Durham League

Middlesbrough Mavericks returned from Peterlee as 94-76 winners over East Durham and Houghall College A in their Division One clash.

A flying start won Mavericks the game. Andy Reid from the fringe and Wayne Bailey inside netted Mavericks a 15-6 lead after just five minutes before John Harding and Ian Barrow shared 10 points which cut the gap to 24-18 as the first quarter ended. Mavericks stepped up a gear again at the start of the second quarter and as Bailey, Marek Pawlak and Andy Buchanan took charge of the boards so Mavericks took control of the game at 39-25 after sixteen minutes and then 52-35 by the interval. The second half was even at 42-41 as the College full court press finally kept Mavericks in check. What College could not do though was to make inroads into the deficit. Once again teamwork was the key to Mavericks success as six players hit double figures: Pawlak (21), Bailey (17), Buchanan (14), Mark Johnson (14), Reid (12) and Ian Viveash (10). Barrow and David Wylie did best for East Durham with 21 and 19 points as Harding got 16 and John Bergin hit 13.

The best game of the week by a long way gave Trimdon Community College Association a last-gasp, 92-91 second division win away to East Durham and Houghall College B.

College are still trying to work out how they lost. With ten minutes left Andrew Bains and Steven Wood had given College a 82-66 lead and Trimdon looked beaten. College then relaxed. That was just the invitation Lee Norton needed and he hit three baskets in a row to help close the gap to 82-76. Again College pulled away, this time to 91-82 with four minutes to play. Somehow College then failed to score again and Trimdon tied the game at 91-91 with eighteen seconds left. College had possession, but wasted it. Oliver set off on a fast-break, but a foul put him on the line, hit one from two and Trimdon had won.

Bains and Wood were excellent for East Durham with 29 and 27 points. Norton was the Trimdon match-winner with 45 points, although Lee Armstrong and Oliver gave him good support with 20 and 14.

Another derby, this time between Hartlepool Hawks and East Durham and Houghall College C gave Hawks a 100-79 victory and consolidated their position at the top of division three.

The game was won and lost in the first quarter. Four three-point baskets helped give Hawks a 18-9 cushion after just seven minutes, an advantage which had stretched to 27-11 by the time the quarter finished. College fared a little better in a free-scoring 30-21 second quarter, but five three-pointers from Luke Thompson helped give Hawks match control at 57-31 with twenty minutes left. College did well during the second half, but could never threaten the deficit.

Luke Thompson hit seven three-pointers in his 37 point match total, Murphy and brother Leon Thompson gave him good support with 24 and 12. James Simmon and Paul Cassell collected 25 and 22 apiece for East Durham.

With four weeks of the season left all is still to play for in most divisions. Current league standings and a selection of statistics from the first and second division seasons so far is shown below. Detailed statistics can be found on the Durham League web site which has a new address : durhambasketball.org.uk

Division One (League)

P W L Pts

Middlesbrough Mavericks 9 7 2 23

Teesside Huskies 7 5 2 16

Norton A 8 4 4 16

Middlesbro Coll Academy 5 5 0 15

Nissan 9 3 6 14

University of Teesside 6 1 5 8

ED and H College A 6 0 6 6

Division One leading scorers (League): Marek Pawlak (Middlesbrough Mavericks) 169, Leon Gabbidon (Teesside Huskies) 124, Steve Butler (Norton A) 121, Neil Thorne (Nissan) 110, Steve Lowde (Norton A) 102, Arran Hope (Nissan) 94, Rob Bryson (Middlesbrough Mavericks) 86, Tom Applegarth (Teesside Huskies) 86, Ian Barrow (ED and H College A) 83, Bill Spragg (Nissan) 78.

Division One leading scorers (Cup): Marek Pawlak (Middlesbrough Mavericks) 190, Darren Spence (ED and H College A) 108, Leon Gabbidon (Teesside Huskies) 108, Tony Hanson (Teesside Huskies) 96, Wayne Robinson (Middlesbrough College Academy) 77, Arran Hope (Nissan) 74, Kieron Achara (Middlesbrough College Academy) 69, Paul Connery (Middlesbrough Mavericks) 67, Ian Barrow (ED and H College A) 66, Andy Buchanan (Middlesbrough Mavericks) 65