Leon Henry scored 37 points as Northants Thunder beat county rivals Titans 114-94 in the second round of the National Shield.
The newly-formed Thunder, from division four, saw off division three Titans at Weavers Sports Centre in Wellingborough, and on the face of it, the result looks like an upset.
But in truth, it was a result that most people in a large crowd expected as most of the Thunder players have returned to their alma mater having played for Wellingborough Phoenix, who were Titans in disguise.
The Thunder game plan was to run, run, run and press, press, press and eventually this tactic paid off but at half time they only held the narrowest of leads at 51-47.
During that first half Thunder had looked impressive running the ball back, but their defence had struggled to contain Mark Gledhill and Ghatt close to the basket and the sharp shooting of Danny Barrett.
Thunder maintained their up-tempo style of play at the start of the third period and possibly the turning point came when Leome Francis pulled off an enormous block and launched Henry for a dunk at the other end.
Titans were visibly rocked by this single play. Thunder went on a 13-5 run to take the quarter 30-23 and extend their lead to 11 points.
Titans were far from done but in the final period of play they weren’t helped by converting only eight of 14 free throws while Henry and Francis combined for 21 points for Thunder as they cruised to a 20 point victory and a third round tie against the Derby Trailblazers’ second team.
The Thunder coaching staff of Rob Eddon and Grahame Yates were pleased that 10 of the 12 players used got on the score sheet, led by Henry with 37 points.
He was well supported by Leome Francis with 18 points while Merson Paul kept his cool at the free throw line in converting 12 of 15 free throws in his 22 point total.
Junior Men’s Premier Division North
Sefton Stars 74 Northants Thunder 88
Not for the first time a Northants team travelling north on the M6 were delayed in traffic congestion.
The latest delay mean that the Junior Men had just 15 minutes warm up time for their Premier Division North clash against Sefton Stars.
Not surprisingly, Thunder made a lethargic start to the game and slipped behind 7-2 after the early exchanges.
Without ever looking convincing at either end of the court they had eased ahead 25-24 after the first period of play.
In the second quarter Thunder were still struggling offensively and found themselves 35-40 down. but sparked into life in the final two minutes of the period going on a 9-0 run to lead 44-40 at half time.
Thunder came out for the third period of play in a more determined mood and completely dominated the quarter.
They poured in 27 points while Stars relied almost entirely on free throws for their 17 points.
In the final stanza, Thunder extended their lead to 19 points at one time but were guilty of losing concentration in the last couple of minutes of the quarter allowing Stars to reduce the final deficit to 14 points.
Thunder’s scoring was once again dominated by Matt Yates who poured in 36 points, but eight other players contributed to the final total; Andre Arissol looking particularly impressive in scoring 10 points.
Coach Rob Eddon was very pleased with his team’s effort in a difficult venue and against determined opposition.
Junior Men’s National Cup Round One
Northants Thunder 101 City of Birmingham IIs 36
Less than 24 hours after their long trip north, the Thunder junior men were back on court for a National Cup tie against the City of Birmingham second string.
COB were ecstatic after scoring the first basket of the game, but from then on struggled at both ends of the court.
Thunder took the first period of play 33-15 then romped away with the second 30-3 to take an unassailable 63-18 half time lead.
Coach Rob Eddon was able to run a number of different player combinations and defences in the second half, which was no more competitive than the first as Thunder took it 38-18 to win the game 101-36.
All 12 players scored, led by Linas Bajorunas who had four three-pointers in his 24 point haul.
Three other players Pauli Laurinolli, Lewis Mooney and Jack Thomas all scored in double figures.
Junior Women’s South-West Conference
Northants Lightning 60 Sporting Club Albion 35
SC Albion arrived for this Junior Women’s South-West Conference game with just five players.
Not surprisingly, the visitors elected to employ a zone defence aimed at restricting Thunder’s scoring close to the basket.
Initially Thunder resorted to long range speculative shots and could manage only 13 points in the first quarter.
Luckily, their defence was very sound and Albion could manage only seven points.
The same pattern continued through the second and third periods which Thunder won 12-7 and 12-10, so going into the final quarter Thunder still only led 37-24 and Albion were still well and truly in the hunt.
In the final quarter Thunder were able to pick up the tempo of their play and with the Albion players visibly tiring, Thunder captain Izzy John cut loose as her team took the period 23-11 to record a 60-35 win.
Johns top-scored with 25 points and she was well supported by Lois Bain and Hannah Nolan with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Under 16 Women’s Midlands South West Conference
Northants Lightning 81 Gloster Jets 28
All seven Lightning players had played in the junior women’s game, so not surprisingly they initially struggled against Jets.
They led throughout the first two periods of play but at half time were only ten points ahead at 34-24.
In the half time break, coach Stacey Shakespeare demanded more defensive intensity from her players and they responded superbly.
Jets, restricted by the loss of their best players could manage only four points while Lightning poured in 47 to take the game 81-28.
Rion Blessyn (23 points and double figure rebounds) and Steph Ogden (22 points and double figure steals) both recorded double-doubles.
National Cup Round One
Northants Lightning 107 Reading Rockets 22
Against a keen and enthusiastic, but very inexperienced Reading team, the Northants Lightning cruised in to the second round of the National Cup.
The game was virtually one way traffic throughout, although to their credit the Rockets players never gave in.
For the most part the visitors were limited to shooting under pressure, with Rio Blessyn and Christa Maphosa ripping down rebounds and Amy Boot and Steph Ogden launching fast break attacks.
The person on the end of a large number of these breaks was Lauren Brookes who finished superbly and amassed an impressive 40 point haul.
She was well supported by Ogden and Boot with 27 and 16 points respectively while Hannah Nola chipped in with 10 points.
Under 15 Boys Midlands Conference
City of Birmingham 85 Northants Thunder 64
The Northants under-15 boys travelled to the West Midlands for a Midlands Conference game against City of Birmingham, and returned home on the wrong end of a 85-64 score line.
Initially Thunder were rocked by a full court press from the athletic COB team which saw the home side jumping out to a 20-12 lead after the first period of play.
The Northants boys regrouped in the second quarter which saw them gain more control over the game tempo, but nevertheless they lost it 16-13 to trail 25-36 at the interval.
Thunder were unable to maintain this improvement in the third period during which they scored 21 points but leaked 33 to give COB an unassailable 69-46 lead.
With Ed Hall, Jacob Killeya and Brendan Ross working hard and getting excellent support from Carlo Nieva, Jacob Round and Ollie Thomas in the back court, Thunder were very competitive in the final quarter which they lost 18-16, finally going down by 21 points.
The team return to Birmingham this weekend to take on the Bulls.
Under 16 Women’s Midlands South West Conference
Nottingham Wildcats 81 Northants Lightning 39
The Northants Lightning under 15 girls team, playing a year young in the Cadette Women’s League, made the trip to Nottingham and found out exactly what is needed to compete at the ‘next level’.
In the first quarter, which Wildcats edged 17-15, Lightning played excellent defence and coped with Nottingham’s pressure defence well.
Charlotte Berridge scored six points and Lauren Milne showed some excellent skills close to the basket.
Wildcats dominated the second period of play outscoring Lightning 21-9, but with the half time score at 38-24 the Northants girls were still in the game.
Coach Karen Goodrich was playing all 12 of her players, and one or two of them found it difficult to cope with the Wildcats pressure and with guard Sarah Round injured, Lightning struggled to run any kind of structured offence.
The whole second half was little less than carnage as Lightning were outscored 15-43 finally losing 60-35 to a team who are likely to be one of the toughest in the Conference.
Lauren Milne top scored with 14 points while Berridge totalled eight.
Under 14 Boys Midlands Conference
NEBC Titans 106 Northants Thunder 82
Just a week after going down to Titans on their own court, the Northants under 14 boys made the short trip to Wellingborough to take on their local rivals again.
Both teams were boosted by the addition of players who had been playing for the East Midlands the previous weekend, but the result once more was a convincing win for Titans.
Coach Mickey Paul felt that his team had made some improvement from the previous week’s defeat, but was still concerned that his team’s scoring was dominated by just two players with Jacob Round scoring 36 points and David Nieva 28.
Thunder were guilty of making a slow start and found themselves trailing 22-2 after just six minutes of play.
Thunder did recover in the rest of the first period of play and after a free scoring second quarter trailed 42-66
By now Thunder were up for the challenge but despite their best efforts couldn’t close the gap eventually losing the second half 40-38 to go down 106-82.
Other Games
The Midlands Conference Under 14 Girls game against NASSA was postponed because NASSA couldn’t raise a team while a mixed Under 12’s team went unbeaten in their pool in the Northants Central Venue League. Coach Mike Round was full of praise for all of his players.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
British Colleges Men’s Midlands Elite League
Gateway College 115 Moulton College A 30
Moulton College made the short journey to Leicester for this BCS Elite League fixture against Gateway College without three of their leading players.
They knew it was going to be a tough game against a team fielding seven of last season’s squad, and so it proved.
Gateway went off like an express team pouring in 15 unanswered points in the first five minutes of play.
Most of these scores came because the Moulton players were put under so much defensive pressure that they turned the ball over leading to easy Gateway baskets.
Moulton eventually got on the scoreboard thanks to an inside move from Linas Bajournas, but from then until the end of the quarter it was a question of one for us three for them.
Gateway had recognised the threat of Matt Yates were he was being closely man-to-man marked.
This forced other Moulton players into ball handling duties and on the day it proved too much for them and by the end of the first period of play Gateway had opened up a 27-9 lead.
The second quarter was to prove to be Moulton’s best with Yates escaping his marker to score a couple of baskets while Derice McLeod twice scored with drives to basket.
Gateway took the period 28-16 to take the score to 55-25 at half time.
During the half time interval Coach John Collins tried to emphasise the importance of personal performance rather than the game score, but his advice seemed to fall on deaf ears.
Far too many of the Moulton players were playing as if they were in a pick-up game in the local park, and when Yates picked up a calf injury things looked bleak for the Moulton cause.
So it proved with the third quarter turning into an absolute nightmare.
Gateway poured in 34 points while Moulton could manage not a single score.
The avalanche continued in the fourth quarter during which time Moulton were outscored 26-5 to make the second half scored 60 to five and an afternoon the Moulton players will want to forget.
Bojournas top scored with nine points and Derice McLeod managed eight.
THIS WEEKEND’S ACTION
Saturday, October 27
12-30pm: Cadet Men versus Cheshire Jets
2-30pm: Junior Men versus Cheshire Jets
Both these games will be played at the Kingsthorpe Community College which is situated in Boughton Green Road, Northampton NN2 7HR. Spectators are welcome and admission is FREE
Under 13 Boys travel to Reading Rockets
Under 15 Boys travel to Birmingham Bulls
Under 15 Girls travel to Solent Suns
Junior Women travel to Buck Hornets
Sunday, October 28
Senior Men travel to Leicester Warriors II
Cadet Men travel to Notts Nova
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