REVIEW - Team Solent Kestrels and Anglia Ruskin maintain undefeated records!

NBL Division One

Thames Valley Cavaliers 98 v 61 Leicester Warriors 

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 6.00pm

Live Stats

Thames Valley Cavaliers grabbed a commanding victory over their East Midlands' visitors, the Leicester Warriors, on Saturday evening, as an up-tempo start to the contest saw Coach Robert Banks' side quickly run away with the game. Building a double digit lead after the first quarter, the West London squad had to withstand a good start to the second half from the away side, before running away with this one down the stretch. The win sees the Cavs improve to 3-2, while Leicester slide down the table with a 1-5 record. 

Walid Mumuni came off the bench to pace the hosts with 18 points and four rebounds, while Martelle McLemore led the starting group a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, adding four assists and two steals. Aiden Saunders chipped in 15 points, three rebounds and two assists, as Abdoulaye Sylla rounded out the double figure scorers with 13 points and seven rebounds. Lamin Willan was the high-point man for the Warriors with 17 points and six rebounds, while Brian Orr added 14 points and seven rebounds. Joshua Pollock and Martyn Gayle added 11 and 10, respectively, in the loss for Coach Karl Brown's unit.

 

Manchester Magic vs Barking Abbey Crusaders

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 6.30pm

A broken down minibus meant Barking Abbey Crusaders were unable to get to this fixture, stranded on the M6 near Birmingham, leaving this game to be replayed later on in the season.

 

Hemel Storm 84 v 114 Bradford Dragons

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 7.00pm

Live Stats

Bradford Dragons got back to winning ways with a dominant win on the road at Hemel Storm, reversing the woes of their disappointing double-header a week ago and finding their scoring touch again. The Dragons were sharp out of the gates, despite trailing in the early exchanges they went on to score 31 points in the first quarter and jump out to a double digit lead. The Dragons were breathing fire from outside the arc as they knocked down 11 triples on 45% shooting for the game, on their way to a 30 point lead mid-way through the third period that they held until the final buzzer. 

Bradford's impressive victory came without starting point guard Drexler Clark, as they were paced by Andreas Lycoudis' 25 points and nine rebounds. Jermayne Laing added 22 points, four assists and two steals, while Ricky Fetske posted a double-double of 18 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Rihards Sulcs joined Fetske in double-double territory with 17 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Rafael Saipe continued his impressive form since his comeback to the side, chipping in 19 points, four rebounds and six assists, while big man Allie Fullah came off the bench to contribute 10 points and six rebounds. Levi Noel did the heavy lifting for Hemel in the loss, as the guard had 22 points to pace his side, adding six rebounds and two assists. Tom Adorian added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Leome Francis came off the bench to chip in 10 points and three rebounds. Captain Bode Adeluola contributed all over the box score with nine rebounds, six rebounds and seven assists in the loss for the Storm.

 

Worthing Thunder 104 v 86 Essex Leopards

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 7.30pm

Live Stats

After being dealt their first loss of the campaign last weekend at the hands of the league-leading Team Solent Kestrels, Worthing Thunder got back to winning ways with an impressive performance against basement club Essex Leopards. The loss sees the Leopards fall to 0-5, as they continue to search for a maiden victory in their return to the top flight, despite knocking down 13 trifectas in this contest. The hosts jumped out to an early lead in front of the Thunderdome faithful, never looking back as the lead grew again to end the third period. 

Pacing the win for player-coach Josh Goddard's side was an impressive scoring explosion from Zaire Taylor who dropped 38 points on 15-25 shooting. The Worthing veteran knocked down four three-pointers, and added seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in an all-round effort. Alex Owumi had a similarly notable tally as he scored 23 points on 10-18 shooting, with 14 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Brendan Okoronkwo also added a double-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals in the Thunder victory. Captain Sam Newman led the effort for Coach Thomas Baker's squad, dropping 20 points, including shooting 6-12 from from behind the three-point line, adding eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Big man Lee Hodges chipped in 14 points and five rebounds. 

 

Team Solent Kestrels 89 v 56 Derby Trailblazers

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 7.30pm

Live Stats

Billed as the titanic battle of the two remaining undefeated teams in NBL Division One, this match-up on the south coast became somewhat of a disappointing non-contest, despite competitive early exchanges. The Blazers led for portions of the first period, but the Kestrels held a narrow three point lead heading into the second stanza. That would be the closest Derby would come, as an offensive explosion mid-way through the second quarter saw their lead grow to 20 in a flash. Coach Matt Shaw's side competed throughout a well-contested third period, before both coaches emptied their benches and the Kestrels depth saw them pull away dramatically. A commanding 7-0 record sees the Kestrels well in control of the league just over a quarter of the way through the regular season, while Derby drop to third behind Worthing with their 5-1 record. 

Nick Lewis paced the Kestrels once again, as the dynamic guard came off the bench for 21 points, three rebounds and two assists. Recent signing Travis Charles shot 7-11 from the floor as he added a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, while captain Louie Kirkman chipped in 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Chris Scarlett knocked down four three-pointers off the bench to add 12 points to the Kestels' scoring effort. Meanwhile, in a relatively quiet night, Malcom Smith had 16 points and six rebounds to lead the Blazers, joined in double figures by Tre-Shawn Wilford who added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kayne King was the only other player to hit double digits for Derby, as their starting guard chipped in 10 points and three assists.

Coach Matt Shaw reflected after his side's defeat, "Full credit to Solent; they were excellent on the night. We really didn’t get anything going offensively, we didn’t shoot the ball at all well and when you come up against a team like Solent you can’t afford to shoot the low percentage like we did."

Shaw continued, speaking highly of their opposition, "We missed some open looks but credit to Matt Guymon and his team, because they made us work for everything and forced us to take a lot of tough ones. They have a lot of threats and we couldn’t contain them as well as we’d have liked to particularly in the first half. The positive is that we know we have and we can perform a lot better than we did today, so we need to work to get back up to that level for next week."

 

In an exciting addition to the Kestrels' game day experience, fans at Places Leisure Eastleigh had a chance at a £100 prize in a half-time shootout from half-court! Congratulations to Kestrels' U16 Elliot Goddard who swished the final shot of the shootout to take home the cash!

 

Manchester Magic 73 v 72 Team Newcastle 

Sunday 11 November 2018 - 5.00pm

Live Stats

Manchester Magic picked up their first win of the league season with a single point triumph over the travelling Team Newcastle. In a repeat of their overtime thriller in the National Trophy pool stage, the Magic fans were again treated to a close contest, which saw the hosts battle back after trailing most of the game to improve their record to 1-4 on the season thus far. A close first quarter would see the home side fall behind the in the closing minutes, as Newcastle began to build a lead that they would hold for most of the game. The Magic trailed until a Kayin Darbey jumper put them up 65-64 with 2:49 on the clock, a lead that they would hold until the final buzzer, despite the best efforts of Coach Ian Hewitt and his squad. 

Josh Houghton hit two free throws to ice the game for Coach Aurimas Verbukas, two of his 24 points on the night. Houghton added four rebounds and four assists to his scoring effort, which was supported by a 10 point, 10 rebound double-double off the bench from Richard Bell. Import big man Jonathan Barnes continued his run of impressive performances over the last couple of weeks as he pulled down 10 rebounds of his own to go with eight points. 

 

 Reading Rockets 97 v 80 Hemel Storm 

Sunday 11 November 2018 - 5.00pm

Live Stats

Hemel Storm completed their back-to-back by heading on the road to Reading for a Sunday afternoon match-up at Rivermead. The game wouldn't go as planned for Coach Robert Youngblood's visiting squad, as they dropped a second game in as many days, as Reading pulled away late on in this one. The hosts pulled away for a narrow lead early on, but Hemel were ready to make this a contest, as the lead changed hands throughout the second and third periods. Only a Blayne Freckleton technical free throw got the Storm on the board in the first four minutes of the fourth, as a 20-1 run from Coach Alan Keane's side killed off the game in the early stages of the final stanza. The visitors would pull it back to a 10 point deficit, but a flurry of scores down the stretch saw the Rockets pull away again for good.

Starting point guard Adrian O'Sullivan poured in 32 points on 12-18 shooting to lead the Rockets, adding seven rebounds, three assists and two steals to his effort on the night. Trae Pemberton knocked down five triples to add 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Sydney Donaldson had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. John Madejski Academy's Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo came off the bench to add 13 points and five rebounds in the Reading win. Blayne Freckleton knocked down 11 free throws on his way to a 31 point effort to pace the Storm, while Levi Noel chipped in 13 points and six rebounds. 

 

WNBL Division One

Loughborough Riders 51 v 46 Ipswich

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 2.00pm

Live Stats

Loughborough Riders bounced back from their overtime loss last weekend to grab a victory in a low-scoring affair in the East Midlands. Ipswich would start out hot, scoring 19 points in the first period, before Loughborough figured out how to slow them down as the scoring dried up for the Suffolk squad. The hosts would draw level just before the half before taking a two point lead into the third period, as they controlled proceedings down the stretch with their consistent defensive effort. 

Reigning WBBL Young Player of the Year Holly Winterburn stepped down from the Leicester Riders side to pace Loughborough with 20 points in 33 minutes, as the international break stopped play in the pro league. Winterburn added 10 rebounds and four steals to her effort, crucial contributions to the Riders' win. Lauren Saa chipped in five points, eight rebounds and three assists in support off the bench. Meanwhile, Danielle Cazey led Ipswich with 12 points, including three triples, adding three rebounds and two steals. The only other double figure scorer saw Rebecca Harwood-Bellis make her WNBL Division One debut after injury, as the Great Britain junior international chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Shooting 1-15 on the day, Harriet Welham contributed six points to the effort, but made her impact felt on defense with six steals and seven rebounds. 

 

Anglia Ruskin University 73 v 70 Team Solent Kestrels

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 4.00pm

Live Stats

Anglia Ruskin returned to WNBL Division One action after a number of weeks off to grab a clutch victory over Team Solent which sees them improve to 3-0 on the season. The contest was a real back-and-forth affair, with the lead changing hands minute-by-minute down the stretch. Nadege Talva hit a jumper for ARU to tie things up at 65-65 with just under four minutes to play, before the lead would change hands back-and-forth. Three minutes later Talva gave ARU a 71-69 lead that the hosts would not relinquish, as Najha Treadwell and Talva iced the game at the foul line in the closing stages. 

Talva paced the effort for Coach Matt Harber's side, finishing she 28 points on 12-19 shooting, with four rebounds and two assists. Treadwell added a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds to complete the one-two punch for the Rhinos. Meanwhile, October Player of the Month Geena Gomez kept up her scoring effort with 24 points, three assists and two steals, as Krisztina Velkey came off the bench to chip in 17 points and eight rebounds in the Kestrels' loss.

 

Barking Abbey 72 v 52 Team Birmingham Elite

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 4.00pm

Live Stats

A rough start for Barking Abbey set the table for an impressive second half comeback, as the East London side outscored their Midlands visitors 49-19 in the second half. Barking started the game slow, which allowed Birmingham to jump out to a 8-20 lead after the first period. A more competitive second quarter saw Barking begin the cut the deficit, before they really came into their own out of the half-time team talk. A 25-7 third period saw the lead change hands very quickly, and the hosts never looked back with an equally as dominant final stanza. 

Teresa Da Silva came off the bench to pour in 24 points for the hosts, shooting 9-13 from the floor. The dynamic guard added five rebounds and four steals to her scoring effort, which was supported by three other Barking players who hit double figures. Lilly Annim added a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Ann Sheaia and Precious Adediran chipped in 12 and 11, respectively. Leading Birmingham in the loss was Rebecca Brindley who had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Jessica Cooper chipped in 10 points and six rebounds. 

 

Reading Rockets 61 v 70 Bristol Academy Flyers

Sunday 11 November 2018 - 2.30pm

The WNBL Division One weekend wrapped up with a close game at Rivermead, which saw Bristol Academy Flyers continue their winning run and improve to 5-1 to top the standings. In a game that was dubbed 'the battle of the skies' on Twitter, the Flyers were the quickest off the runway, as they jumped out to a 10-21 lead after the first period. The Rockets cut the lead slightly to trail by nine heading into the interval, but a tied second half saw the Rockets rue their bad start which was the difference in the end. The Rockets fall to 1-3 with the loss, only above the still winless Team Birmingham Elite.

Cristina Bigica continued her impressive debut season with the Flyers, leading all scorers with 23 points on the day. Mai Zibleti chipped in 15 points from the back-court, as Becky Cantin added 13. Monica Herranz de Antonio led the Rockets with 19 points, supported by Candela Hermida Nunez' 11 points, as Academy standouts Carmen Segura Moreno and Noa Sanchez Marques chipped in eight points apiece.

 

NBL Division Two

Myerscough College 70 v 64 East London All Stars

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 2.00pm

Live Stats

Myerscough College got back to winning ways in this one as they overcame a shaky start to down East London in a narrow win. The visitors led early, by as many as 12 points in the second quarter, before a good third quarter performance got the hosts in front - a lead that they would maintain until the final buzzer. 

David Walsh came off the bench for the North West side to lead all scorers with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Mate Okros had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. Rayon Brown chipped in 11 points of his own, as he added four rebounds and eight assists. Samuel Keita rounds out the double figure scorers for the Lancashire-based side with 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Meanwhile, a trio of 12 point scorers paced the All Stars, as Aaron Badibo, Dylan Whitbread and Mark Manovan all hit that mark in a balanced effort. 

 

Greenwich Titans 70 v 87 London Westside

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 3.00pm

Live Stats

The visiting Westside picked up a crucial win in this one which sees them improve to 2-3 on the season, while Greenwich hit the foot of the table with a 1-3 record. Westside controlled this one throughout, holding a narrow lead for much of the contest as it progressed, before unleashing a flurry of scores to begin the fourth which put the game out of reach for the Titans.

Tyrell Isaacs came off the bench for Coach Frank Lamptey to pace his squad with 15 points, while Patrick Omigie had 14 points and three rebounds. Levi Edwards added 12, and Zaid Amini added 11 in the Westside win. Greenwich were led by 13 points from Arturo Noha-Pascual, while Jake Murphy added 12 and Ray Akpofure chipped in 11. 

 

Westminster Warriors 72 v 59 Sussex Bears

Saturday 10 November 2018 - 5.30pm

Live Stats

Westminster improved to 3-1 and second in the standings with a home win over the Sussex Bears on Saturday night, as competitive early exchanges were quickly forgotten when the Warriors pulled away. Holding a double digit lead for much of the game, Westminster won all four quarters en route to an important win, which sees Sussex fall to 2-3 into fifth place. 

Justin Hitchman led all scorers with 20 points and eight rebounds, supported by Juan Manning's 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Fresh off win the NBL Player of the Week award, Cordaris Townes had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebound for the Bears, while Joe Carter came off the bench for 17 points, three rebounds and four assists. James Felstead added 12 points and seven rebounds in the Sussex loss. 

 

Myerscough College 64 v 72 Ipswich

Sunday 11 November 2018 - 3.00pm

Live Stats

Myerscough College's double-header was completely in disappointing style for the hosts as Ipswich shrugged off a long road trip to pinch this one and grab their second win of the campaign. A dominant first period for the visitors saw them jump out to an early lead, before Myerscough would rally just before the half. The travelling side came out of the half-time interval and stretched a six point lead out to 20 mid-way through the third, before Myerscough cut the deficit with a solid final stanza. It was too little too late for the Lancashire-based side, as Ipswich held on their lead to grab a important victory.

Captain Colin Dockrell had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the visitors in a full 40 minutes of action, while Veron Eze led the scoring effort with 21 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Eivydas Aleksa chipped in 14 points of his own, while Ethan Price added 12. Meanwhile, David Walsh was bumped up to the starting five after his impressive game against the All Stars, and he did not disappoint Coach Neal Hopkins, pacing Myerscough in scoring with 17 points, as Lewis McGlasson hit four three-pointers off the bench to add 16. Starting back-court Mate Okros and Corey Samuels were held scoreless in limited minutes. 

 

London United 67 v 71 London Greenhouse Pioneers

Sunday 11 November 2018 - 4.00pm

Live Stats

London United returned from overseas action in the EYBL to head straight into an all-capital derby with London Greenhouse Pioneers on Sunday afternoon, as the visitors pinched a win that sees both sides even out their records at 2-2. The lead was exchanged in the early stages, before Greenhouse pulled away in the third stanza. Impressive offensive output down the stretch saw United score 28 points in the final period, with Modestas Krasauskas cutting the lead to just three points in the closing stages. Timi Tinubu and Mbombo Yegba made crucial free throws down the stretch as the Pioneers held on for the win.

Kyle Diaz continued an impressive few weeks of form to pace Greenhouse with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Francesco Rinaldi and Max Hufschlag added 13 points apiece. Mbombo Yebga also contributed a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds in the Pioneers' win. Marius Talijunas paced United with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Daniel Szatkowski and Dovydas Rudik chipped in 14 points apiece in the loss. 

 

Derbyshire Arrows 77 v 85 Liverpool

Sunday 11 November 2018 - 4.00pm

A close game early on saw the Arrows competing with undefeated league-leaders Liverpool, before the North West side pulled away just before the half to take a seven point lead into the interval. The hosts would cut the lead to just two points heading into the final 10 minutes, but Coach Delme Herriman's squad showed composure down the stretch to take home a single digit victory as they improved to 5-0 on the season.

The Merseysiders were missing David Ulph and Kenny Ogunneye in this one, which saw Mark Rangeley step up to drop 24 points and six rebounds, supported by 18 points, five rebounds and three steals from Jack Hudson. James Lench came off the bench to add 16 points on 7-13 shooting, with four rebounds and three steals. Meanwhile, Joseph Baugh paced Derbyshire with 23 points, 13 rebounds and three steals, as he was supported by 15 points and 12 rebounds from Matt Wilson. Naphtali Nembhard added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Callum McKenzie chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. 

 

For full Scores & Schedules from this weekend's action, click the link below: