Myerscough lose to Tyne Met in second round of BCS Cup

Myerscough College were knocked out of the BCS National Cup on Wednesday after falling to Tyne Metropolitan College. Danny Horta led Tyne Met with 25 points and 8 rebounds whilst Eddie Matthew added 19 points.

Tyne Met's superior outside shooting was a huge factor in the 83-68 win as they connected on 8 of their 23 three point attempts whilst Myerscough scored just 2 from 7. The hosts tallied 8 assists to the visitors 3 whilst pulling down 5 more rebounds. Trevor Samuel racked up 22 points and pulled down 9 boards along with Chris Bwana's 13 points in the loss for Myerscough.

Myerscough Head Coach Neal Hopkins commented; "I was really impressed with Tyne Met - they put on a clinic from downtown and we didn't have an answer for it on the day; there are a lot of lessons to be learnt from the nature of this loss, we must travel better and our guys need to value their preparation. It's safe to say we are looking to make big improvements for next weeks EABL game"

The two teams will meet again next week in Newcastle in an EABL game. Myerscough will look to avenge Wednesday's loss whilst Tyne Met will be eager to extend their lead at the top of the North Sea Conference. 

AASE Programme extends opportunity for basketball academy players

In June 2013, Myerscough College Basketball Academy received approval from England Basketball to run an AASE (Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence) programme in conjunction with parent club Manchester Giants. The college is one of just 17 AASE accredited institutions for basketball in the country and as a result they automatically qualified to compete in the newly formed EABL (Elite Academy Basketball League) in just their first year as a programme.

Six of the 23 first year students at the academy are part of the AASE programme, which is designed for athletes "who have the realistic potential to achieve excellence in their sport and are seeking to perform at the highest level as their main career goal". The student-athletes receive a minimum of 14 hours on-court training each week and also have access to expert strength and conditioning staff. Students will receive a Level 3 Diploma in Achieving Excellence in Sports Performance at the end of two years and also have the opportunity to complete several officiating and coaching qualifications. With the objective of supporting elite athletes in an educational environment, the AASE programme aims to provide exit routes into higher education or the sport industry for those players who do not make it as professionals - AASE works along side a students full time college qualification.

AASE athletes Chris Bwana and Ryan Knowles are both attending the initial England U18 training camp this weekend. Head Coach and Programme leader of the Myerscough College Basketball Academy Neal Hopkins commented "We are incredibly pleased to be able to offer prospective students the opportunity to be an AASE apprentice, the framework that AASE provides is exceptional and truly adds to our students academic and basketball experience whilst they are here at Myerscough. the AASE programme gives young athletes the ideal platform to not only improve on the court but also off it"

For more information on AASE please see the England Basketball website

Alternatively you can contact course leader Neal Hopkins nhopkins@myerscough.ac.uk

Manchester talent shines through as Giants bounce back

Chris Bwana

Myerscough College Basketball Academy players Andre Gayle and Chris Bwana were awarded significant minutes by Manchester Giants Coach Jeff Jones in a huge 42 point win over Surrey United.  Andre Gayle played a season high 18 minutes, recording 7 points including one three pointer.  He also pulled down 2 rebounds.  Academy point guard Chris Bwana nailed 2/2 free throws, givi

ng him 2 points to go along with 3 boards. Manchester were led by Stefan Gill and David Aliu, contributing 27 and 26 points respectively, both shooting an outstanding 77% mark from the field. Forward Rob Marsden picked up his third d
ouble-double of the season, notching 15 points and 11 rebounds and hammering down a thunderous dunk.

Andre Gayle

After a painful 52 point loss away to the high flying Newcastle Eagles on Friday, there is no doubt Sunday’s victory will have been a huge morale booster for the Giants squad.  They now sit in 8^th place in the BBL championship league table.

Yorick Williams and Mike Bernard

Although they are struggling to perform consistently, the Giants continue to fulfil their objective of giving local talent a chance to shine, with no less than 8 Manchester born players on their roster this season.  As veterans Mike Bernard and Yorick Williams close out their careers at the club where they began two decades ago a new generation of Manchester talent is beginning to flourish. It is hoped that Gayle and Bwana will be just the first in a long line of academy players to suit up for the Giants.

Just two months after its launch the programme has its first Division 1 commit and sees 6 or 7 players regularly participate in Giants training sessions.  The academy is a cornerstone for the future success of the Giants project, which has the long term ambition of competing in Europe. 

Keep up to date with the progress of the Giants by following them on twitter @ManchesterGiant

All photos credit: Jack Hinds photography (http://www.jackhindsphotography.com/) 

Report by Ed McNally 

A day in the life of an academy player: Monday

Morning



The Academy's court

Many players return to college on Sunday evening or Monday morning after the weekend. Academy players start the week with a training session which lasts 2hours and 45 minutes (9-11.45) , this session follows an hour (8-9) in which the sports hall is open for players to shoot, practice their ball handling etc.. During the morning practice players usually work on individual skills and/or team concepts. This Monday players rotated between three stations for 2 hours; Ball handling, Individual offensive moves and finishing and explosive movement. Stations were followed by around 45 minutes of offensive/team concepts and paired shooting. All five academy coaches are present at practices on Monday morning.

Afternoon

Following practice players have just over an hour in which to eat their lunch and rest before lessons commence at 1. There are two lessons on Mondays, one from 1 till 3 and another from 3 until 5. Currently timetabled for this half-term is Fitness Testing for Sport and Exercise at 1 and Assessing Risk in Sport at 3.

Evening



The gymnasium

After lessons conclude at 5 players eat their dinner and prepare for individual practice which begins at 6. The focus of individual practice varies each day, common areas of focus are Shooting, Ball handling and individual defence. The specific focus this Monday was weak hand dribble moves and finishes.

The sports hall is available for two hours after the conclusion of individual practice, during this time many players choose to stay and practice their shooting or participate in scrimmage games.

After a 12 hour day at college, Academy players (and coaches!) head to bed ready for Strength and Conditioning at 7.30am and another day of hard work on Tuesday.

Click here to view a sample timetable for Mondays 

For further information about the academy email: nhopkins@myerscough.ac.uk

Myerscough College Advance to second round of BCS Cup

Led by a strong 25 point performance from Montel Dennis, Myerscough College beat Preston College 77-74 to advance to the second round of the BCS Cup. The victory is Myerscough’s second consecutive over Preston after taking them down 84-78 two weeks ago in the EABL.

A dominant first half performance saw Myerscough hold a commanding 42-30 lead going into the half time break. Preston reduced the lead to 6 heading into the fourth quarter. Preston rallied towards the end of the game, hitting two three pointers in the final minutes. They then narrowed the lead to two late in the game but 2/4 free throws for Myerscough in the final minute was enough to secure the win and their place in the next round.

Trevor Samuel notched 12 points for Myerscough (8/10 free throws) whilst Ryan Knowles and Andre Gayle hit double figures with 10 points each.

Benjamin Nkossi was again top scorer for Preston with 19 points and Tyler Hamilton contributed 9

.

These two teams will clash again on the 5^th of March in the EABL, when Preston will be looking to pick up their first win against Myerscough in what has become an exciting local rivalry.

Meanwhile, Myerscough will look to improve on their 1-1 record in the EABL when they host Childwall in two weeks’ time.

Report by Ed McNally