Bury Blue Devils 82-85 TADEA Middlesbrough Lions

TADEA Middlesbrough Lions rounded off a tough weekend away with a loss at Warrington followed by a dramatic win at Bury, a game which had both coaches, benches and spectators on the edge of their seats.

After looking the stronger team in the first half and leading by 8pts, mistakes would creep in towards the end to reduce the visitors lead to just 1pt, 32-33 at the interval. Lions then struggled on the restart and watched helplessly as the Blue Devils went 10pts ahead.

Towards the end of the quarter Lions stepped up, with John Ford in particular playing some excellent basketball at both ends. Steven Graham though was the thorn in Lions side as he added 11pts in the third quarter.

Middlesbrough were given some hope with the emergence of Ryon Dixon’s three 3-pointers to tighten the game. Lions were down 59-55 thanks to a Graham 3-pointer on the buzzer and would enter the final quarter with a lot of work to do.

Coach Thomson demanded an immediate response and was not afraid to tinker with his squad. “We need to stop the scoring, it doesn’t matter how many we score if we keep allowing them easy baskets” added the Middlesbrough Coach.

Although this impact would not happen immediately, the new squad rotation policy would pay dividends late in the game. Bury would in fact gather a 10pt lead as silly mistakes yet again disrupted the TADEA Lions. As Lions switched to a man to man defence and locked down the key scoring threats an unlikely hero would emerge in Will Guery who had hit just one shot prior to the fourth quarter and now hit 8pts, leading to his marker; Tom Robinson being replaced with Ben Thompson.

The introduction of Thompson would be a turning point for Middlesbrough as with just three minutes remaining and down 10pts, the hard working guard would produce an ‘And 1’ play and make his bonus shot to reduce the lead to 7pts. In the next play, John Ford Weaved to the basket to reduce the lead to just 5pts. Bury then replied through Matt Allerston but the momentum was with Middlesbrough and Ford was again on hand to draw another ‘And 1’ play. Ford would miss the free throw but the Lions were now well and truly fired up. A big rebound from Rob Wright found DaWaun Wells but the American would miss his next two drives. Coach Thomson called a Time Out to rest his ailing players. Pure adrenaline was keeping them going but the Coach begged for them to leave noting on the court and if they need to be carried off after to secure the win then so be it. With 16 seconds remaining Lions were down by just 2pts when a silly error from Allerston would send Wells to the free throw line to make both shots and tie the game. Another Time Out was called by the Lions chief who reiterated the importance of staying on your marker and ensuring NO fouls be given. No silly mistakes could happen at this stage. Disaster would emerge when Metcalfe lost Wells and drove to the basket. Lions forward; Matt Taylor would attempt to play help defence but stumbled, fouling the Bury player as the ball dropped into the basket. With 9 seconds remaining, this free throw could put the win out of reach for Lions, but he missed and Wright pulled down the biggest rebound of his career. As he held the ball, Bury made their biggest mistake in fouling. A foul which would send the athletic forward to the line to make two successful shots to re-tie the game.

A final Time Out was called by James Thomson who brought back Tom Robinson and called for the ball to be placed in his hands for the last shot. The drama however was not over as Bury captain Steve Graham drove with determination and rose to sink a close range shot to win the game. Out of nowhere though American DaWaun Wells would make amends for a terrible game the day before by blocking the shot and sealing the ball. Graham’s frustration would earn another foul sending Lions to the line again. With 0.6 seconds left Wells made his first and Robinson sealed the win with a buzzer beating put back after Wells missed his second. In the most dramatic of games, TADEA Lions would beat a solid team that has already beaten Hull and Chester Jets this season.

After the game, Lions Chief James Thomson praised his squad for what was an important reaction to the Warrington loss “We showed superb character to hold our nerve and fight through fatigue to secure a vital and morale boosting win. I was very disappointed with the way DaWaun and Tom played against Warrington, though they made amends for that against Bury. I expect a lot more from them. I am very pleased with Ryon Dixon, Ben Thompson & Rob Wright against Bury and John Ford who I made captain against Bury after being the only player to perform against Warrington.”

The MVP was awarded to Tom Robinson who despite some mistakes and fatigue was the games top scorer on 23pts.

Top Scorers

Blue Devils: Allerston 18; Graham 17, Cuthbert 16, Metcalfe 11
TADEA Lions: Robinson 23, Wells 18, Dixon 11, Thompson 10, Ford 9, Wright 9