Storm survive scare in Yorkshire to win Halloween thriller
A spirited final quarter saw Hemel Storm survive a Halloween scare to win in Yorkshire and continue their perfect start to the season.
They found themselves five points down with their unbeaten record in danger with two-and-a-half minutes on the clock, but a Tom Baker timeout instigated a defensive lockdown.
They deprived the Dragons of any joy and Victor Olarerin and Kai Walker combined to produce a vital 8-0 run and steal a 94-91 win.
Olarerin came to the fore down the stretch, driving to the basket with indefatigable energy and determination to carry his side over the line with a 27-point showing.
Their five straight league wins to start the campaign, nine in all competitions, haven’t come easily, but the guests simply don’t know when they are beaten, refusing to lie down and accept defeat.
The victory margins across their last five outings reads three, eight, five, three and eight (after double-overtime) and they’ve had to recover from fourth-quarter deficits in four of those.
Baker might hope for some more comfortable evenings to come, but the character displayed in overcoming adversity to prosper even when not at their best bodes well for the remainder of the campaign.
Their depth was always going to be crucial, with the Dragons heavily reliant on their starting contingent, and contributions from Alex McNaught and Kai Walker off the bench gave Storm the extra energy they needed to climb off the canvas at the death.
With Jared Small replacing Olarerin in the starting five, Storm’s bench provided 35 points, 26 more than their hosts, as no Storm player featured for more than half-an-hour.
Two of the Dragons’ starters, Corey Johnson and David Ulph, played all 40 minutes, while Jordan Jefferson and Jackson Dudek suited up for 36 and 37 respectively, and perhaps the toll that workload took played a part in the guests’ late resurgence.
The battle under the basket between Ulph and Ty Nsangu was a fascinating one, and both contributed valiantly for their sides.
Dragons captain Ulph posted 18 points and pulled down a mammoth 18 rebounds, while Nsangu went a perfect 10 for 10 from the field and helped himself to 23 points and 10 boards.
High-percentage looks were the name of the game for Baker’s men, who took 17 fewer attempts from the field than the hosts but shot a superior 56% and connected with an identical 36 shots.
Some lax rebounding from Storm accounted for part of that disparity in attempted shots, as the Dragons frustrated Baker’s side with 19 offensive rebounds and 24 second-chance points.
Storm were guilty of sleeping defensively on occasions, getting caught out by the Dragons backdoor cut a few times, but they found their rearguard when it mattered.
Nsangu opened the piece with six consecutive Storm points and Brayden Inger ended the opening period with the hot hand as the guests ran out to a 31-24 lead at the first break.
Sam Newman’s layup pushed their advantage to double digits midway through the second and it reached as high as 13 as Storm threatened to pull away, but the Dragons ended the half with a 10-2 run to reduce the deficit to six points.
Consecutive threes to open the second half put the hosts into the lead and they took control with 15 unanswered points near the end of the period, an Olarerin triple on the buzzer sending Storm into the final break seven behind at 77-70.
They worked their way back into the contest before Olarerin took control, nailing a three to tie the game at 84 apiece with five minutes to go.
His layup put Storm back into the ascendancy but a 7-0 Dragons run had them five up with 150 seconds to play.
But that was to be their final breach of Storm’s defences as the locks went on.
Olarerin fought hard to force a score after his offensive rebound, and then drove to the basket to reduce the arrears to one.
Walker was next to battle defiantly, pulling down a vital offensive rebound and laying in to give his side the lead with 30 seconds remaining.
Newman poked away to allow Olarerin to race away and extend Storm’s advantage to three, leaving the Dragons one play to try and tie the game.
But Storm’s defence carried them home as Jefferson fumbled and Baker’s side survived to win a Halloween thriller and continue their dream start to the season.
Next up is a huge clash with the league’s only other unbeaten side, Reading Rockets, at the Loddon Valley Sports Centre.
Tickets for that away trip are available here.
Written by Callum Humphrey