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Jackson's inaction dulls Stars                     Weekly Round-Up NBL Conference: Solent 89 Oxford 111 A clearly disappointed Solent Stars coach, Mark Scott, kept his team in the changing room for some time after this home defeat at the hands of Oxford Devils.  Whilst the loss of influential guard Mark Jackson for most of the third quarter had much to do with the Solent downfall, the coach was obviously upset that no other player in the team had been able to take command on court as Oxford tore the Solent defence to shreds. The game had started well enough for the home team with early three pointers from David Butterworth and Jackson giving Solent an instant edge.  By the seventh minute, Solent led by 7 points (23 - 16) and looked to be in control, before a late rally by Oxford brought them back to just two points (28 - 26) at the first interval.  Solent's lead could have been bigger but for two missed layups on the buzzer and their only concern was two fouls charges against Butterworth who had scored nine of Solent's points. Dominique Jones figured in Solent's early scoring in the second quarter with five early points.  With Alan McDonald, Butterworth, Jackson and John Neale all weighing in, Solent established a 51 - 40 point lead by the sixth minute.  However they were unable to add to that point tally in the last four minutes as Oxford, once more, clawed their way back into the game to trail by just three points at the half time interval   (51 - 48). The turning point for Solent came in the second minute of the third quarter when Jackson twisted his ankle and was forced to leave the game with Solent just two points in the lead after a scrappy opening when neither side had been able to score in the first minute. Although Solent managed to keep pace with the Oxford rate of scoring for five minutes, two quick Oxford three pointers opened up a nine point lead for the visitors (63 - 72).  Solent called a time out to try to stem the flow but a series of three pointers from Oxford's Phil Alexander (four in the quarter) sank Solent without trace as they managed only two points from the free throw line in the same period.   Whereas Solent had been guilty of just five turnovers with Jackson on court, nine turnovers were conceded in the third quarter alone. Having been outscored 14 - 37 in the third quarter, Solent then had only pride to play for.  Jackson returned for the final quarter with a heavily strapped ankle, but Solent could make no headway against the 20 point deficit and frustration mounted as Trevor Donaldson gave away a technical foul and Solent failed to find any fluency in their play, despite the extra training session that they had arranged during the last week after their victory over Manchester.  Solent's only consolation was that they had managed to score more than the England cricket team on the same evening.   Plymouth Raiders: 102  Manchester Magic: 91 With all his players able to travel and a new, exciting prospect playing his first game for the Club, coach Jeff Jones must have felt confident about the trip to Plymouth, even though it has not been a productive venue for the Magic in previous seasons.  The opening quarter was evenly matched, ending with the Raiders holding a narrow 25-23 lead. The first three minutes of the second quarter went the same way, but a sudden lack of concentration and poor shot selection by the Magic meant they were outscored 33-20 in the quarter by the Raiders who led 58-43 at the half. Despite some stern words from their coach at the interval, the Magic fell further behind, until Jones had one of his inspired substitutions. Adam Slater, who has played very little part in this season’s Trophy games, came on and inspired his teammates to some tough defence, which caused the Raiders to turn the ball over. This led to an 18-2 run and the Magic ended the third quarter down by only 77-71. In the last quarter, they closed the gap to 6 points, but they then had to foul for possession and the Raiders converted 7 from 8 to take the game by 11 points. Good aspects for the Magic were a splendid 37 points from Steven Gayle, another captain’s game from Wayne Mulgrave, with excellent shooting numbers and a promising debut by the young Spanish forward Jacob Molina, who led the team in rebounds.   NBL Trophy quarter-finals Teesside 99 Hackney 80 TVL Mohawks marched on towards their fifth successive National Trophy final appearance with a comfortable 99-80 victory over Hackney White Heat in the quarter finals at Eston Sports Academy. But it came 24 hours after their dream of National Cup glory is over after suffering a 24 point reverse at the hands of Thames Valley Tigers.  Head coach, Tony Hanson said:  “We won the one we were expected to win and lost the one we were expected to lose, so there were no surprises.  But I am very proud of the team and the effort they put into both games.  I think that effort will pay dividends for us later.” The Hackney side did not look to have suffered from a late dash from the capital for the fixture and clearly thought that with Tony Hanson’s side focused more on Sunday’s high-stakes cup game they could take advantage of the situation.   And until Carl Miller sank a three pointer to start a decisive break in the second minute of the second quarter they really looked capable of stretching the home side to the limit when they least needed such a tough challenge. Ultimately though, Mohawks always had enough in hand to keep their noses in front and Hanson could afford to bench his top performers for long periods to keep a little in reserve for the Thames Valley game. Ten ahead at the halfway stage, and double that number by the sixth minute of the third quarter, all eyes really were fixed on events at Reading, where first division Derbyshire were treating their conference league rivals to an agonising 1 point defeat.   Ralph Bucci top-scored for the home side with 18, Aussie Steve Pilkington getting to within a point with a well-taken 17.  But limited court time forced an unusual spread of scoring on the home side with no single player stealing the limelight.  The star of the show was undoubtedly White Heats’ Damion Modeste, who helped himself to a huge 34 point total. The side now faces the semi final test they were waiting for with a trip to Derbyshire Arrows, who three weeks ago became the first outfit to defeat Mohawks in the competition for over four years, on December 8.   Tony Hanson said the game was another learning curve for his side:  “We are going through a patch where we are trying to find ourselves and games like this, where we are playing under pressure against one of the sport’s top teams, don’t really help.  But the experience will benefit us in the end.”       Reading Rockets 69 Derbyshire Arrows 70 Rockets crashed out of the National Trophy when they lost by one point to NBL Division I team Derby shire Arrows having lead for most of the game. A disappointed Head Coach Matt Johnson was philosophical after the game "We lost because they scored one more point than us, and because we failed to adjust our team dynamics to combat the Derby defense". Three consecutive possession turnovers and four misses from the free throw line all in the final quarter gave Derby an opening and they took their chance. The first quarter was fast, physical and fairly even and started well for Rockets when new signing Jermaine Williams making his debut opened the home teams scoring with a fade away shot for two points. There was a lot of good movement from Rockets but Derby's defense was well organised and difficult to break down. At 12 each with two minutes remaining Rockets piled on the pressure and had Derby not made an amazing three on the buzzer their 18-15 lead would have been deservedly more.  Although Derby took first possession in the second quarter they ran out of time due to some very intense defensive work, particularly by Captain Ted Smith and Damon Cooper. Williams made an interception for Cooper to make an easy two and he scored two more from the line after being fouled. Smith then drove through a sea of defenders and scored an impossible lay up for a 26-19 lead and a Derby time out. Rockets maintained their slender lead to the end of the quarter and appeared to be in control of the game and were well worth the 37-31 advantage. After a series of fouls on Ted Smith at the start of the third quarter Derby noticeably upped their tempo lead by their player/coach Garnet Gayle who also demonstrated his refereeing ambitions throughout the game, and eventually they leveled the scores at 45 each. Rockets continued to play well with Smith, Hodds and Gardner all working hard. However in the last two minutes Derby enjoyed their best spell of the game and took a 57-54 lead into the final quarter. Reading started the final ten minutes brightly but Derby matched them basket for basket and then arguably came the turning point in the game when Rockets squandered possession on three consecutive offenses which seemed to encourage the Derby players. Lloyd Gardner sank a massive three to keep Rockets level at 64 each but inexplicably Hodds and Smith missed two each from the line. Derby soaked up the pressure mostly standing in the zone and then scoring with a quick break.  Williams produced some magic to cut Rockets deficit to one point at 70-69 with thirty seconds remaining. After nine seconds Rockets managed to gain possession from Derby and Coach Johnson called a time out to organise the next and critical Rockets play. Unfortunately Derby cleverly thwarted the home team's attempt to score and the buzzer sounded signaling Rockets exit from the National Trophy.       Division One: London United 89 Hull Icebergs 71   London United started their National League Division One season on Saturday against Hull with a bang by winning comfortably 89-71. The game was billed as a potential close call however with both teams missing players through injury it seemed as if Hull were the weaker unit right from the start. United were without long term injury star Gary Maitland and also without new signing Ian Burrell due to a training injury, however they have so much depth in their squad it made very little difference. They had Steve Vear (point guard), Sammy Rahman and Tayo Odulaja return to the frame after injuries.   United took an immediate lead in the first quarter of 22-11 with Donal Hockey scoring 10 points and Pete Deppisch scoring 7.  Hull already looked like they would struggle against the much quicker and more athletic United team and that vein continues throughout. By the half United lead 44-27 with Pete Deppisch shooting well from long range and Donal hockey doing the damage inside and out. The United team never really looked as if anything other than a win would be the outcome and Hull player coach Kevin Penny vented his frustration at that fact by exploding in the first half after he had fouled Pete Deppisch. This gave him a technical foul and sent Deppisch to the line to shoot three free throws which he sunk. The game got a little messy in the second half although United were coasting. Tayo Odulaja had an acrobatic Alley Oop dunk from Steve Vear’s pass and was fouled on another couple of attempts. Young centre Alex Kitipis was badly injured on court after being hit with a shoulder to the neck and what looked like a whip lash injury may keep him off court for a couple of weeks. The ambulance had to be called to insure he was not seriously hurt and to the crowds joy he managed to get to his feet after 20 minutes of worry. Hull rallied in the last quarter after the stoppage and managed to reduce the game to a 17 point win for London United. London top scorers were Deppisch 27, Hockey 20.   Mansfield 86 Westminster 93  The Westminster Warriors travelled all the way up the M1 for a tough league clash with the experienced Mansfield Express, looking to extend their winning start to the NBL Division 1 season and moved top of the table with a 93-86 win. Mansfield always provide a daunting challenge at home, which has been magnified this season with the addition of 2 former BBL players, Hilroy Thomas and Drew Barrett (from Leicester Riders) and ex-Milton Keynes/Derby Storm coach Martin Ford. The Express are an experienced, well coached team who are determined to earn themselves a spot in the NBL conference next season by finishing amongst the top teams this year.  For the Warriors, this posed the first real test of how legitimate their own aspirations of a championship really are – playing away from home against an energetic crowd and a skilled Mansfield team. The eager young Warriors were quick to stamp their mark on the game in the first quarter, fast breaking their way to an early 8 point lead, seemingly playing at a pace Mansfield were not used to.  Leon Bernard excelled early on, scoring 2 successive jump shots and grabbing 5 early rebounds. However, Andrew Duncan and Hilroy Thomas were particularly effective inside and pulled Mansfield level at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter got underway, with the aggressive Warrior defense being penalised time after time by the referees – sending key Warrior players Ola Ogidan and Pierre Henry-Fontaine to the bench.  In their absence, Thomas and Duncan continued to dominate inside play and gave Mansfield a 4 point lead at the half, ending the quarter 41-37 ahead. The third quarter saw Mansfield go up by as many as 11, and threatening to break the game wide open – with the Warriors languishing in foul trouble.  However, inspirational play by guards Darren Sutherland and Jack Gibbons brought the Warriors back to within 4 points by the end of the third.  Sutherland, in particular caused the Mansfield defenders an array of problems, his cat-like quickness allowing him to blow by defenders at will.  The fourth quarter was presented a number of ‘defining’ moments for the Warriors, as Mansfield threatened to run away with the game again behind excellent 3 point shooting from Dylan Bogg.  However it was the re-entry into the game of Henry-Fontaine and Ogidan tha proved to give the Warriors the lift they needed to finally tie the game up.  Henry-Fontaine went on a 8 point scoring spree, fouling out Dylan Bogg in the process.  When Fontaine was finally fouled out with 1:45 to go in the game, the Warriors were ahead by 6. Warriors appeared all the more vulnerable as key reserve Marlon Monrow and Leon Bernard were also both fouled out of the game. Mansfield, quite aware of Henry-Fontaine’s reputation as a prolific scorer seemed to believe in the absence of Fontaine and Bernard the game was ripe for the taking.  But it was the ever improving Sutherland and Cheidoze Offiah who stepped up to seal the win with some key shooting and excellent defense, enabling the Warriors to preserve their unbeaten record at the top of the league. Henry-Fontaine said “This was a team building win for us.  We are still learning to play together, but to come in here and win is a big feather in our hats as it’s tough to win here.  I was upset when I fouled out with 2 minutes to go, but I called the guys around before I left the court and told them to take it home for me…and they did a great job of doing that.”   Click here to discuss this story

 

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