Wessex Men’s Division 3 League
Basingstoke Blizzards 2s 72 – Aztec Falcons 39
(12-13; 17-5; 25-10; 18-11)
Leading scorers:
Dave Walker 10; Ollie Horne 8; Becky Wellington 7; Tom Dawkes 5
Match summary:
The Falcons played some super basketball at times in this very enjoyable encounter, but the turning point was after 13 minutes when, with the Falcons 18-15 up, the Blizzards went on a 14-0 run that knocked the stuffing out of the visitors.
Andrew Miller made his debut for the team, Dave Walker top-scored in his last game for a while as he turns his focus to skiing in the coming weeks, and Ollie Horne had his best game for the side with a great display from the point, pushing the ball up the court, drawing fouls and forcing turn-overs.
Key stats:
The foul count (21) was lower, the foul shooting was better with 6 of 13 being converted, but the opposition once again shot the ball well making 18 from 29 from the foul line and hitting a high percentage from the field. Everyone enjoyed a fair share of court time and no one fouled out! Also, the Falcons eclipsed the 34 points they scored against Basingstoke earlier in the season. We talked about committing fewer fouls, which we did, but the final count was still 11-21.
Coach Walker’s assessment:
We started very brightly and showed some very good movement right up to the final buzzer. There were far, far fewer turn-overs, something the players noticed themselves at the end of the game, and the way individuals worked on their individual and team defence was most heartening. We tried a few new things out, and got some encouraging results from the changes, and overall the team played just about as well as they have all season.
The determination was most evident in the way everyone was prepared to push up and down the court right to the very end, and the spirit in the team is as high as it has been this year.
Next game:
Tuesday 20thFebruary 2018 at 7.30pm at home to Farnborough Shadows.
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