanes” just edge it 19-14 to lead 47-41 going into the final quarter.

Needing a good start the “Hurricanes” did just that outscoring their opponents 12-5 in the first six minutes of the period, but then once again the scoring dried up the county boys adding just three points in the next 3 minutes. The county boys were able to ease their worries with four points in the final minute of play to close out a 66-57 win and improve their chances of an end of season Play Off spot moving into 5^th place in the Premier Division North.

This weekend the team are without a game.

The East Kent Crusaders under 16's were back to winning ways this weekend, taking victories on both Saturday and Sunday.

The first victory came in a fashion in which the Crusaders would have preferred to avoid as the PAWS London Capitals didn’t turn up and forfeited the game.

Sunday saw East Kent travel to Hertfordshire to play the Essex and Herts Leopards B. The Crusaders were able to include new signing Nick Niksic in their roster for the first time, giving East Kent some additional frontcourt size for the Leopards to deal with.

After a slow start, the Crusaders started to dominate the boards at both ends. Niksic scored 8 points in the first period to leave East Kent up 22 -12.

The Crusaders caught fire in the second quarter, going on a 12-0 run. Ryan Richards and Akin Lisk-Carew finished off some nice passing from captain Rob Dagger as East Kent soared to a 50-20 halftime lead.

The Crusaders spirit continued throughout the second half. Niksic continued with his impressive debut and Richards proved to be far too much for the Leopards to handle as East Kent cruised to the 92-42 win.

Richards finished with 36 points, followed by Lisk-Carew (19) and Niksic (16).

Coach Nick Reed heaped praise on debutant Niksic saying, "Nick was huge for us today. The intensity and passion he played with led the way for this good road win."

The “Hurricanes” (Cadet Men) faced a very strong Manchester team but coach, Tony Stewart was reasonably pleased with his team’s efforts despite the 24 points loss and the “Magic” coach paid the team the tribute of saying they were the most competitive side his team had faced this season.

A number of the county boys have shown their ability to play at the very highest level but the problems come when bench players are introduced to the game. Coach, Stewart will be addressing this during this week’s practices but he will also be aware that his team’s large number of turn overs is also causing him problems.

The “Hurricanes” were always playing catch up against one of the most talented teams in the country but they did enjoy periods of superiority especially in the third quarter which they won 20-16 with the team’s zone defence being particularly effective.

For the “Hurricanes”, Tom Care and Matt Rawsthorne top scored with 15 points apiece, Rawsthorne looking particularly impressive while Alexander Stewart gave good support with 12 points.

This weekend the team have a home game against Sheffield “Arrows” and looking at the records of the two teams this looks as if it’s gong to be a close run thing.

It has been very encouraging watching this U16 team come together over the past couple of months.

All the players apart from Ben Gray, Peter Sneddon and Dan Ratcliffe are all new players to the Solent program. So the Solent Coaches have had to go back to basics with these boys and have had some promising results.

Travelling without their Coach Mark Scott to Reading is something these boys are now used to. It was explained at the beginning of the season that Coach Scott would not be able to travel to all the away games so its down to which Solent Coach is available for these boys away games and they are coping with the situation well.

“These boys just want to play” said Bev Guymon “When it comes to game time they are just hyper. They do not always make the right decisions during the game, but its all part of their development and we are now seeing some inprovement”

During the game on Sunday against Reading the boys were able to work on their fast break and offence. The young Reading team were impressive and it was a test for us to be able to execute our offence as well as controlling the boards.

The speed of Scott Oakley of Brune Park School who worked so hard throughout the game enabled him to covert a number of assists from Ben Gray and Tom Mann to baskets on the offensive end he ended up with 28 points for the game

It was good to see Liam Race, James Cullingworth and Tom Baker come off the bench and do a job on the court, which shows the depth of the bench. Good ball handling skills by Owen Teesdale kept Solents composure throughout the game and the solid defence of big man Dan Ratcliffe and the dependable Peter Sneddon kept Solent firmly on track for a comfortable win.

Simon Pleass contributed 13 points to what was his best game of the season, he also rebounded well offensively and defensively.

This team is a team that will continue to improve throughout the season and it will be interesting to see how far they improve over the coming season.

Ben Gray will be attending an England training camp on November 27^th in Nottingham. The Priory School Portsmouth schoolboy will be looked at by England Coach Rick Wooldridge for a possible place in the squad.

Team: Scott Oakley 28, Ben Gray 12, Simon Pleass 13, T Baker 2, Liam Race 6, J Cullingworth 3, O Teesdale 2, T Mann 5, P Sneddon 13, Dan Ratcliffe 14

Forget bonfire night – there were enough fireworks in this one point win in overtime by the Suns to light up the whole of Sevenoaks! Oxygen and sedatives had to be given to the traveling fans at the end of the game along with lozenges for sore throats. One parent said “I will have to fit a pacemaker if they carry on like this!”. In a game in which they trailed until the last minute the Suns showed their fighting spirit and their “never give up” attitude to pull off a win that most observers thought wouldn’t have been possible.

It all started so badly for the Suns who were overwhelmed by a fast and physical Spitfires side with Riley and Jacob causing problems with their shooting and penetration. By contrast the Suns shooting was well below par and they only converted 15% of shots taken. The Spitfires easily took the quarter by 20-9. Coach Vear reverted to a zone defense in the second period to try and bring the Suns back in to the game, and it did contain the Spitfires. The offense picked up and Fleming and Gad found their range. However Danso for the Spitfires also shot well and the Suns just edged the quarter by 14-13 to go in at the half down by 33-23. The third period was almost a mirror image of the second with both teams trading baskets and making mistakes on both offense and defense. This meant neither team could establish any momentum and the Suns shaded the period by 18-16 to reduce the deficit to 8 points.

The final period started well for the Spitfires and Coach Griffiths must have thought his team were on their way to a win when they took a 12 point lead with five minutes left of the game. Coach Vear called a time out and changed the offense that proved to be the turning point. A play was set up for Kensington and Smyth and they executed it to great effect and the Suns hit 14 unanswered points to take a 2 point lead with less than a minute to go. The Spitfires seemed shell shocked but they also never gave up and took advantage of some nervous defense by the Suns who committed a foul with seconds to go. Jacob went to the line knowing he could win it for the Spitfires but only made one shot. Tied at 57-57 the game went in to overtime.

Once again the Spitfires pulled away and with back to back three pointers from Riley and Danso they were soon 6 points up. The Suns just wouldn’t give up and as the final minute counted down they still had a 5 point deficit to overcome. The Suns stepped up their defensive effort and from that possession Roser went down court to drain a long three pointer to bring it to a 2 point game. The Spitfires decided to go back down court to score again rather than run down the clock. This forced the Suns to foul Danso who went to the line. He missed both shots and again the Suns went for a three pointer, with Smyth being fouled in the act of shooting. The atmosphere by now was electric but the only “cool” person in the arena was Smyth who calmly hit all three free throws to see the Suns run out winners by a solitary point.

Coach Vear said “what can I say – these guys just will not give up – they didn’t play to their usual standard today but their spirit and team work saw us through – very proud of them”. The Suns captain Webb also praised his teammates and said “this was a real team win and we know we can only get better”. The Suns will play Ipswich Bobcats at home next Sunday (13^th Nov).

Suns: Gad 21, Kensington 21, Smyth 11, Roser 7, Fleming 6, Webb 3, Hamid/Longbottom/Giddings 2

Spitfires: Jacob 22, Riley 20, Danso 16, Findley 6, Adamson 4, Tracy/Nwosu/Rambault 2

East Kent bounced back from their disappointing loss last week with a crushing 80-28 win over the Brighton Cougars.

A new starting line-up took the floor, seeing Tristan Braybrooke and Luke Goodsell start their first games of the season. The Crusaders quickly showed Brighton their true colours by pouring on points and stringing together a succession of excellent defensive stops to take a massive first quarter lead of 21 - 4. Luke Goodsell seemed to be involved in everything, working extremely hard defensively and then giving everything on the offensive end. Ryan Richards and Akin Lisk-Carew were the main instigators of some huge offensive runs leaving the Cougars adrift by 34 points at the half.

The third quarter saw the Crusaders slow down a little as they gave the bench significant playing time. Key plays from Stef Kelk and Kalil Irving at the start and end of the quarter respectively saw the Crusaders cruise in at the end of the third with a commanding 62-24 lead. The fourth quarter saw the best of the Crusaders as again they held Brighton to just 4 points in the period. A rally of baskets from Richards and Lisk-Carew saw the home side take the win 80-28. A solid team performance was displayed by the fact that 10 out of the 12 crusaders players managed to get their names on the score sheet. Richards led the scoring with 26, while Lisk Carew had 21.

Coach Nick Reed said "I'm really pleased with the performance of our guys today, not just physically for doing the business at both ends, but also for being confident and assertive and showing just how good they are. Every single one of the guys deserves praise after their performances, but Luke Goodsell and Tristan Braybrooke were unbelievable today, putting in solid displays and setting a benchmark for the rest of the guys with their intensity and hard work".