U13 North East League, 21 January 2012

Barnsley Leaders 47 - 87 Sheffield Saints

The U13 Saints entered the second half of the season in 2nd place in the North East league, having played all the opposition and suffering just one loss to table topping Leeds Carnegie. The Saints had beaten the Leaders by 43 points at home but were expecting a much tougher proposition at their Darfield home. Coupled with a 6 week mid-season ‘break’ this made for an intriguing matchup.

Coach Van Oostrum went with his regular starting five of Sam, Nathaniel, Jacob W, Jacob C and Guido. The Saints had been working on a new offense in training this week and there was some trepidation from the supporters about how the boys would be able to react to this come game time, but it was defence that deserted the boys as Barnsley easily broke the press and beat the Saints down the court or from the line. Jacob W opened the scoring for Sheffield with a freebie after being fouled on the offensive rebound. The Saints went on to dominate the offensive boards throughout the game with Jacob C simply unstoppable on the put backs. Yet despite the jumper from Nathaniel and dimes from Sam, the Saints struggled to impose themselves on the game.

End of Q1: 13 – 13

In the second quarter the fresh legs of Greg and Jay made an immediate impact, keeping the ball alive and converting on the long outlets from Sam. Greg, Guido, Jacob C and Sam (on the coast to coast) all picked up buckets, but the Saints struggled to contain Barnsley’s athletic #13, forcing Coach vO to assign defensive specialist Jacob W to shut him down. As the quarter wound down and the new offensive sets started to reap dividends, the Saints began to pull away.

End of Q2: 26 - 37

Come the third quarter, come the obligatory Saint’s blitz! Jacob W set the defensive tone taking a charge, diving on loose balls and making a nasty block but also converting on the sweet reverse at the other end. The Saints full offensive arsenal was deployed in the quarter - Nathaniel began to hurt Barnsley with his deadly baseline j and also converted from Sam’s full court assist; Jacob C was rewarded for his aggressive drives to the basket; Guido found the backdoor wide open; and Troy fed Rickyle twice in succession for the easy lay-in.

End of Q3: 34 – 71

Mindful of the U14 match to follow, the Saints were able to mix up their line-up in the final quarter. Matthew and Greg were brought on to push the offense - earning points at the line for Troy and Greg. Owen ripped down board after board on the defensive glass, knocking down the free throw when the Leaders fouled him in frustration. Charlie, meanwhile, put on an offensive master class converting on the fast break and the roll to the basket as well as setting up Jay for the easy 2 who reciprocated, feeding Troy on the give and go.
Final score: 47 – 87

A slow start, but, in the end, a great all round team performance.

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