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NBL Review: Teesside extend cushion
NBL Conference: Teesside 107-98 Plymouth
2002 could not have got off to a better start for TVL Mohawks, with a comfortable 107-98 home win over reigning champions Plymouth Raiders kicking off the year. And with arch rivals Worthing Thunder suffering a shock home defeat at the hands of Solent Stars, that now leaves the side out on their own at the top of the Conference with the only 100% record.
Raiders, who arrived at Eston Sports Academy with the only other unbeaten tag, were expected to provide tough opposition. But there was never any doubt as to which side was going to win as Mohawks never really needed to stretch themselves.
Mohawks’ Ralph Bucci who, with 35 points was the games’ top scorer, admitted that his side expected more of a challenge from last season’s double winners: “We really expected it to be tougher,” said the New Yorker. “But after losing three times to them last season we had something to prove.
“We played well after not being around each other for a couple of weeks over Christmas, but we came out and hit a lot of shots, making it much easier than we thought it would be.”
With Raiders first off the mark through Drew Samuels, while Bucci missed an easy-looking layup and a Harrison basket was cancelled out by the referee for travelling, the early exchanges suggested a much closer tussle might be on the cards
Within seconds though, two converted free throws from Bucci after the first of three fouls in the first quarter by Rod Wellington, levelled up the scores at 2-2, before Mohawks took a lead which they would never relinquish with a basket from Jason Swaine in the second minute.
A 6 point advantage (26-20) at the end of the first session was extended to 10 within two minutes of the second quarter through Bucci and Swaine, who was beginning to find the target with his three-pointers. Another two from outside the arc before the interval from the Yorkshireman, who finished with 7 threes in his 25 point tally, helped extend the lead to 14 entering the half time break.
More important though, was Mohawks shackling of Plymouth’s star man Todd Cetnar. The American guard came in for some special attention from EJ Harrison, who made life extremely difficult and restricted his scoring to just 8 points for the half.
The third quarter was much more closely fought, with Plymouth fighting back to reduce the gap to only 7 at one stage after a 15-8 run with Samuels the key player. But Mohawks regrouped and again carved out a 15 point lead (79-64) by seeing out the quarter with a 13-5 run of their own through Swaine, Harrison, Bucci and James Nicholson.
With the 15 point cushion still intact midway through the final period, the game was effectively over as a contest and the two league points just about in the bag, at which point Mohawks took their foot off the gas.
It was a gesture greatly appreciated by the visitors, and particularly Cetnar, who was happy to take advantage of the side’s generosity as he piled up 18 points as Raiders won the session by 6 to leave Tony Hanson’s side with just a 9 point win.
But Raiders tactics of constantly fouling for the last minute saw Mohawks frustratingly unable to score in open play, and only 7 points added to their total over the final 60 seconds - all from the free throw line.
Coach Hanson admitted to being disappointed that his side relaxed and gave Raiders a couple of free baskets right at the end of the game. He said: “That was a sort of let down, but it’s the result that counts.”
Hanson heaped praise on Harrison’s defensive work. He said: “Todd Cetnar is such a good player. But EJ is a marvellous defender and with him around we could focus on keeping Cetnar out, which he did very well.”
Jon Stonebridge made his comeback from injury and enjoyed a few minutes of action, although failing to get his name on the scoresheet, while the frustration continues for Pete Knechtel.
After missing the pre-Christmas game against another former club, Worthing, due to injury, the Canadian also missed lining up against his Plymouth teammates of last season after his flight from the United States was grounded due to snowstorms in Colorado.
Fortunately Bucci and Harrison picked their flights well. Had they delayed their departures by 24 hours, they too would have been stranded.
With the side’s main challengers both safely despatched, fans could be forgiven for thinking that the league title could find its way back into the Eston trophy cabinet again. But Hanson and Bucci both take a more cautious outlook. Bucci said: “We might look like the team to beat and we are in the driving seat, but there is still a long way to go,” while Hanson added: “The Conference will be very tight, so this result was important. But everyone will be raising their game when they play us.”
Solent 94 Worthing 86
With Duane Laight, Alan McDonald and Dimitry La Coix all unavailable, Solent went into this game with no recognised guard. Coach Mark Scott decided to suit up to cover for the lack of numbers. Worthing were without Dwayne Martin.
Solent opened brightly and established a 8 - 3 lead by the third minute with Marlin Capers grabbing five of those points. Nic OHarabe gave Solent good service off the boards but picked up two early fouls in doing so. John Bynum could not find his shooting touch in the first quarter, but provided a string of telling passes from the guard position. Solent were able to keep ahead throughout the quarter.
Good defensive play kept Worthing at bay in the second quarter whilst Solent were able to extend their lead gradually. The main scoring for Solent in the second quarter was done through John Bynum and Alan
Cunningham who accounted for 19 of Solent's 23 points. Solent went in at half time with an 11 point advantage (50 - 39) having been joined on court by Mark Scott for the last 30 seconds of the half.This points difference was maintained for the first five minutes of the third quarter (58 - 49) by which time the inexperience of Nic OHarabe had cost him his fifth foul. However, Solent then lost their way with the two Americans unable to hit the target and Worthing grabbing the rebounds. Worthing came back to lead 63 - 64 going in to the last minute of the quarter. In this period, Capers reached his fourth foul. Two late baskets by Alan Cunningham and a three pointer from Worthing's Mundy-Castle tied the scores at 67 all
going into the last quarter.Worthing took an early intitiative in the final quarter to lead 69-73. Solent then scored six unanswered points, including Mark Scott's first contribution. The flashpoint of the game came in the fifth minute with Solent trailing by just two points when a clash of players under the Worthing board left Alan Cunningham with a gashed scalp as he and Mundy-Castle went for the loose ball. The consequent bleeding meant that Cunningham had to leave the court. Steve Davison then scored his (and Solent's) second three pointer of the game as the Solent squad rallied to overcome its loss of players. Worthing again took the lead in the seventh minute 82 - 84. With Mark Scott on court it was left to his assistant Steve Fitzsimons to guide the Solent squad through the last quarter and his time-out in the seventh minute proved decisive. Chris St Omer, replacing Cunningham, added four points and grabbed some crucial rebounds as Solent restricted Worthing to just two points in the final three minutes.
Inter Basket London 62 Reading Rockets 97
Inter Basket London fell to a disappointing 62-97 home defeat in the National League Conference match
played at the Space Centre in Hackney on Saturday.A disastrous first quarter left the East Londoners trailing by 30 points to 9 as Reading totally dominated proceedings. The home side were surprisingly tentative at the offensive end, which allowed their opponents to either score on a fast break or set up their well structured offences to create easy scoring opportunities.
For Reading, Damon Cooper and Ted Smith were controlling the play and with John Hodds very effective
close to the basket, the match was almost beyond doubt after just 10 minutes play.Despite a better performance in the second period, with Ben Smart contributing eight points, the margin had increased to 47-20 at the half time interval; Hodds already with 14 points for Rockets.
The third stanza saw Reading's new American, David Washington, come more to the fore as he scored
his side's first six points. Inter were beginning to show more heart in their play but three successive 3-point shots from Cooper and Smith quickly knocked them back as the lead approached 40. For the home side Grant Ebanja took the initiative and his 11 points in the quarter were the only real highlight for the home supporters.The final period opened with two more 3-pointers for Reading's Cooper, giving him seven for the evening, as his side threatened to run riot. Inter replied with an 8-0 run, with the teams then trading baskets for the remainder of the contest.
The match ended in a bizarre fashion as a number of the home players received technical fouls from the two officials, whose performance had left players and spectators baffled throughout the evening. A sorry end to a disappointing night for the London team
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