Last weekend was designated as a national teams training weekend, which meant the only team in action was the senior men.
They travelled to unbeaten Birmingham Mets II and returned after recording a battling 11-point win.
VCARS.co.uk Men’s Division Four Midlands Conference
Birmingham Mets II 81 Northants Thunder 92
The Northants Thunder senior men retained their unbeaten record and with it top spot in the Midlands Conference of the VCARS.co.uk Division Four after a win over previously unbeaten Birmingham Mets II.
Thunder took to the floor in the knowledge that they were likely to be in for a tough game.
The Mets second string had only played two games previously, but had comprehensively defeated teams Thunder had struggled against.
At the start of the game Asher Kirby was able to put a lot of pressure on the Mets point guard leading to the home side forcing up shots.
When these missed, Leome Francis and Nick Waller gobbled up the rebounds and were able to launch Leon Henry and Jonny Yates on a number of fast breaks in broken play and this helped Thunder to establish a 23-16 lead after the first period of play.
The second quarter opened with Mets scoring from a put back, but then it was all Thunder as they went on a 21-2 charge.
This was led by Henry with excellent scoring support coming from Waller and Tomas Vladicka.
Mets replied with a 9-0 run of their own, but at half time Thunder had established a 15 point lead at 49-34.
The suspicion was that Mets got something of an ‘ear-bashing’ from their coach at half time because they came out for the third period of play in very determined mood.
Defensively they switched to an aggressive zone which caused Thunder some problems.
With these offensive problems came a relaxation at the defensive end, and this resulted in a number of unnecessary fouls which sent the Birmingham team to the free throw line on no less than 16 occasions.
Thunder were relieved that Vladicka and Yates were hitting some key perimeter shots but Mets still edged the period 25-24
With Mets sensing a comeback and their fans getting more and more vociferous Thunder began to lose their composure and the game became very scrappy. Once again Thunder were guilty of sending Mets to the free throw line on too many occasions, but to their credit Thunder were able to retain control and ‘manage the clock’ efficiently.
Their lead got down to eight points, but a three-pointer from Yates ended the Mets challenge as the Northants team was able to record their fifth consecutive league win which the coaching staff hope will be pivotal for the whole season.
In the victory Henry top scored with 26 points and was well supported by Jonny Yates who had his best game of the season with 19 points.
Other major contributions came from Tomas Vladicka who scored 12 points while Leome Francis recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
THIS WEEKEND’S ACTION
Saturday 1st December
11.30am: U14 Girls v Brentwood “Fire”; U13 Boys v Herts Warriors 1.30pm: U15 Boys v Northamptonshire “Titans”
3.30pm: U15 Girls v Bucks Hornets These games will be played at the Northants Basketball Centre at Northampton School for Girls in
Spinney Hill Road, Northampton. Spectators are welcome and admission is FREE
Junior Women travel to Chiltern “Pumas”
Junior Men travel Manchester U14 Boys travel to Leicester “Blaze”
Sunday 2nd December
Cadet Men travel to Trafford
Cadette Women to Nottingham “Wildcats”
U15 Girls travel to Wiltshire “Demons”
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