With just 70 seconds of this VCars Senior Men’s Division Four game remaining, Bromsgrove Bears were holding a five-point lead at 76-71 and Thunder looked to be heading for their first league defeat of the season.
In desperation, Thunder sent their opponents to the free throw line and the home side co-operated by missing a number of the resulting free throws allowing Thunder to launch a number of fast break attacks to draw level at 76-76.
Another Thunder foul once more sent Bears to the charity stripe and they converted the first of two free throws to lead 77-76 but missed the second; Nick Waller hauled down a huge rebound and Thunder launched one last desperation shot.
To the dismay of players and coaching staff alike the shot missed but Jacob Holt who had rebounded superbly all game, scored a vital put back and was also fouled. Holt duly converted the bonus shot to give his side an unlikely 79-77 win.
Earlier Thunder had made a lethargic start to the game allowing Bears to take a 10-2 lead but they were able to reduce the deficit to 17-19 by the end of the first period of play. The second quarter saw a contrast in playing styles with Bears running well organised patient offences while Thunder relied on their usual fast break attacks. Thunder edged the quarter 25-20 to lead 42-39 at the half time break.
The third quarter saw a highly motivated Bears team take control of the game and Thunder being punished with a series of technical fouls for questioning decisions. This allowed the home side to win the quarter 17-10 and take a 56-52 lead which they maintained throughout the first nine minutes of the final stanza and setting up the bizarre and unbelievable finale.
In the nail-biting win Thunder had 10 scorers led by Leon Henry with 27 points while good support came from Nick Waller with 10 points
Sporting Club Albion 56 Northants Thunder 84
After all the excitement of the previous evening the Northants Thunder senior men made another trip to the West Midlands the following day and picked up a routine win that takes them to joint leadership if the VCars Division 4.
Thunder edged the first quarter 23-15 and this lead was extended by two points to 43-33 at half time. Coach Grahame Yates called for a better defensive effort in the second half and his players led by David Nuttall, responded superbly restricted Albion to just 23 second half points. Meanwhile at the offensive end Leon Henry once again looked impressive as Thunder poured in 41 points to take the game by 86 points to 54.
For Thunder Henry top scored with 31 points while Thomas Vladicka enjoyed his best game for the club in scoring 10 points while the Thunder big men, Nick Waller and Leome Francis performed well.
Junior Men’s Premier Division North
Leeds Carnegie 73 Northants Thunder 53
The Northants Junior Men made the long journey to Leeds and on the return trip were left to contemplate a disappointing 20 point set back. Thunder made a lethargic start but edged the first quarter 18-7 but then everything went ‘pear shaped’ as Leeds outscored them by 23 points to nine.
Trailing 40-27 Thunder needed a decisive second half revival but although they avoided the carnage of the second quarter they still lost the half 26-33 to end up on the wrong side of a 73-53 score line.
Cadet Men’s Premier Division North
Leeds Carnegie 55 Northants Thunder 70
The Northants cadet men picked up their second league win of the season with a 15 point win over Leeds Carnegie but in so doing displayed both the good and bad sides of their character. At times they played excellent decisive basketball but they were also guilty of missing easy shots and defending naively.
After the long journey north Thunder looked a little jaded during the first period of play with their four England squad players looking fatigued after attending a two day training camp. Leeds edged that first quarter 13-12 but by half time Thunder had taken a 29-23 lead. The half time team talk was all about looking after the ball because Thunder had been guilty of turning the ball over no less than 15 times during the first 20 minutes of play.
Thunder could only extend their lead by a single point during the third quarter and Leeds were still in the game midway through the fourth. Thunder then switched back to their full court man-to-man defence and Leeds cracked coughing the ball up on a number of occasions to give Thunder easy scores.
In the morale boosting win George Paul top scored with 19 points and he was well supported by Pauli Laurinolli with 13 points while Josh Round scored 8 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. The performance of the day came from Andre Arissol who scored 18 points hauled down 10 rebounds and stole the ball on nine occasions although the point guard wouldn’t have been happy with his double figure total of losses.
Under 16 Girls Midlands South-West Conference
Solent Suns 35 Northants Lightning 69
The previous weekend the Northants under 15 girls had beaten Solent so the under 16s were expecting a similar result and that’s how it turned out.
By half time the Northants girls led by the scoring power of Steph Ogden, had taken a 31-17 lead thanks in the main to their full court pressure defence and some excellent perimeter shooting from Hannah Nolan.
Lightning went off the boil in the third period of play which they only won 17-15 so Coach Stacey Shakespeare switched her team to a pressure zone defence in the final quarter. With Amber Leiba and Tara Hings dominating on defence and making numerous interceptions Lightning were able to run in a number of easy scores taking the period 21-3 to record a 34 point win.
For Lightning Ogden top scored with 27 points, Nolan contributed 12 while Leiba matched her 9 points with the same number of rebounds.
Under 15 Boys Midland Conference
Coventry Trojans 67 Northants Thunder 89
The Northants Thunder under 15 boys made it two back-to-back wins after getting the better of Coventry Trojans in what turned out to be a very physical game.
Thunder started the game in lively mood bursting into a 7-zero lead initiated by a Carlo Nieva three point shot. The Northants full court press was intimidating the Coventry players who repeatedly turned the ball over leading to easy Thunder scores. After a Trojans time out the home side responded strongly but a 10-zero Thunder run at the end of the quarter, gave them a 28-20 lead.
The two teams exchanged baskets during the second period of play as the game became increasingly physical. Thunder were struggling with Trojans height advantage and thanks to a number of second chance shots the home side took the quarter 19-18 to reduce the deficit to 39-46 at half time.
The message for the Thunder players at half time was simple, maintain the full court defensive pressure, box out and don’t get physically intimidated. The Northants boys were struggling to contain the Trojans big men and Coventry got the score line back to 53-57. Coach Rob Crump decided to ‘front’ the Trojans post players and this had the effect of restricting their options. Thunder were still unhappy about the physical nature of the game and things came to a head when Jacob Round was ‘submarined’ whilst making a lay up. The period was tied at 18 all which meant going into the final quarter Thunder held a narrow 64-57 lead.
In the final quarter the relentless Thunder pressure finally told and with Carlo Nieva dominating proceedings they went on a 15-4 charge to put the game beyond Coventry but the final score line gave no indication of what a tight game it had been. Coach Crump was delighted with the character shown by his players in very difficult conditions.
In the 18 point win ten Thunder players scored led by Nieva and Round with 19 and 17 points respectively while Will Grosvenor contributed 14 points and Josh Arimoro 11 points.
Under 14 Boys Midlands Conference
Notts Nova 98 Northants Thunder 35
Against one of the best under 14 teams in the country Thunder came out a very poor second in this Midland Conference game. The Northants boys were heavily outscored in all four periods of play and were guilty of turning the ball over on numerous occasions. They were also guilty of missing no less than 25 free throws in the game.
Coach Mickey Paul was disappointed that his team had been unable to execute the skills they practice every week but recognised that his players just weren’t used to the intense pressure applied by the Nova players.
For Thunder David Nieva did his very best to inspire his team finishing the game with 29 points but no other player was able to score in double figures.
Under 14 Girls Midlands South Conference
Newham Youngbloods 20 Northants Lightning 106
The Northants under 14 girls travelled to London last weekend for what was a new fixture for the Club.
Against Youngbloods they totally dominated the game restricting their opponents to single figures in all four periods of play. After seeing her team charge into a 33-3 lead after the first quarter Coach Karen Goodrich restricted her team’s pressure defence and imposed restrictions on their attacking options. She also used the game as an opportunity to give her less experienced players lots of court time and they responded well by all getting on the score sheet.
Throughout the game Cat Askham, Charlotte Price and Abbie Turner rebounded superbly giving their team ample possession when Newham missed shots. Sarah Round was her usual productive self dishing out a stream of assists to Caitlin Stewart who scored 16 points and Abbie Hobbs who had her best game for the Club with 18 points but pride of place has to go to the excellent Ruchae Walton who scored 33 points pulled down six rebounds and made six steals
Under 13 Boys Midland South Conference
NEBC Titans 51 Northants Thunder 86
As a contest this local derby was over as early as the seventh minute with Thunder leading 27-2 with Titans unable to handle Thunder’s full court pressure defence. This pressure forced numerous turn-overs leading to easy scores.
Thunder dropped to a half court defence which gave the home side a little more space to play but by half time Thunder had established a 58-19 advantage.
In the second half Thunder coach Mike Round restricted his team’s offensive options by stopping fast breaks and making his players practice their rotation offence. To their credit Titans rallied strongly and actually won the second half 32-28 to restrict Thunder’s winning margin to 35 points with all eight of their players getting on the score sheet.
For Thunder Jacob Round top scored with 37 points while good support came from Ainsley Reynolds and Laurence Williams who both contributed 10 points apiece.
FIXTURES
Saturday 10th November
11-30am Under 14 Girls versus Herts Warriors
1-30pm Under 14 Boys versus Derby Trailblazers
3-30pm Under 15 Girls versus Herts Warriors
5-30pm Under 15 Boys versus Derby Trailblazers
All four of these games will be played at Kingsthorpe Community College in Boughton Green Road, Northampton. Spectators are welcome and admission is FREE
Under 13 Boys travel to Bucks Hornets
Junior Women travel to Bristol Storm
Junior Men travel Cheshire Juniors
Sunday 11th November
11-00am Cadette Women versus Southend Swifts
1.00pm Cadet Men versus Notts Nova
3.00pm Junior Women versus Chiltern Pumas
5.00pm Junior Men versus Sporting Club Albion
Again these games will be played at Kingsthorpe Community College in Boughton Green Road, Northampton. Spectators are welcome and admission is FREE
Under 15 Girls travel to Bristol Storm (National Cup)
Under 14 Boys travel to City of Birmingham
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