Lions hold off late american surge

In front of the biggest crowd of the season and Mayor of Redcar & Cleveland; Mike Findley, Middlesbrough Lions held off a late surge from American side, Menwith Hill Cavaliers to earn a 3pt win in front of 283 fans.

The game started rather nervously after an exciting intro routine with the mascots. Both teams would fail to mark the score sheet until the second minute when Alex Moore gave the crowd reason to applaud with a left hand lay up following a great series of passes between Damian Warriner and Tyrone Thomas with Warriner landing the assist. The Cavaliers response was almost immediate as big man; Sam Little powered to the basket. After a Lions turnover, the Cavaliers then capitalised with a lovely drive from Dave Macklin, but rather than crumble, the Lions galvanised with Acho Anyigbo and Dean Hanson controlling the boards at the defensive end and then pushing the ball forward for three consecutive fast breaks to Warriner (2) and Moore. Middlesbrough produced an impressive 8-0 run which was halted in the sixth minute by Jason Moore who shot the ball off the dribble just outside the key. In the seventh minute, Anyigbo produced one of the plays of the game as he faked a pass inside and then spun in the other direction to provide a high rise finish and extend the lead to 6pts, 12-06. The Cavaliers though finished strong in the final three minutes with Ben Stipp nailing two 3 pointers along with a lay up to finish the first quarter up by two points, 12-14.

In the second quarter, a strong drive by player/coach James Thomson led to a foul by Cavs Edward Cooper. Thomson went to the line and converted both attempts and this seemed to ignite the Middlesbrough outfit as they surged ahead as Thomas, Moore and Warriner combined to take a 6pt lead, 22-16. Lions defence was looking strong and a hearty display from 6’10 Andrew Marshall instilled some passion into his team mates and the crowd as the noise levels increased. In the seventh minute the huge arms of Kasim Cheatum fired a shot from the top of the key to take a 1pt lead and led to a great half time finish as Lions’ Moore responded with a big 3 pointer followed by Thomson somehow scrambling the ball to Anyigbo through a crowd for the big Nigerian to sink the lay up. The 4pt lead was then reduced when Cooper nailed a 3 pointer but some cool shooting from Thomson at the free throw line afforded Middlesbrough with a slender 3pt lead, 33-30 as the teams left the court for the break.

During half time, Katie Gibson won the Kids Kit Dash and her father; Nic Gibson was unlucky as he missed his attempt for the £100 half court shot.

After a short break to settle the heart rates of the thrilled crowd, it was time for the third quarter, although Lions would be quickly placed onto the back foot as the strength of Little and Macklin provided early problems which Middlesbrough found difficulty in containing. The home team had enjoyed leading the majority of the game, but their American counterparts were a constant threat and by the third minute Macklin gave the Cavaliers the lead with a sweet reverse lay up for a 6-2 run with only Anyigbo responding for Lions. A Time Out was called to reorganise the defence and Lions switched to a 2-1-2 zone which seemed to have a better impact and led to a 5-0 run, rounded off by a strong finish from Andrew Marshall. 7’2 Dean Hanson then upped his game with three blocks in as many minutes. With the scores now at 40-36, Lions were dousing every surge that Menwith delivered. In the last three minutes of the third quarter, 14yr old Dan Brown replaced Thomas for his senior Lions debut and the little guard did not disappoint with some composed passing and hustle on defence. A faultless drive by Moore earned Lions a 5pt lead as they left the third period, 39-44. Brown was one of two 14yr olds who were given the opportunity to suit up for the big game. The other in James Parkin tasted the action late in the fourth quarter.

The fairly low score was indicative of the good defence on display and Lions athletic guards in Warriner, Moore and Thomas were leading by example as they were a constant thorn in the side of Menwith and the trio would finish with 8 steals between them. Moore made the first 4pts for Lions with his second basket being an off balance baseline shot on the foul for the ‘And 1’ play although the usually reliable shooting hand was off target for the bonus. Menwith captain Kasim Cheatum rallied his side with a couple of baskets in the third minute but the momentum was still with Middlesbrough as Anyigbo prepared to dunk before settling for a delicate drop of the ball, two points nevertheless, after gasps of anticipation from the crowd. In the fourth minute James Thomson extended the Lions lead to 10pts, 54-44 with a swift baseline drive through a crowd and for the following five minutes both teams traded baskets with Lions up by 12 at one point and 11 ahead with just one minute remaining. This final minute though would leave every fan and player on the edge of their seat as Menwith hit two huge 3 pointers via Cooper and Stipp to bring the Americans within 5pts. Seconds later Warriner was fouled and made amends for poor free throw shooting the previous game as he made both attempts to afford some breathing space. With the score now at 67-60 Stipp stepped up again with another 3 pointer and in the next play Cheatum sunk a 3 to bring the Cavs within 1pt with only 18 seconds remaining. With the Americans needing to stop the clock Cheatum tackled Thomas and was given an intentional foul which meant Lions would have two free throws and possession. Thomas hit both but was called for a travel on the next play. With just five seconds on the clock Cheatum lined up his shot to tie the game when he was fouled by Warriner sending the American captain to the line for three attempts which if successful, would tie the game. The crowd would now play their part as they made it difficult with a thunderous amount of noise causing Cheatum to miss 2 of 3 attempts and after a Thomas free throw, Lions secured the 3 point win, 70-67.

There were a number of contenders for the MVP award but in the end Alex Moore was given the honour, finishing as games top scorer with 24pts along with 5 rebounds, 4 steals & 3 assists. A special mention must go to Cavaliers Sam Little who proved a very valuable member of the team and although only hit 6pts his influence in other areas was crucial as he collected 11 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 assists & 1 block.

The next event at Eston Sports Academy will be the Celebrity basketball game which this year will raise money for The Daisy Chain Charity. The game will feature a team of celebrities playing basketball against a Game Time professional team and will provide some non stop entertainment and laughs if nothing else! Tickets are available now at £3 which as an all weekend pass for the schools & college finals as well as the celebrity game which begins at 3.30pm on Sunday 17th May. More details available by calling 01642 814221