w/e 28/02/06

Warriors lose thrilling Patrons Cup Final in Overtime to Liverpool 83 - 85 

Despite beating Liverpool comfortably 5 weeks prior in the league, West Herts knew that recent form often goes out of the window in Cup Finals. They also knew of Liverpool’s ‘timely’ new American signing – 6’10 Mohammed Woni who has played all over the world and had tryouts for NBA teams in the past. Having been dominated under the basket by 7’0 Ritchie Burgess in previous games, it was a shrewd signing, combining with the 6’8 Brian Scharrenweber to give Liverpool a frontcourt to match the size of West Herts big men of 6’8 Rafe Abrook, and the 6’7 Tom Frederick. A tough game was expected, and it was a nail biter all the way. 

With Abrook still not 100% healthy, Coach Harrison started with Burgess at centre, Leon Bernard at power forward, Sahr Komba at small forward, and Tayo Odulaja and Paul Mundy-Castle at the guard spots. This combo was able to jump out to a 10 – 4 advantage early on, as Burgess cleaned up 2 missed shots inside for put backs, while Komba scored 4 of his own points. Warriors were somewhat surprised to see the powerful Woni opting for jump shots from outside, which he connected on at a high percentage, hitting an unexpected three pointer halfway through the first quarter. Scharrenweber began to move well off the ball, as West Herts focused too much on Woni, and scored 9pts in the quarter from close range as a result. With Liverpool back in front at 14 – 12, Coaches Harrison and McElduff inserted Abrook and Frederick off the bench. Abrook started hitting outside shots straight away, and combined with Mundy-Castle and Luke Patterson to run off 10 straight Warriors points, including 6 of his own to recapture the lead at 22 – 14, before Scharrenweber scored 2 more just before the end of the period. 

The momentum carried on into the second quarter with Marlon Munro getting into the action with a jump shot from the wing, followed shortly by a power move inside by Frederick. 2 free throws for Mundy-Castle pushed the lead to 10pts before Michael Embaye responded with a jumper of his own. Burgess scored two more inside for Warriors, and Komba finished 2 on a fast break following one of 26 Liverpool turnovers on the night. West Herts were hounding Woni inside at every opportunity and forced him into 9 turnovers for the game. With half the quarter gone, Bernard drove down the baseline and slammed two points home emphatically, but was assessed a technical foul for hanging on the ring, giving two shots to the opposition, plus possession. With Warriors up 34 – 20, this would mark a turning point for the game as West Herts would not score again for 2 and a half minutes, as Liverpool ran off 11 unanswered points to pull themselves back. Meanwhile Warrior’s main offensive weapon, Odulaja was having a miserable time with the officials, getting in foul trouble while unable to draw any whistles on his markers. Frederick stopped the drought with a tip in, before Abrook came back on took the ball right at Woni for another score. A basket and free throw from Frederick, another Abrook jump shot, and a Komba baseline drive combined to put Warriors back on top by 10pts. Scharrenweber continued to find routes to the basket though, and point guard Adam Nowell got on the scoreboard after a quiet start to the game for Liverpool. After one of 18 Warriors steals on the night, Komba found Abrook on the fast break who laid up two more in the final minute of the half for a 48 – 39 half time advantage, having shot 6 for 6 from the field in the first half. 

The third quarter started OK for West Herts with Komba and Frederick again scoring a basket each in the early going to put the Hertfordshire based side up 52 – 41, but Liverpool would dig in with aggressive defence, conceding only free throws for most of the remainder of the quarter. Whistles began to go against both clubs as several players began to get into foul trouble and the game became less enjoyable for the fans. As has often been the case this season, West Herts were the team that were not converting from the foul line however and while Liverpool shot an impressive 14 for 16 free shots for the period, West Herts could manage only 6 out of their 16 attempts. After 7 minutes without a field goal, Munro finally converted for West Herts, but the next possession saw Embaye hit his second of 3 three point shots, and by the quarter’s end the score was 64 – 60 in Liverpool’s favour. 

A shaky start to the final stanza however saw Liverpool jump ahead 71 – 62, before Warriors got back on track through some hot shooting by Komba and Frederick. A three pointer for Patterson tied the score at 71 each and both sets of fans began to get louder as the game drew to a close. Nowell and Woni both scored on jump shots to open up a 4pt advantage for Liverpool, shortly before Woni collected his 5^th and final personal foul and was forced to leave the game. Moments later Odulaja suffered the same fate, having not managed to get on the score sheet for the first time in his Warriors career. As Warriors worked the ball around on offence, they drew more fouls on Liverpool, with Ken Chendo also fouling out. Fredericks converted two shots, followed by one each for Patterson and Bernard to tie the score. Meanwhile both Burgess and Abrook were benched with 4 fouls each, but with just over a minute to play, Bernard grabbed a tough rebound and put it back in for a 77 – 75 advantage, however with less than 20 seconds to play, Nowell was adjudged to have been fouled and calmly netted both free shots to tie the score. Warriors were unable to score at the other end following strong defensive play by Scharenwebber under the basket and the game was forced into overtime. 

In the extra period, both teams had lost players and many others had only one foul to give, so Coach Harrison elected to stay with the 5 who had played to the end of regulation. Munro came out looking fresh and scored immediately of a tough drive to the rim, and after Glyn Hunter made one of two free throws for Liverpool, he gathered his own missed shot for another score. A scramble under the Liverpool basket shortly afterwards saw Komba come up with the loose ball and a bucket for an 83 – 78 West Herts lead, but with just under 3 minutes to play it was not enough. Scharenweber meanwhile was having  the game of his life, and continued to draw fouls on West Herts under the basket, and while only converting 3 of 7 free throws in the extra period it was enough when combined with 2 more for Hunter to put Liverpool up 85 – 83 as West Herts were unable to find the basket when it counted as time expired on West Herts cup run.  

A deserved match MVP, Scharrenweber also collected 18 rebounds to go with his game high 29pts, and Warriors were left to ponder how they threw the game away after being up by 5 in OT. Warriors Assistant Coach, Neil McElduff said after the game: “The game came down to execution and missed chances, and Liverpool executed when it counted. Had we made our free throws in the third quarter, the game may have not gone into overtime. We will draw on this experience and now focus on a primary goal of the league title as we face our strongest threat in hosting Mansfield Express.” 

West Herts Scorers: Sahr Komba 16, Rafe Abrook 14, Tom Frederick 14, Marlon Munro 10, Leon Bernard 9, Luke Patterson 7, Paul Mundy-Castle 7, Ritchie Burgess 6, Tayo Odulaja 0 

Liverpool Scorers: Brian Scharrenweber 29, Michael Embaye 16, Mohammed Woni 12, Adam Nowell 8, Ken Chendo 7, Glyn Hunter 7, Chiz Onoura 6, C Leonard 0

w/e 05/02/06

Warriors advance to Patrons Cup Final,  West Herts Warriors 65 – Derby Trailblazers 60 

UH West Herts Warriors hosted their second game in as many nights last Sunday in the do or die Patrons Cup Semi Final vs Derby Trailblazers. With the Herts Sports Village unavailable, the game was held at St Columba’s College in St Albans, and the smaller facility made for a great atmosphere as Derby brought as many fans as West Herts did thus neutralising the home court advantage for the home team. With Warriors still missing Tayo Odulaja and Ritchie Burgess being absent through work, the team would also go out with Abrook still carrying an injury to his right shoulder. The team however was pleased to introduce new signing Tom Fredericks who due to the aforementioned issues was thrown in at the deep end in his first Warriors game. 

The game began as a physical encounter that neither official ever got a real grasp on. Derby jumped out to a 5-0 start after a three pointer from Astle and two points inside from Robbie Bowen. Luke Patterson playing in his old school gym then hit a jump shot to open Warriors account, followed by a lay up from the cutting Jock Mackay. Sahr Komba scored 2 on a drive and ‘Cherry’ Mundy-Castle scored two foul shots from the line. A made three pointer from Patterson marked the end of an 11-0 run, and a spell of suffocating West Herts defence, but Derby responded later in the quarter through sharpshooter, Tim Lascelles who connected on three triples in the period to keep Derby close. Fredericks entered the game at the half way mark and combined with Komba to score the last 8pts of the quarter for Warriors to put them up 22 – 19. 

Fredericks opened Warriors account inside in the second quarter, followed shortly by a Mundy-Castle three pointer. Komba then picked up a big block on Szktych that got the Warriors bench off their feet. Abrook came on for his first action and immediately hit a jump shot, but Simon Spencer began to get warm and hit 6pts in the quarter to keep Derby in the game. A fast break lay up for Abrook saw West Herts take a 33 – 30 advantage into half time. 

Derby started brightly in the second half as Robbie Bowen converted two off a put back inside, followed by another jump shot for Spencer. Lascelles connected on another threeball to put the visitors up 37 – 35, before Mundy-Castle began to run at Derby causing them problems in transition. Simon Allaway kept the lead exchanging hands with well taken jump shots from outside and missed free throws for Warriors enabled Derby to take advantage and push the ball through Spencer who shot them to a 49 – 47 lead at the end of the third quarter, with the only responses coming from Fredericks and Patterson.

In the final period Komba scored two tough baskets to start and regain the lead for Warriors, before Spencer hit a three pointer. Fredericks began to crash the offensive glass to pick up another two, but Spencer hit again. Another put back rebound for Fredericks and a tough baseline play from Mundy-Castle saw Warriors retake the lead, followed by a big block for Abrook on Spencer who drove inside at the big man. Komba scored on fast break plus the foul to put Warriors up59 – 56 but the missed free throw was rebounded by Abrook and then thrown into the hands of Derby’s Polomski who converted at the other end to pull within one. As Warriors then pushed the ball inside to take advantage of the Bowen brothers both fouling out for Derby, Fredericks scored again. With Derby attempting to retaliate, Mundy-Castle picked the pocket of Allaway to run in a back breaking lay up to give West Herts a 5 point cushion. Lascelles made a quick jump shot to pull back to within three, and a missed shot for West Herts then gave Derby the ball back with less than 16 seconds to play and a chance for the tie. To West Herts relief Lascelles missed the three point attempt and Patterson snared the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws to secure the win. 

A big win and a tough opponent who gave the game everything they had, Warriors now wait on the outcome of the Tamar Valley – Liverpool Semi Final to see who they face at the Amaechi Centre in Manchester on Feb 26^th.

16/10/05

Leicester Warriors 58

WNC Mansfield Express 75 

Report by Philip Mitchell 

With both teams having lost twice to Derby, this Patrons cup group game was for nothing but pride. The Express used the game to try to get there season back on track and to prepare for the start of the league campaign on Saturday.

Express started at a quite some pace and opened an early lead with buckets from McGaffin, Watts and two threes from Shaw. In fact, Express seemed to hit everything in the early going and with five minute gone it was 20-12. However, the scoring halted slightly as the defence of both teams picked up. By the end of the first it was 24-13 to Express 

Expresses offence was working smoothly, no surprise there “we spent a lot of time in practice this week working on our 4 out one in offence” Coach Squire commented after. David Watts was enjoying his third WNC appearance as he converted an alley-oop drunk off Shaw’s pass on his way to a game high 23 points. The half ended with Shaw draining two free throws from the line with 0.9 on the clock to give Express a 41-36 lead. 

In the third and fourth quarters Express took control. Six points from WNC student Dan Watts - younger brother of David – on his debut, helped Express open a double digit lead that they would not relinquish. The Watts brothers along with Ben Middleton dominated on the glass pulling down 26 rebounds between the three of them. Indeed, this was nice to see with Martyn Blankley and Martin Richards who both stand at 6’6 sidelined with injuries. Express controlled the final minutes to run out winners 75-58 

Coach Squire was delighted with the victory, particularly as all 12 players played and contributed. He commented. “We have a talented young squad and competition for places and playing time is incredible. West Notts College academy is producing some talented basketball players and all the coaching staff are delighted with the progress at both senior and junior levels” 

David Watts 23 Shaw 17 McGaffin 12 Middleton 12 Dan Watts 8 

The next home game is this Saturday with an 8.00pm tips off at Alfreton Leisure Centre with the visit of NEWI Nets for the first league game of the season.

Directions for the travelling supporters – take the A38 from Mansfield towards Derby until junction with A61 sign - posted Alfreton/Chesterfield. Take the A61 towards Alfreton town centre – passing Tesco supermarket on the right hand side. At the set of traffic lights in the town centre – junction A61/B6019 (with Nat West and HSBC banks on the corner) turn left and follow road round to car park/ leisure centre.

Warriors claim Patrons Cup Semi Final berth, Warriors 77 – Northampton 63 

UH West Herts Warriors faced a ‘must win’ game at Northampton Neptunes, following their disappointing loss the previous weekend at home to Colchester Utd. To progress through to the Patrons Cup Semi Final stage, a win was crucial. As it happened, a loss of less than 17pts would also have been enough for Warriors given Northampton unwittingly forfeited their game the previous night to Colchester after arriving 2 hours after tip due to confusion. But that aside a good win was essential to rebuild confidence within the club after a so-so start to this campaign. 

Warriors would have to face a strong Neptunes squad without 3 of their key new signings. Ritchie Burgess, Gary Maitland, and Leon Bernard were all unavailable, along with injured captain Craig Tye, so Coach Harrison had to look to a familiar squad from the previous season to use their experience of playing together to bring home the W. 

Without Burgess and Bernard inside Rafe Abrook and Jock Mackay knew they would need to work hard to contain Cachia Reynoso, who had his way inside during the last encounter. With the help of veteran Terry Rose this was accomplished as he was held to just 10pts in limited minutes, as the three big men rotated on him under the basket. Abrook crashed the offensive glass right from tip off and was rewarded with the game’s first two points off a Tayo Odulaja missed shot from the wing. Mike McLeod soon answered with a three pointer, but the Warriors Sahr Komba then got to work on playing one of his best games in three seasons for Warriors, by scoring freely, and locking up Neptunes danger man, Mark Spatcher who he held to just 5pts for the game. 

Despite Warriors playing a better passing game than against Colchester, Northampton’s offence was still clicking, and midway through the first quarter Reynoso began to get free of his defenders on the break and duly converted. 2 free throws from Abrook pulled the score back to within one, and with Komba and James Tye scoring as the quarter ended, the score was tied at 18 each. Warriors began the second quarter brightly with scores from Abrook and Mackay, and back to back baskets for Odulaja gave West Herts a 26-22 advantage before Devon Adams answered back with 4pts of his own to tie the scores. During a 3 minute dry spell of Warriors forcing too many outside shots, the home team were able to build a 30-28 lead, before the Warriors players rolled up their sleeves and executed their pressure defence to perfection. Neptunes would not score again from the 7^th minute onwards as Warriors pressured every pass and shot, with Komba being the key beneficiary on the fast break. Reserve guard Jon-Paul Cox hit his first three of the season, and at the half time whistle West Herts had ran off 13 unanswered points to close the half up 41-30. 

Knowing how they had previously blown a 24 pt lead to Northampton at home, Warriors knew their defensive intensity had to be maintained, and the third quarter began positively as Odulaja, Komba and Tye were able to extend the lead to 52-35. Komba and Odulaja were again thriving in the open court, converting passes from Patterson and Tye. Cox came back on to spell Patterson and played well, moving the ball to the inside players while pressuring the opposing guards, with centre Terry Rose benefiting from his vision while moving well off the ball. With the lead now at 57-37, Neptunes showed some fight as McLeod hit a three, but another score for Komba, plus a last second three pointer from Odulaja at the buzzer ended the quarter 62 – 43 to West Herts. Warriors had held Neptunes to just 3 made field goals for the whole of the third quarter, after holding them to just 4 in the second period. 

Northampton fought back hard at the start of the fourth quarter feeding off the energy their large home crowd provided, with big plays from Adams and Ross Carlton, before Odulaja ended a Warriors scoring drought with a fast break slam. More aggressive play from McLeod cut the lead to 10 at 56-66. A big three in response from Patterson calmed Warriors nerves though, and further scores from Mackay and Patterson again ensured the victory. As the final minute passed Odulaja capped the game with a little fast break thunder. At the final whistle the scores stood 77 – 63 to West Herts. Coach Harrison was jubilant following the win, as he saw his team playing the kind of basketball he expects from them for the first time this season. With other players to bring back into the squad, Warriors feel they have another gear to engage still. Their next challenge lies with new challengers, Derbyshire Arrows who have already made some noise and will no doubt provide a tough challenge for the Herts based outfit, when they visit the Herts Sports Village this Saturday. 

West Herts Scorers: Sahr Komba 27, Tayo Odulaja 19, Rafe Abrook 9, Luke Patterson 7, Jock Mackay 6, James Tye 4, Jon-Paul Cox 4, Terry Rose 1, Martin Dyke

Northampton Scorers: Mike McLeod 17, Cachia Reynoso 10, Ross Carlton 9, Ben Knight 8, Devon Adams 7, Simon Taylor 5, Mark Spatcher 5, Mark Gledhill 2, Alex Birch, Roman Miscar

Northampton Neptunes         63

West Herts Warriors               77 

The Northampton Neptunes were knocked out of the pool stage of the National Patrons Cup on Sunday despite a late come back.

The Neptunes made a steady start with quick scores from Mike Mcleod and Ross Carlton, the Warriors picked up a couple of easy baskets due to a laps in concentration on the Neptunes behalf. Simon Taylor helped the Neptunes take the lead as he scored under the basket and was fouled at the same time, he then stepped up and made his bonus shot to give the Neptunes the lead. Cachia Reynoso came in to give Ben Knight a much deserved rest as the quarter finished 18 apiece. 

The second quarter started with both teams trading baskets, Devon Adams checked into the game and provided an excellent quarter of defence, with just three minutes to go in the first half the Neptunes were leading 30 – 29 Spatcher decided to give some of the starters a breather but unfortunately the Warriors jumped to take an advantage and went on a 11 point run to give the Warriors a half time advantage 41- 30. 

The 3^rd quarter started with Neptunes getting to the basket to draw some fouls but 8 missed foul shots didn’t help their come back as the Hertfodshire side stretched their lead out to 19 at the end of the 3^rd. 

The Neptunes came out fighting at the beginning of the final quarter with scores from Adams, Spatcher, knight and Carlton to cut the gap to just 11 however the Warriors had built a big enough cushion to see them through to the semi finals with a 77 – 63 win over the Neptunes.  

After the game Northampton Captain Mark Spatcher said “We never really put long enough good spells of basketball together today so that something that we have to look at in training this week. Also looking back at the game tape I made some substitutions maybe at the wrong time as well, having said that players that come onto the floor have to be ready to concentrate and play. Devon Adams had a very good game today I think he was probably our best player with the minutes he was given”. 

The Neptunes how now finished all their cup and trophy games, which means its down to the real important stuff this weekend as the opening weekend of the league starts. 

This Sunday the Neptunes take on Liverpool in the first league game of the season at Lings Forum Leisure Centre on Sunday at 4pm (tip off) Tickets can be purchased on the door: Adult £5 / Child £3.50

08/10/05

Warriors upset on home turf – Warriors 80, Colchester 81 

UH West Herts Warriors hosted the return leg of a home and home series vs Patrons Cup opponents, Colchester United on Saturday, and with a good sized crowd and a full contingent of players available, nothing short of victory was expected.

But nobody told Colchester, who having never beaten Warriors, also had a strong team out and fancied their chances of an upset. West Herts starting point guard, Luke Patterson was not 100% and played with a sore ankle which clearly limited his movement, but Gary Maitland and James Tye have already shared ball handling duties this season when Patterson has been absent, so this was not a major concern. 

The game started sloppily for West Herts who allowed Colchester’s Femi Ariyo backdoor to score a basket and one free throw to open the scoring. It was into the second minute of the game before Warriors could get on the scoreboard as Tye dished to Rafe Abrook in the key for the short jump shot. Meanwhile a duel between Colchester’s top scorer Joe Matthews and Warrior’s Sahr Komba was beginning, with the 2 players exchanging baskets during a 3 minute period.

Sadly for Warriors it was Matthews connecting more though as he scored 8pts in this stretch to Komba’s 4. Jock Mackay replied with a basket and one of his own of a loose ball situation, and Tayo Odulaja scored his first two to bring the game back to 11 – 13. Leon Bernard and Ritchie Burgess came off the bench for Abrook and Mackay and worked hard inside to score a deuce each, but Matthews and Nick Wookey were still hitting from outside, and despite a breathtaking alley oop slam from Komba to Odulaja as the quarter closed, Warriors were still down 18 – 20. 

Gary Maitland tied the score with the first points of the second quarter, before Leroy Manhertz and Wookey responded for Colchester. Bernard, Odulaja and Tye combined to pull the lead back to 26 – 25, but still, no team was able to take control of the game. Another score inside for Mackay and 2 more for Odulaja countered a Matthews three pointer, but then new Colchester signing Olivier Szyttenholm got involved and drove through the lacklustre Warriors defence for 4 points of his own. A four point play from Wookey, doing his best Emile Heskey impression added insult to injury and Warriors were down by 6. Bernard and Burgess worked inside again, but the outside shot was not there for West Herts. Meanwhile Colchester were moving the ball well to create easy 14 foot jump shots from the wings for their guards. The half ended with Colchester up 44 – 38. 

Warriors were fired up for the third quarter and Bernard and Odulaja got right to work driving inside and picking up fouls on the Colchester defence. With Wookey still shooting well for Colchester Abrook began to get to work inside and scored 7 of the next 9 Warriors points off put backs and lay ups inside. Still trading baskets the two teams were separated by just one point, and four straight missed free throws, and missed fast break opportnities for West Herts hurt their chances of closing the quarter with a lead. As it was, late scores from Odulaja and Bernard could only bring them within a point of Colchester’s tally. 

The final quarter began with Patterson hitting a jumper, followed by aggressive play from Maitland, but Colchester again worked the ball around to find Ariyo free inside for easy lay ups. With Komba putting Warriors up by 4 at 69 – 65, Matthews responded with a dagger three pointer. An unlikely source for Warriors only made three of the game was Abrook who responded with his first of the season right afterwards. Scores from Szyttenholm and Komba followed, and with Manhertz starting to create problems for West Herts, Colchester pulled the game back to within 1.

Tye calmly iced two free throws to make it 77 – 74 with 2 mins to play, but forced Warriors shots led to player coach Julian Keeling making 2 free throws, followed by scores inside for Manhertz and Chris Wilson for Colchester. With Warriors now forcing things, Odulaja made a tough shot to pull within one, and after Manhertz missed two free throws, Odulaja was fouled with 2.3 seconds to play down one point. He made the first to tie the game but missed the second. As Manhertz grabbed the rebound and launched a 40 foot prayer at the ring as the buzzer sounded, Odulaja was judged to have fouled the shooter! Manhertz stepped up to the line to make the first free throw with no time left, thus winning the game, and throwing the East Patrons Cup pool wide open. Colchester deserved the win and played the better team basketball on the night. 

Warriors must now win at Northampton this Sunday to ensure progress in the competition, and must atone for a very poor defensive display in their previous game. 

West Herts Scorers: Tayo Odulaja 20, Sahr Komba 13, Leon Bernard 13, Rafe Abrook 12,  James Tye 6, Gary Maitland 5, Jock Mackay 5, Ritchie Burgess 4, Luke Patterson 2, Martin Dyke 

Colchester Scorers: Joe Matthews 22, Nick Wookey 16, Leroy Manhertz 11, Olivier Szyttenholm 10, Femi Ariyo 9, Julian Keeling 6, Alex Ward 4, Chris Wilson 3

WNC Mansfield Express 76

Derby Trailblazers 85 

Express run off the rails in the final quarter 

WNC Mansfield Express was hoping to bounce back from last week’s cruel defeat at by two points at Derby. Express coach Chris Squire has asked his players to go on court and do their best. With Martyn Blankley and Martin Richards both sidelined through injury it would be a tall order for the squad to compete against the strong Derby side. 

Early on in the first quarter Express opened a commanding lead through Michael Elland and Matt Shaw, with three a piece, Ben Middleton a simple basket and then Dave ‘Tin Tin’ Watts making his home court debut with a dunk. Only through James Maudsley and Robbie Bowen did Derby manage to hang on at 10 –4 to Express. Middleton, Elland and Watts did more damage for Express. With the score at 15-4 to Express, trailblazers had not option but to call a time out. Alistair Hills, Simon Spencer and Bowen replied for Derby, but with a reply from Middleton for Express they were starting to take command at 17-12. Sean Dilks, Watts, Jamie McGaffin and academy debutant, 18-year-old Mark Jones put their mark on the game opening up the score to 2 7 – 12 to Express. 

In the second quarter veteran player Tim Lascelles for Derby and Shaw for Express scored three a piece. Shaw then had to battle and ended up trading baskets with Spencer and Hills, even ex Express coach Martin Ford was getting in the action for Derby. Jones scored a great three pointer only for Simon Alloway to claw the lead back for Derby. The score finished 38-29 to Express. 

The third quarter was slow to get going, Watts broke the deadlock after 2 minutes. Derby were now clawing back the deficit through Lascelles, Alloway and Spencer, only through Shaw did Express keep their composure – but the score ended level at 52- 52. The final quarter would decide who had the passion and the desire to win 

Derby started at a storming pace in the final quarter and opened a 10-point lead early on through Spencer and Lascelles only through Shaw did Express get one from the line. With the score at 63-53 to the visitors, a time out was called by Coach Squire to gain composure – they managed that by three pointers from Jones and Shaw, but the opposition had yet gain replied to still keep the margin at 10 points. With four minutes left the visiting supporters were rapturous as Ford and Alloway were doing the damage and the score had opened up at 81-62 to Derby. Jones then turned on the style scoring two three pointers along with academy player Dominic Murphy scoring a further three and Watts chipping in with a two. Only a solitary two from Ford put the score beyond the reach of Express at 85 – 70 to the visitors. Only two more three pointers from Jones late on including one pot shot on the buzzer – which gave the home crowd something to shout about.  The score finished 85 – 76 to Derby Trailblazers. 

Coach Squire commented after the game ‘we were out played by a better team – but all credit to the players they gave it their all especially debutant Jones’ 

Top scorers

Express: Shaw 19, Jones 17, and Middleton 11

Trailblazers: Alloway 26, Spencer 21, Lascelles 18

02/10/05

Warriors prevail on road – Warriors 75, Colchester 59 

UH West Herts Warriors their second of four Patrons Cup group qualifiers vs Colchester United on Saturday, and having beaten the home side twice last season, were expecting another victory. Despite missing leading scorer Tayo Odulaja, Martin Dyke and Jean-Paul Cox the team had balance across all positions, and were able to finally showcase a full frontcourt with both Ritchie Burgess and Leon Bernard on the team sheet. 

The home team jumped out to an early lead courtesy of player coach Julian Keeling, and strong offensive rebounding by Chris Wilson rewarding him with 4 early points. Meanwhile for Warriors easy shots weren’t falling and with only 5 made West Herts baskets in the first 9 minutes of play, the game looked like it might be a defensive classic. Thankfully a three pointer from Sahr Komba and lay ups from returning Luke Patterson and James Tye kept them in the game. New signings Gary Maitland and seven footer, Burgess looked sharp coming off the bench and combining with Tye and a score from Bernard, the final quarter ended with Warriors on top 16 – 13. 

Maitland opened the scoring in the second quarter and was finding the outside touch, before Colchester levelled the score off 2pts from Wilson plus a three pointer from Nick Wookey. Bernard and Komba responded, followed by a three from Maitland, and the lead was stretched to 7. Tough Warriors defence over the next 4 mins limited Colchester to just 2 baskets, as their leading scorer, Joe Matthews was being kept quiet. Despite leading by as many as 8, Warriors again let Colchester claw there way back to within one before baskets by Jock Mackay and Bernard stopped their momentum. A Komba drive ended the half with Warriors only up by 3 at 36 – 33. 

After trading baskets early in the second half, Warriors stepped up their defence considerably halfway through the third quarter, with steals resulting in lay ups for Komba and Rafe Abrook. Burgess crashed the boards inside and added 4 to his growing tally, and the lead was stretched to 50 – 39. At the quarter’s close Flo Pfeifer was able to come off the bench to score a well worked two putting Warriors up 55 – 44. 

Despite resistance from Keeling and Colchester big man, Alex Ward, Warriors mounted a 12-2 run in the middle of the fourth quarter with Burgess, MacKay and Bernard again working hard inside from close range. With the lead now at 71 – 52 with 2 mins to play, West Herts could relax a bit, and despite a late three from Matthews, the 5’11 Maitland rounded the win off in style on a fast break showcasing his ridiculous hops with a one handed jam off two feet. Warriors cannot afford to relax however as Colchester will face them again this weekend at the Herts Sports Village, with revenge on their agenda. 

West Herts Scorers: Sahr Komba 20, Gary Maitland 16, Ritchie Burgess 12, Leon Bernard 9, James Tye 6, Jock Mackay 4, Rafe Abrook 4, Luke Patterson 2, Flo Pfeifer 2, Terry Rose 

Colchester Scorers: Chris Wilson 12, Joe Matthews 12, Julian Keeling 11, Alex Ward 11, Nick Wookey 7, Chris Dixon 6, Wayne Smith, Danny Jones, Femi Ariyo

Northampton Neptunes         83

Colchester United                 77 

The Northampton Neptunes continued their good start to the season as they beat Colchester United in front of 600 plus home supporters at Lings Forum Leisure Centre. The Neptunes started with a quick lead of 12-6 after scores from Captain Mark Spatcher and Ross Carlton. However several Neptunes players were beginning to get upset with the referees, which resulted in Mcleod and Reynoso getting technical fouls awarded against them which gave six foul shots to Colchester. The quarter finished with a 15 foot jump shot from New recruit Simon Taylor as the Neptunes some how found themselves down by two with the score at 16-14. 

The Northampton side set their stall out early but were unable to play the way they wanted due to the way the game was being called, Spatcher checked out after a 2^nd foul early at the beginning of the 2^nd quarter as did Mcleod for a quick breather. Devon Adams and Alex Birch came into the game and both worked hard defensively but got calls made against them as the Neptunes continued to look frustrated. Reynoso checked out of the game after not being able to find his touch around the basket in the first 15 minutes. Ben Knight came into the game to help steady the Neptunes as they found themselves down by9 at the half 34-43. 

The Second half started with a more up tempo style from the Neptunes as they pulled back the game to 51 a peace after ten 3^rd quarter points from Reynoso. Spatcher and Carlton then score back to back shot as the Neptunes took the lead, however the United side continued to battle hard and pull two points back from Joe Matthews before Simon Taylor hit an inside move on the buzzer against his former club to give the Neptunes a 59-55 lead. The Neptunes controlled the 4^th quarter with the help of Mark Gledhill who came off the bench and was solid as he picked up a handful of rebounds and a well work score in the paint. Neptunes closed the game out from the line to keep their hopes alive of qualifying through the pool stage of the Patrons Cup. 

After the game Northampton Captain Mark Spatcher said “It was a strange game to get settled into, really just down to the fact that the referring was just a little inconsistent and you add that to us not doing some of the basic things well it made it a bit of a frustrating afternoon. Having said that I feel that was probably one of our weaker games we’ve had out of the four that we’re played so far but we still won, so there’s still lots of positive we can take from the game, also I think all the supporters enjoyed the game what with it being close so hopefully we’ll see them all back in two weeks when we take on West Herts which will probably be the decider on who gets through our pool”. 

Top scorer for the Neptunes were Joe Reynoso who had (23), Simon Taylor with (18) and Mike Mcleod chipped in with 17 points. 

The Neptunes now travel to last years National Cup finalist the Reading Rockets in what looks to be a tough game to overcome if they are to progress to the 4^th round of the Cup.

DERBY TRAILBLAZERS 63   WNC MANSFIELD EXPRESS 61  

Billed as the night big time basketball came home to Derby since the demise of Derby Storm in 1999 this was going to be some basketball game and that was how it turned out. . The arena starting filling up very early for this clash in the Moorways Centre and they came out in their hundreds and did not go away disappointed. 

This is going to be an epic season against the Trailblazers and is the first of two Patrons Cup games and two league games. The win two weeks ago against Leicester meant nothing as last seasons Divison 3 North and Play off winners against the Express record of runners up in Division 2.  

The signing of England Star David ‘TinTin’ Watts from Belgium has provided a big shock in the Basketball world but reinforces the growing reputation of the clubs as a place to go as coach Chris Squire pushes towards a possible Division 1 spot next season. 

The game provides serious rivalry between two clubs with serious connections, Chris Squire ex of Derby Storm now coaching Mansfield Express and captain Matt Shaw an ex Derby favourite, the former player coach of Express, Martin Ford, was now shirting up for the Trailblazers. All that aside there was to be no prisoners taken in this match up. 

The game started with Derby storming into a 5 point lead before Michael Elland came in with a long three pointer before Ben Middleton came in with two of his own to level the scores. Points from the home teams influential Simon Allaway put Derby back in front before newcomer David Watts fired in a massive three to put Express in the lead for the first time. Points from the Trailblazer’s Tim Lascelles and free throws from Martin Ford pushed Derby into a 5 point lead before points from Middleton, Blankley and Watts brought it level at 15-15 before right on the buzzer Derby’s Tim Lascelles hit a buzzer breaking 3 point shot to send Derby into a 3 point first quarter lead. The whole time Express guard was getting some serious attention but still managed 4 assists in the quarter. 

David Watts was starting to impose himself on the game with some serious points and rebounds and assisted by points from Ben Middleton, Martyn Blankley, Gary Collins and Matt Shaw Mansfield were starting to look as though they were taking control of the game. This despite the fact that they were not playing at their free flowing best with lots of shots being put up and them not going down. It looked as though Express would go in with a five point lead but Lascelles was left with lots of space and he hit a 2 point shot to bring the game back to a 37- 34 lead at the half for Express. David Watts was leading the Express scoring with 15 personal at this stage, follwed by Ben Middleton on eight.  

Coach Chris Squire had been changing the formation throughout bringing in the youngsters on the bench to blood them in a red hot atmosphere and the third quarter was to be no exception. Derby changed their tactics and put Simon Allaway on Matt Shaw to try and stop his influence on the game, despite that Mansfield managed to keep control of the scoring with ten points from Watts, great 3 pointers from Jamie McGaffin and Gary Collins and points from Watts that was until 23 seconds to go when Simon Spencer gave Derby the lead with just 23 seconds to go. This was countered by a late lay up from Martyn Blankley to put Express leading at the end of the third by just 1 point at 54-53. At this point in the game the lead had changed 15 times and biggest gap in scoring was only 7 points during the whole game. The large Derby Crowd were getting seriously revved up by the atmosphere and were pushing their team to the limit.  

Watts pushed the Express lead out to three points before Derby pushed the home side into a two point lead at 58-56, but defences were on top in this final quarter. A significant point in the game came after two and a half minutes of the final quarter when Martyn Blankley, unaware that he was on four fouls was called for his fifth and was therefore to take no further part in the game. The only points for Express in this final quarter were made from the free throw line except for one field goal from Gary Collins. With the score at 59-59 and Matt Shaw temporarily on the bench a steal by Derby brought them back to 61-59, Dave Watts hit two free throws to bring the score back level with the crowd at this point out of their seats. With 23 seconds to go the trailblazers hit the lead from a 2 point shot from Alistair Hills and despite valiant attempts by the Express players they were unable to pull the game back. 

Valuable court time was given to 17 year old Dominic Murphy, a debut for newcomer Mark Jones and Sean Dilks.

Top Scorers:

Express: Watts 28, Middleton 9, Blankley 7, Collins 7, Shaw 4, McGaffin/ Elland3.

Trailblazers: Allaway 17, Spencer 14, Lascelles 13.

Sunday saw Derby beat Leicester Warriors 67-60 which makes next Saturdays game at the MLC significant and Express will need to win by at least three points if they are to progress to the semi finals and then win their last group game at Leicester.

The Express team were not at their fluent best for this Patrons Cup Tie and are looking forward to this Saturdays second leg return of the Derby Trailblazers to Mansfield Leisure Centre this Saturday at 8.00 pm. Coach Squire is appealing to all Basketball fans to show up and support Mansfield as the Derby fans clearly helped their team to victory.  Please use the discount voucher in the Chad to enjoy a great night out. The game is preceded by a Notts Nova trial game which tips off at 6 pm, please be there early to guarantee your seat. 

17/09/05

Warriors back on track with nail-biting home win vs Northampton – Warriors 91, Neptunes 89 

UH West Herts Warriors knew that they faced a tough game against the recently strengthened Northampton side they faced twice last season. The signings of point guard Ross Carlton, and small forward Simon Taylor have given the Neptunes the luxury of 2 more offensively gifted players to add to the trio of Cachia Reynoso, Mark Spatcher and Mike McLeod. Their demolition of National League newcomers, Lincolnshire Wildcats the previous week signalled their determination to be one of the top teams in Div 2 this season. Warriors meanwhile were trying to recover from a shock loss to Hackney in the National Cup, and with the Patrons Cup being a realistic goal for the club, a win was essential for West Herts. 

Coach Tony Harrison welcomed back Jock Mackay from an ankle injury, and also introduced seven foot centre Ritchie Burgess to the home fans for his first full Warriors cap. With captain Craig Tye being ruled out by doctors for another 5 weeks, and Luke Patterson and Martin Dyke also unavailable, the team was still missing it’s starting guards though. Centre Rafe Abrook started although was struggling with a back injury, and was clearly limited in mobility. Northampton took the early initiative jumping out to a 7 – 2 lead through Spatcher, Reynoso and Taylor, before West Herts responded through Sahr Komba, Tayo Odulaja and Burgess to take the lead 11 – 7. With Warriors putting pressure on Neptune’s main danger man, Spatcher the ball was fed inside to Reynoso who took advantage throughout the game, scoring from close range and getting the 3 West Herts big men into foul trouble. The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the first quarter with Burgess and fellow new signing, Gary Maitland adding to their tally along with vice captain Jock Mackay who’s high intensity defence and floor burning attempted ball saves were causing Neptunes problems. Burgess was blocking shots inside, but also attracting the attention of the referee, and had to be subbed prematurely. 

Up 21 – 16 going into the second quarter, Warriors then allowed Reynoso to single handedly pull Neptunes back into the game with 6 unanswered points. Warriors response was to move the ball around on offense and force tough shots out of the Neptunes shooters, and with James Tye sharing the ball around and Mackay and Odulaja running in fast break baskets (including an emphatic slam from Tayo in traffic), the home team were able to offset Reynoso’s damage. Now warmed up, Abrook was also able to get into the mix and scored the next 6pts for Warriors from inside and out, and a 12-0 run was put together to enable Warriors to finish the first half up 48 – 37. 

The second half began as the first half ended, with Warriors all over Neptunes from the re-start. With Reynoso resting on the bench, Northampton had no response for West Herts arsenal, and for 6 minutes Northampton were held to just one made field goal to make the score 68 – 42 to Warriors. Odulaja was at his best, hitting threes and running in his trademark highlight reel dunks off the break, ably assisted by Komba who scored consistently on drives and pull up jump shots throughout the game. With Coach Harrison resting starters to allow his bench some court time, he was mindful that Reynoso was back on for the second half of the quarter and had started scoring again. With Northampton slowly mounting a comeback, the shots that weren’t falling for their shooters earlier started to drop, and Warriors responded by forcing things at the other end. Nevertheless a comfortable 76 – 54 lead was taken into the final quarter where things really got interesting. 

Another two for Odulaja and a three pointer for Tye stretched the lead back to 81 – 54 before things really went downhill for the home team. A 12-0 run for Neptunes got their confidence back, and their defence got tougher. Warriors players tried to dribble out of trouble when a pass would have been safer, and Burgess, Mackay and Abrook continued to pick up fouls defending Reynoso, meaning Coach Harrison could only have one of his big men on court at any time. A 7 minute scoring drought for Warriors that saw only Maitland and Komba get on the scoreboard allowed Neptunes to close the gap to 85 – 78, before Abrook calmed nerves with a jump shot as the shot clock expired. After another Reynoso two, Odulaja responded himself to make the score 89 – 80 with a minute and a half left. A series of bad passes and other turnovers gave the ball back to Northampton, and a Reynoso put back, a Carlton three, and a McLeod lay up brought the score to 89 – 87 in the final minute. After a foul in the backcourt, Odulaja stepped to the foul line to coolly ice two free throws, before Alex Birch responded with two of his own for Northampton. With only seconds remaining a missed shot inside for Reynoso was then gathered near the baseline by James Tye who appeared to have been fouled by Devon Adams. The officials took some time deciding the course of action which rightfully resulted in two free throws for Tye. Despite missing both with just under 3 seconds left, the second rebound was grabbed by Abrook and the game was won. 

Despite finishing the game poorly, Coach Harrison was pleased with some of the things he saw from his team, and was confident that the team can build on the positives. Warriors have no fixture this weekend, but are seeking a friendly on the Sunday when they were originally due to host Reading on providing they had beaten Hackney in the first round of the National Cup. 

West Herts Scorers: Tayo Odulaja 30, Sahr Komba 19, Rafe Abrook 13, Gary Maitland 10, James Tye 7, Ritchie Burgess 6, Jock Mackay 6, Terry Rose, Jean Paul Cox, Flo Pfeifer

Northampton Scorers: Cachia Reynoso 38, Mark Spatcher 12, Mike McLeod 11, Simon Taylor 10, Alex Birch 9, Ross Carlton 8, Devon Adams 1, Mark Gledhill, Ben Knight

Team Spirit wins the game 

WNC Mansfield Express 95

Leicester Warriors 72

Match report by Philip Mitchell 

With the return of Martyn Blankley and Michael Elland to the Express squad and Ben Middleton making his home debut, this was a chance for the whole team to prove themselves after a disappointing loss at Aston Athletics last weekend. Leicester Warriors were also looking for their first win as they had also lost last weekend, so coach Dick Barrett was looking for an impressive display  

The game started very scrappy and it took over 90 seconds before the deadlock was broken, with Jamie McGaffin and Gary Collins scoring to open up a 6-0 lead. Courtney Davis and Sam O’Shea scored for the Warriors, but with a reply form Collins the score had opened up to 8-4 to Express. With the score increasing a rapid rate through Collins for Express and Drew Barrett and Davis for Warriors. Matt Shaw and Sean Dilks added more baskets for Express, only for O’Shea to the and reduce the deficit, but the score finished 20-12 to Express, with Ben Middleton getting his first basket on his new home court. 

The second quarter started well for Express as they had managed to open a 30 –15 lead through Middleton, Collins, Shaw and Elland. Only through Drew Barrett did the Warriors attempt to keep up with the game. Express the worked hard against the Warriors, both teams trading baskets in a lacklustre mid-second quarter and both teams were starting to amass turnovers. With the score at 35-23 to Express, Paul Chamberlain and Dilks added to the score with replies from Drew Barrett, who then collected a technical foul for dissent against the official. Shaw, Blankley and Elland piled on the pressure with only a solitary reply from Dave Greenaway for the Warriors. 

The third quarter started in the same vein as the second with Blankley and McGaffin scoring early on for Express only through pressure did the Warriors keep up with the pace with the score at 52-36 to Express. After a time out there were more baskets from Express including a tip in from Blankley and pressure from Dilks and Middleton. Only through late baskets from Drew Barrett and Tomas Sobiech did the Warriors managed to keep the deficit at a reasonable margin at 68 – 47 to Express. 

In the final quarter Greenaway and Davis scored early on for the Warriors only for McGaffin to score consecutive 3-pointers to put the score at 74-55 in favour of Express. Both sets of players were starting to amass personal fouls. Elland, Dilks, Blankley and Middleton applied more pressure only through Drew Barrett and Greenaway did the Warriors managed to keep pace with the game. Craig Swinton and Martin Richards were even getting in on the action scoring two good baskets including a pressure basket from Swinton with one second left. Collins score the last basket for Express and Greenaway for the opposition, with the score finishing 95 – 72 to Express.

Top scorer for Express:- Blankley 16, Dilks 15, Collins 13

Warriors: - Barrett 23, Davis 17, Greenway 17

After the game coach Squire commented ‘ this was a team effort tonight – everybody on the bench did their bit – all the players got court time and everybody scored

Express have a break at the weekend, the next game is away on the 1^st October at Derby Trailblazers – with a revised tip off and venue time. The new venue is Moorways Sports Centre, Moor Lane (off A5111 Osmaston Park Road -Outer Ring Road) Derby – Telephone 01332 363686