U13 North East League, 3 December 2011

Newcastle Eagles 56 – 68 Sheffield Saints

(written without the aid of stats!)

This was a hotly anticipated match up as winter hit the North East. The Eagles had gone undefeated throughout the league last season and this would be a rigorous test of the young Saints’ title aspirations this year.

In the event, the final score line reflected the superior experience of the Saints, but the Eagles put up a determined fight – matching and frustrating the Sheffield team for three quarters.

For the second game in a row the Saints came out slowly, and while the defensive end was locked down, the stuttering offense reflected the fact that this is a squad that does not train together as an U13 unit due to the number of boys who ‘play up’.

In what was to set the tone for the whole game, the referees enthusiastically called fouls and violations (no further comment!) and both teams were forced to rotate their line ups. The Eagles had a sizable height advantage in the post which they exploited with numerous offensive rebounds but Jacob W and Guido fought (quite literally) manfully to take control of the boards on defence. At the other end Jay set an immense screen to leave Sam wide open for the trifecta.

End of Q1: 12 – 17

It was clear the Saints had a tough game on their hands and Coaches Cauthorn and Montgomery looked to their full squad to unlock the Eagles. Troy, Owen, and Matthew all saw valuable court time and young point guard Greg put in a great shift spelling Sam and Nathaniel – using his superior ball handling to get to the basket at will. The Eagles appeared to have adopted a ‘hack-a-Shaq’ defensive technique – opting to send the driving Saints to the line. In the short-run this paid off as the Saints struggled to knock down the freebies – but it would ultimately come back to bite the Eagles. While the Eagles frustrated the Saints’ offense, Sheffield’s own foul troubles began to wobble the defence and the Newcastle side poured in 23 points capitalising on their dominant post play.

 End of Q2: 35 – 28

Again the Saints responded well to a half-time ‘hair-drying’ and Sam, Nathaniel, Guido, Jacob C and Jacob W went on an immediate run with the press excellently deployed to pin the Eagles in their own half. With Jay and Greg energising off the bench, the Saints’ offense began to fire and the Eagles’ foul count began to spiral.

End of Q3: 46 – 44

Quarter 4 and crunch time had arrived! The Saints were still in this but the supporters’ voices were getting hoarse (absolutely nothing to do with the referees ;)) and their finger nails were getting shorter. The Eagles continued to use their physicality to intimidate the Saints but now the Sheffield boys fought back – Jay dominant in the key with the hoop and the harm. Sam began to drive off the high screen and knock down the resultant free-throws and Nathaniel put on a near flawless shooting display. The Saints showed good concentration to the end as the Eagles had to go deep down their bench due to foul trouble.
Final score: 56 – 68

This result maintains the U13s’ unbeaten run and sets up a great top of the table clash with Leeds next Saturday at All Saints – those of a nervous disposition may wish to stay at home!

Team: Greg, Guido, Jacob C, Jacob W, Jay, Matthew, Nathaniel, Owen, Sam, Troy, Zac.