Myerscough ease past Birmingham Met in season opener

 

Wednesday afternoon saw Myerscough host Birmingham Met in both teams first fixture in this year’s Elite Academy Basketball League, the home side coming out on top in a dominating 127 – 46 victory.

 

Myerscough netted the first points of the game, Kiko Stavrev hitting from deep after a well worked offence. In what was a slow start from the home side, Birmingham Met showed their effectiveness at getting to the ring drawing multiple fouls in the process. After a nervy first quarter Myerscough held the lead at 19 – 12.

 

An 11 to 4 run at the beginning of the second helped Myerscough find their rhythm as a short-handed Birmingham struggled to create on the offensive end.  Myerscough’s Earl Russell demonstrated his dominance inside finishing with a powerful jam then following this with a big put back forcing a Birmingham Met timeout. The home side continued to pull away as half time approached and led 46 – 22 at the break.

 

Myerscough attacked the third with ruthlessness and began to find their touch from the field, Nils Ozolins hit back to back triples in quick succession igniting a 26 – 8 burst. Kyle Elly provided a huge spark on defence leading to open looks on the offensive end. Myerscough took the quarter 39 - 10 to go into the fourth with the score at 86 – 32.

 

The fourth saw much of the same from Myerscough as they made the visitors pay for defensive lapses. Will Shaw already with 6 points from deep added 9 more to bring his game total to 15 on 5 of 8 from 3. Five other Myerscough players connected from downtown as the home side caught fire, pouring 24 points from beyond the arc in the fourth. Myerscough's relentlessness in the second half was demonstrated by 7 steals by Alex Roberts whilst Cian Hickey dished out 7 dimes to lead the home side to a comfortable 127 - 46 victory.

 

Myerscough's Will Shaw said this after the game 'We battled hard on the defensive end and executed well offensively, it was great to play our first EABL fixture but it felt even better to see the team play with confidence and get a solid win'.

 

Myerscough host Allerton High School next Wednesday and will look to build on their opening day success.

 

 

 

Super Saturday for Myerscough Basketball

Myerscough’s under 18’s kicked off their National Cup campaign with a hard fought victory over local rivals Preston’s College. Helped by 33 points from Alex Roberts and 15 from Ryan Knowles, Myerscough led by as many as 19 at the beginning of the third before a spirited fight back from the visiting side saw the score narrow to just 4 points one minute into the final period.

Smart play down the stretch and some clutch shots by Kyle Elly and Matthew Hodgkinson opened the lead back up to 11 with 4 minutes to play in the 4^th. Myerscough held their nerve and ran out with a 9 point victory, the final score 85 – 76.

Myerscough now face Cheshire Panthers in the next round and will, without doubt, be ready to make a push in the competition.

(25 – 19) (24 – 17) (18 – 25) (18 – 15)

Myerscough moved to 2 & 0 in Basketball England’s division four after a convincing 30 point victory over Leeds Tigers.

Myerscough started quickly running out to lead by 6 after 4 minutes as the visitors struggled to keep pace – Kiko Stavrev, back from a slight injury, broke up a mini revival from the experienced Leeds side halting a 6 point run with back to back buckets. Myerscough held a 5 point cushion after the first, 18 – 13.

 

Kiko Stavrev  with 15 points personal

 

A scrappy, low scoring second quarter saw the home side; despite excellent ball movement, struggle to knock down open shots. Youngster, Jordie Thomas who has been in excellent form was the bright spark of the period showing great maturity on both ends of the floor. A tip in from Emmanuel Kabengele ended the scoring, Myerscough with a 3 point lead going into the break, 29 – 26.

Myerscough’s raised the tempo in the third and for a team who have only been together for 3 weeks began to show true signs of promise, scoring from multiple positions and linking up for excellent defensive sequences. An Earl Russell jumper opened up a 10 point lead as time wound down on the quarter, Myerscough seemingly having established their offensive rhythm. (50 – 40)

 

Tadhg Hickey leading the break

 

The fourth quarter proved to be Myerscough’s strongest as they outscored the visitors 26 – 6. Leeds visibly worn down by the up-tempo style of play struggled to deal with the pace of the home side. Myerscough were ruthless in their approach forcing multiple stops whilst running the break effectively; Ireland U18’s Tadhg and Cian Hickey linked up well to push the lead out to 30 in what was a dominant quarter for Myerscough, the final score 76 – 46.

(18 – 13) (11 – 13) (21 – 14) (26 – 6)

Kiko Stavrev led the scoring with 15 points whilst adding 4 rebounds, Emmanuel Kabengele delivered a characteristic double, double with 12 points 10 boards, Earl Russell adding a season high 14 points.

Head Coach Neal Hopkins was happy with his team’s second half performance, ‘As a unit I thought we played far better after the break, we were a little sloppy in the first half but every minute is valuable, good or bad’ Hopkins added ‘I though Nils Ozolins was very good today, he chipped in with 6 assists at crucial times, I really want these guys to understand the importance of sharing the ball, Nils certainly did a great job of this today’.

Myerscough head to Liverpool next Saturday after a busy week of college fixtures including their first Elite Academy Basketball League (EABL) fixture against Birmingham Met on Wednesday (3pm tip at Myerscough).

Myerscough fall short in the National Shield

With a place in the next round of Basketball England’s National Shield up for grabs Myerscough welcomed local rivals Preston’s College in what was always going to be a fiery encounter.

The away side hit the ground running, exploding to a 10 – 0 start as Myerscough struggled with Preston’s energy and unorthodox style - back to back buckets from Nils Ozolins steadied the home side as Myerscough put together a 17 – 4 run to end the quarter. Having seemingly ridden the energetic start from their counterparts Myerscough led after the first 17 – 14.

The second quarter followed suit as Myerscough asserted themselves on the game – the home side capitalised on mistakes from the visitors and an Emmanuel Kabengele brace from the line sealed a 16 – 3 run which in truth should have been enough to blow the game open. Myerscough failure to convert wide open shots gave Preston’s College a glimmer of hope which they capitalised on, converting 5 points straight to bring the game to 9 points at the end of the half, Myerscough leading 38 – 29.

The third quarter was a scrappy affair as both sides tried to gain the upper hand. Preston’s College, with renewed energy did all they could to break the play up and make it difficult for the home side to establish any rhythm. Myerscough saw their scoring stifle as they once again lacked execution on the offensive end; the visitors on the other hand had no such problems in finding their rhythm, exploiting poor defence from the home side. Despite a poor quarter Myerscough held a slim lead going into the fourth, the quarter ending 57 – 53.

An 8 point swing at the beginning of the fourth gave Preston’s College their first lead since the first quarter. Myerscough struggled to find tempo and defensive lapses gave Preston opportunity to convert with relative ease. With the visitors leading by 8 with 3 minutes to go a 10 – 2 surge from Myerscough levelled the score at 70. The visitors then nailed a triple answered by a Tadhg Hickey deep two to see a timeout called with 16 seconds left, the score 72 – 73. With Myerscough in the bonus Preston’s College found themselves at the line knocking down both to open up a 3 point gap. A quick offence from Myerscough saw a cheap turnover, a subsequent foul took Preston back to the line where they split, hitting the first missing the second. As time wound down Alex Roberts who had been exceptional for Myerscough nailed from deep to bring the score back to 1 point. With 2.3 seconds left Preston’s College were back on the line this time missing both unfortunately not giving Myerscough enough time to find a final shot. The final score 75 – 76 to Preston’s College.

Coach Neal Hopkins commented after the game ‘We showed in spells that we can be a good team, but on the whole that was a poor performance by us. We didn’t adjust well and demonstrated great naivety, all we can do is reflect on the mistakes we made today and re-group’.

Myerscough are now back to league action, taking on Leeds Tigers next Saturday (3:30 tip at SANAC – Preston) Chris Bwana, Montel Dennis, Kiko Stavrev and David Walsh are expect to return for the home side.

Myerscough U18’s victorious in the Hoop Dreams pre-season tournament

 

Sunday 21^st September saw Myerscough's u18 squad travel to the annual Hoop dreams tournament held at the American school in Egham (ACS Egham).

This tournament hosts U14s, u16s, and U18s all at national league level. The U18’s was split into 3 groups Conference A, Conference B, and U18 premier.

Myerscough was entered into the Premier division along with the South Regional team and London Westside rangers.

Myerscough’s u18 team consisted of: Adam Morris, Yannick Kablan, Kameron Shorrocks, Harry Parr, Kieran Howell, Matthew Hodgkinson, Caine Lewin-Tuner and Pawel Koltuniuk.

The first game for Myerscough was against the Westside rangers, previously undefeated in their 2013/14 campaign in the Southern Conference.

Starters: Yannick, Adam, Kameron, Harry, and Caine.

Within the first few minutes Westside push to a 6-0 run, Harry starts the Myerscough offense with an open jump shot. The Northern side seemed to find it difficult as the Westside team had two athletic rim protectors who swatted away any drives to the basket.

Myerscough’s Kameron and Adam managed to create some space later in the half by hitting back to back 3’s. The score at the half was 15-20.

Second half saw the Myerscough clan play with a bit more urgency, starting off promisingly going on a 5 point run with timely steal by Kieran. Timeout was called by the opposition to break the run, Myerscough feeling confident with what seemed to be there new lease of life.

After the pause in play the Rangers came out with a killer’s mentality scoring 8 baskets unanswered and holding Myerscough scoreless. Caine managed to hit an open jump shot for the Rangers to only retaliate in another 6 to 2 spell. The score now rolling in at 34-20.

As time ran down Myerscough only managed to score 4 baskets to try and break down the lead but the West Side boys were just too strong. The final score ending in 36-28 to the Rangers.

 South Regional Vs Myerscough

With the fresh taste of defeat the Myerscough crew decided that they were not going home empty handed. In order to stand a chance to play another game the boys urgently recognised this one was an all or nothing game.

Starters for this game: Kieran, Yannick, Adam, Caine and Pavel.

The game plan from the jump ball was to press and trap at any possible opportunity. Kieran Howell did a great job at setting the tone. A few easy steals saw the Myerscough team go up 12-4 in the opening stages. Pavel cleaning up on any missed opportunities around the basket. Numerous free throws kept the Regional team insight of Myerscough. The score at half time was 18-10.

Second half the team came out confident but calm with good ball movement taking good shots and making good decisions although shooting percentage was low. The South Regional team went on a run of 10 points reminding the Northerners that the game had not finished. Good leaderships shown by Matthew allowed the team some great scoring opportunities and trips to the line. Myerscough then pulled away to 27-20.

Myerscough shut down the Regional team to 1 more point before the close of the game. The final score was 31-21.

Finals: West Side Vs Myerscough

Myerscough taking on a worn out Southern team seemed an open opportunity to to claim revenge on their previous victors. The game plan was simple; high speed, double team, full court pressure, deny everything and make them run. This saw the Southern boys quickly burn out and the Northern boys an opportunity to apply pressure.

The opening half saw Myerscough cause countless turn overs for the Rangers resulting in easy baskets in transition. West Side tried to use their size and strength over the undersized, agile Myerscough. The lead quickly jumped out to 17-8 with the West Side struggling to finish at the basket. Their only hope came from picking up loose points at the foul line.

A big 3 from Kameron and a positive effort on the boards by Caine, Pavel and Harry resulted in a strong lead for Myerscough. A time out was called by the West Side for a rest and recovery period for the weary Rangers.  The score at the half 23-20 in favour of Myerscough.

Second half with victory in sight, the boys agreed ‘no let up’ until the final whistle. The Rangers at this stage were fatigued and disjointed with frustration.

A solid team effort on the defensive end kept the West Side team away from reaching distance and what turned out to be a blow out in the final moments of the game. The final score in at 39-26 and Myerscough claiming victory.

Referee Mark Fellows commented after the game “That was the best defence that I have seen in a very long while”.

 

Congratulations to Myerscough who took the title and a big thank you to the organisers for the invite and putting on a great tournament.

Myerscough College Vs Stockport College match report

On Wednesday we welcomed Stockport College to Myerscough for the opening game of the AOC North West league. The home team got off to a slow start with Stockport’s half court zone making it difficult to settle. With both teams trading baskets the quarter finished 12-11 to the home team.

The second quarter got off to a quick start with Matthew Hodgkinson and Harry Parr scoring the first 4 points in transition; however through some careless fouls the Myerscough team allowed Stockport 8 trips to the foul line which allowed the away side back into the quarter and only 1 point behind at the half.

The start of the third quarter was a very different story. A big 3 from Adam Morris in the first minute set the tone. Myerscough came out aggressively playing up tempo full court defence with Kameron Shorrocks forcing 3 turnovers in quick succession. With the zone defence no longer causing problems and the change in defensive intensity Myerscough ran out to a 15 point lead by the quarter.

The 4^thquarter provided much the same with crisp passing against the zone opening up great 3 point opportunities for Kameron Shorrocks, Yannick Kablan and Marcus Shields of which were excuted with devastating effect. With time running out Stockport fought hard to try and get back into the game but too little too late as Myerscough took their opening game of the season 70-40.

Coach Daniel Gayle was very pleased with the boys opening performance saying ‘the effort and intensity was outstanding and very impressive for so early in the campaign. There is still much work to be done but we are looking forward to a fantastic season’.

Quarter score breakdowns: (12-11) (10-10) (26-12) (22-7)

Final Score: Myerscough Win 70-40.

 

Wednesday afternoon also saw our AOC North West 2nd team beat Oldham College 59 - 32, led by impressive performances from John Challinor and Kane Benjamin.

 

 

Myerscough show promise in defeat

Sunday saw Myerscough head to Manchester to take on division one’s Manchester Magic in Basketball England’s National cup. Manchester a senior team three divisions above the young Myerscough side were resounding favourites coming into the fixture.

Myerscough started out the first quarter nervously as the hosts punched out an 18 – 4 start, led by former BBL player Nathan Schall. As Magic rotated Myerscough began to settle and find rhythm, new boy Joao Paiva carving his way to the ring helped sparked a revival for the travelling side who had trailed by 17 with 4 minutes left in the quarter. Back to back triples for Myerscough carved the deficit to 9, and as time expired on the quarter Cian Hickey followed up an Owen Stanley free throw to bring the game to 6 points (30 – 24).

 

Behind the scene, half time team talk.

Both teams traded during the first 4 minutes of the 2^nd, Earl Russell finished a tough move to decrease the home team’s advantage to just 4 points (38 – 34). Magic then strung together a 17 – 1 run to lead 55 – 35 with 30 seconds left as Myerscough went through an offensive slump. A final mini push from Myerscough cut the lead to 17 as the first half wound down (56 – 39).

Myerscough came out after the break with aggression and battled hard against the experienced Manchester side. With both teams fielding their starting 5 Myerscough looked to take Magic away from their rhythm, doing so bringing the home sides lead down to 13 after 3 minutes.  Both teams traded buckets in what was a very stop start quarter due to multiple foul calls and with time winding down Magic’s zone defence stifled Myerscough allowing Magic to extend their lead to 22 at the end of the 3^rd (73 – 51).

The 4^th mirrored the 3^rd with both teams struggling to find rhythm. Myerscough found plenty of scoring opportunities but struggled with execution, this was especially the case from downtown as the away side only converted on 3 of 20 attempts. Myerscough continued to play without fear but ultimately were beaten by the class and experience of the home side – the final score 85 – 63 to Manchester Magic.

Coach Neal Hopkins was full of praise for his young side after the game ‘I though the guys did a great job, we purely wanted a strong performance and to give these young men a chance to express themselves, with 11 of the 12 players seeing 10 plus minutes of playing time we have certainly achieved this’. Hopkins added, ‘I truly hope Magic go far in the competition and have a great season, they treated us with great hospitality and demonstrated their class throughout the fixture’.

Scoring breakdown; (30 -24) (26 – 15) (17 – 12) (12 – 12)

Stats can be found Here

Manchester Evening News match report Here

Myerscough will now have their first week of full practice before they take on Preston’s College in the National Trophy on Sunday (28^that SANAC, Preston. 2:30 tip off).

 

 

Myerscough begin with a Win

Summer 2014 has been a busy one off the court for Myerscough College Basketball Academy. After our successful performance camp back in August it has been all hands on deck in preparation for the new season, a season that started today (14^th September) against local and ambitious neighbours Lancashire Spinners - who have had their own busy summer building on their fantastic reputation.

It is safe to say that there has been a lot of excitement at the prospect of Myerscough playing National League and it is recognised as a big step forward for a programme just a year old.

 

 

New boys Tadhg + Cian Hickey, Joao Paiva and Nils Ozolins were unavailable (Awaiting International Clearance), whilst 6 Myerscough players were away with the Northwest at the under 17 development tournament; this meant a call up for debutants Earl Russell, Jordie Thomas, David Walsh, Ryan Forde and Kiko Stavrev who would join returners Montel Dennis, Emmanuel Kabengele, Owen Stanley and veteran Nick McCarthy in the Myerscough squad.  

Lancashire Spinners 2, also new to Basketball England’s Division 4 netted first as both team started nervously. Kiko Stavrev replied, opening the scoring for Myerscough. An Owen Stanley triple settled the nerves for the young Myerscough side and as the quarter wound down a well worked offence gave Ryan Forde the chance to score at the ring, he did so giving Myerscough a 7 point cushion after the first. 18 – 11.

Myerscough turned the screw defensively during the second forcing 6 consecutive stops leading to a 16 point run which ultimately blew the game open, Earl Russell with the pick of the points finishing with a big dunk after great defensive pressure. Myerscough ran the break effectively and made the Spinners pay for lapses in concentration; David Walsh put the exclamation mark on a great quarter hitting from deep for Myerscough after precise ball movement. The score at the half, 41 – 19 in Myerscough’s favour.

A slow third saw Myerscough ease off the gas; this gave the Spinners a ray of light which they snapped up. Back to back triples sparked a 16 – 4 run for the visitors as Myerscough struggled for rhythm on both ends. In what was a quarter that is sure to be analysed by the Myerscough Coaches the Spinners outscored the home side 22-12, giving Myerscough a 12 point lead going into the 4^th.

Emmanuel Kabengele stretched the lead back out to 16 within 1 minute of the start of the final quarter and from that point Myerscough only looked back to rectify the mistakes of the third. Jordie Thomas spearheaded the home sides defensive efforts as Myerscough looked to shut out the Spinners – this strategy worked holding the away team to only 2 points throughout the 4^th as Myerscough eased to a 67 – 43 victory.

Coach Neal Hopkins was satisfied with his teams efforts ‘It’s a good start, we have a lot to work on but we also have a lot to work with so I am excited about our future in senior National league. These young men will go from strength to strength plus I am looking forward to having a full squad to select from’.

Montel Dennis had a game high 20 points with Emmanuel Kabengele finishing with 12, Owen Stanley and Earl Russell finished with 7 points apiece for Myerscough.

Myerscough will now embark in a week long team building trip before taking on Manchester Magic in the Men’s National Cup first round (September 21^st at ABC).