Basketball

Teesside Huskies A managed what all of the other Teesside men's first division teams failed to do last week - they reached the semi-finals of the Durham County Cup.

Huskies gained a 70-60 win in their delayed quarter-final tie against Third Division Durham Saints.

A good start ensured success and Huskies were comfortable at 25-7 as the first quarter ended. With ten minutes left Huskies still held a 20-point lead but the final quarter was all Saints who scored 21-10 as they finished much the stronger through Matthew Dodds and Simon Dunlop and it was Huskies who were the more relieved to hear the final buzzer.

James Thompson top scored for Teesside Huskies A with 26 points, Anderson and Applegarth chipped in with 18 and 14 apiece. Martin James led Saints with 22 points. Dodds and Duntop added 18 and 12.

East Durham and Houghall Academy took another step towards the First Division championship title with a 68-58 victory at home to Middlesbrough Mavericks. Academy were not at their best, and it took a run of seven unanswered points from John Simpson and Paul Butler in the last minute of the first quarter to give them a 19-13 cushion. Mavericks had the better of the third quarter as Ian Viveash and Martin Willis caught the eye. Mavericks, with four minutes left and on a roll, the gap was down to one point at 55-54. A Mavericks time-out then worked against them. On the restart, Richard Lacey hit five points in a row and with 90 seconds left Academy were in control at 63-54.

Four players shared almost all of the Academy points; Simpson (22), Dolby (14), Lacey (12) and Butler (12).

Marek Pawlak and Viveash were outstanding for Mavericks with 21 and 20 points apiece.

University of Teesside enjoyed a ton-up success in beating East Durham and Houghall College A 105-76 in their Division One fixture. It was a steady rather than a dramatic win. Rob Rough made the initial inroads in the first quarter which scored

27-17 to University. East Durham put the brakes on during the second quarter thanks to Joe Wardle and John Harding and the lead had increased to just 47-35 by the break. The second half was one way traffic. With Phil Hale running the show, Jon Stonebridge and Michael Bouclas were the main recipients and baskets from them stretched the gap throughout the twenty minutes which scored 58-41.

Rough was at his best for University of Teesside with 29 points, Bouclas and Stonebridge added 18 and 17 each. Wardle, Harding and. Ian, Barrow netted 18, 16 and 13 for East Durham.

The semi-finals of the Division Two Cup were staged at East Durham and Houghall Community College in Petelee. Durham Knights gained a 77-60 triumph against league championship favourites Consett Steelers. An 11-2 burst in the first three minutes of the second quarter gave Steelers a 21-14 cushion but Gavin Hope was impeccable and he turned the game around, giving the students a 35-27 half-time advantage. Hope was unstoppable with 30 points for Knights. Matthew Patterson and Brendan McNeany hit 18 each for Steelers.

Belmont Reds beat Hartlepool CJ Hydraulics A 65-53 in the second game. Not for the first time this season Hydraulics A shot themselves in the foot. Despite poor shooting they still led 50-48 with six minutes to play. Colin Knight then fouled out and Hydraulics ground to a halt. Reds cashed in to the tune of 12 points without reply and with three minutes left the Hartlepool side were in disarray at 60-50 down.

The addition of American Tasha Brown to the Tyneside ranks has put them on another plane and two immaculate displays carried them two steps closer to retaining the women's league title.

First on the chopping block were Newcastle College Wildcats who were no match for Tyneside, 107-43 winners. The second quarter was a nightmare for the visitors. Sarah Hindmarch, Tasha Brown and Zoe Vickers all piled up the points. The second Tyneside win was an 83-10 success against the luckless Durham Knights. Sarah Hindmarch led the scoring in both games with 34 against Newcastle and 26 at Knights. Brown hit 30 against Wildcats but took a back seat with 14 in the win over Knights.