U13 North East League, 28 January 2012

Sheffield Saints 85 – 48 Doncaster Danum Eagles

Rewind two months to mid-November and the Saints’ second match of the season. At the intimidating Danum gym, the Sheffield boys scraped a 7 point win against the sharp shooting Eagles, only pulling clear in the last five minutes.

The return fixture today could not have been more different – the tone was set from the tip, with a seven point burst to start the game and the Saints were in control throughout. The Sheffield boys appeared to have grown physically since the last encounter and they confidently executed a game plan that delivered high percentage shots and contained Doncaster in their own half for long stretches. It is pleasing to see the hard work that the boys and the coaches put in at practice pay off at game time.

The Saints starting five of Guido, Jacob C, Jacob W, Nathaniel and Sam came out with intensity, forcing numerous turnovers and an 8 second call while Nathaniel showed his full repertoire of drives and jumpers and also connecting on the football pass from Sam to rack up 11 points in the quarter. The Saints dominated the offensive boards producing easy scores for Jacob C and Guido while post, pick and roll and drive opportunities came in the flow of the offense and all the starting five worked the scorer. Meanwhile, the mobile Sheffield defence restricted the Eagles to long range attempts.

End of Q1: 23 – 10

The Saints cranked up the defence in the second quarter and Rickyle, Greg, Owen, Jay and Troy brought fresh intensity to the line up. Jacob W’s steal and no look pass led to the easy deuce for Jacob C – and an Eagles time out was quick in coming. Jacob C found Owen for the lay-up and Troy dialled in his trademark long two from the wing. The Eagles were forced in to fouling to contain the Saints’ dominant post play.

End of Q2: 45 – 19

The second half was a more a scrappy affair, but the Saints continued to carve out opportunities from all over the court. Guido used the head fake to great effect, Jay was strong on the offensive boards for the easy put back and Sam and Guido worked the two man game on the weak side. Matthew and Sam’s long arms stopped the Eagles finding any sort of offensive fluency.

End of Q3: 65 – 32

The Eagles played their best quarter of basketball – their shots began to fall as they started attacking the basket, #4 finishing nicely on the layups. However, they still could not contain the Saints’ offense. Nathaniel and Rickyle connected on the pick and roll, Charlie and Nathaniel showed their mid-range games and Greg drove effortlessly for the hoop and the harm, while Troy and Owen patrolled the glass turning defence in to instant offense.

Final score: 85 – 48

This was a victory built on teamwork at both ends of the court and it would be misleading to single out one player, but a big shout out must go to Jacob C who, for the second week running, was simply unstoppable at the offensive end, scoring on the break, in the post, off the in bound and with the put back – great job!

As Coach Van Oostrum commented “Boys improving fast, impressing with hustle and smarts”. But as pleasing as this team performance was, there is still room for improvement – 19 missed free-throws and a similar number of blown lay-ups will no doubt be addressed at practice this week.

Team: Charlie (2), Greg (3), Guido (19), Jacob C (24), Jacob W (5), Jay (2), Matthew, Nathaniel (19), Owen (2), Rickyle (2), Sam (5), Troy (2).