U13 North East League, 4 February 2012

Rotherham Hawks 39 – 74 Sheffield Saints

This was set to be a testing day for the Junior Saints as a clash of U13 and U14 fixtures, with several squad members playing up, meant that the Coaches had some tough selection decisions. By the end of the day, and with great credit to all the boys and the coaches, the U13s returned back to top spot in the North East league, the U14s consolidated their play-off push and a new generation of Saints players gained valuable court experience.

With three of his regular starting five on U14s duty, Coach Van Oostrum loaded the front court with rebounding power, Owen, Rickyle and Jacob being joined by the back court prowess of Greg and Nate.

After a scrappy first few possessions, the Saints started to turn the defensive screw – the ‘Durandula’ stealing the inbound for the simple lay-in and Owen patrolling the defensive boards. Orchestrated by Nate, Sheffield started to exploit the offensive opportunities being opened up through superior movement and technique. Jacob clearly wanted to stamp his authority on the game, scoring 13 of his season high 18 points in the first quarter. He and Rickyle dominated the post, scoring off drop steps, fakes and from offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, Nate punished the sagging defence with his mid-range game. At the end of the quarter, the Saints had opened up a commanding 19 point lead.

End of Q1: 10 – 29

At the start of quarter 2, Declan (on his season debut) and Charlie quickly provided more offensive threat – Declan converting on the feed from Nathaniel and Charlie capitalising as he stole the inbound. Jacob continued to fight his way to the basket forcing the Hawks in to foul trouble. However, the Rotherham side were showing some Yorkshire grit and the dangerous duo of #14 and #9 proved to be a constant menace streaking to the basket. Jay and Troy came in to shore up the defence and made an immediate impact with their hustle. The Saints continued to make inroads at the offensive end – Nathaniel making a sweet no-look dish to Declan for the layup – however, with the key clogged up by Rotherham bigs, Coach VO’s increasing frustration eventually earned a technical foul. With the half drawing to a close, Matthew came on to stretch the defence and Jay and Nate were rewarded from the line as they attacked the basket.

End of Q2: 24 – 44

In the second half Jacob and Rickyle got the block party underway - rejecting shot after shot, releasing Marcus and Owen to attack the basket on the break and from the weakside. Nate showed he could mix it up, driving coast to coast and pulling up for the trifecta, while Greg demonstrated how effective he is close to the basket, converting twice from offensive rebounds.

End of Q3: 29 – 62

In the final quarter Coach Van Oostrum gave us a taste of things to come with a back court of Zac (aged 10) and Greg (aged 11) who have 2 more seasons to play in this age group. Zac will no doubt be reminding his older brother (Jacob) of shot percentages as he converted on his fast break opportunity! There was great team play throughout the quarter – Matthew brought his trademark hustle to secure the ball on the boards and from steals leading to 2 points on the put back. Declan’s defensive intensity also brought the steal and earned a trip to the line. Troy showed his versatility with a baseline jumper and a beautiful roll to the basket, while Jay showed his smarts by cutting back door to convert the assist from Nate. Rickyle continued to be more than a handful for the Rotherham defence while his front court partner Marcus put in a steely display on the defensive glass to ensure any hopes of a Hawks fight back were quashed.

Final score: 39 – 74

Once again the Saints dominated the offensive glass and showed that the squad can break at speed and put points on the board. With an eye on next season, the whole team was able to get valuable game time and recognise the need to be able to execute under pressure and at high tempo.

Team: Charlie Forrest (3), Declan Bradshaw Radley (4), Greg Durand (6), Jacob Wright (18), Jay Gaskell (3), Marcus McNealis, Matthew Cauthorn (2), Nathaniel Montgomery (13), Owen Norfolk, Rickyle Anderson (19), Troy Richards (4), Zac Wright (2).