Hemel Storm 77 - 83 Leicester Warriors (National League Division One)
Despite a devastating first quarter that saw Hemel Storm go 28 – 13 down against a rampant Leicester Warriors side at Sportspace on Saturday the home team fought back impressively and built a four point advantage 62 – 58 going into the final quarter.
And when Hemel’s American guard and eventual top-scorer AJ Roberts (23 points and six assists) hit a three-pointer on the first possession of the final stanza to put his team seven points ahead it looked like Storm’s gutsy fight back would bring an early Christmas present for their fans.
But the visitors had other ideas. They clawed their way back into this National League Division One fixture through some tenacious defence that forced Vanarama-sponsored Hemel into six turnovers in the period and produced some aggressive offensive play that saw them penetrate Storm’s defence to outscore them 25 – 15 and take the win 83 – 77.
Hemel had their chances at the free-throw line but they were agonisingly cold from the charity stripe especially in the decisive last quarter scoring only three of their ten attempts and just 11 from 20 for the game.
In a nail-biting final minute the Warriors who are eleventh in the table went 78 – 77 ahead on an Elliot Sentence jump shot followed by a three-pointer from American Rodney Sanders.
With the score at 81 – 77 and 35 seconds to go, Hemel Head Coach Robert Youngblood called time-out but his team could not recover as the seconds ticked down and free-throws from Sentence sealed the win for Leicester.
Storm’s determination in the second period was plain to see as they refused to be rolled over, came out fighting and crucially turned up the defensive pressure and improved their offensive efficiency. They produced a 22 – 8 burst in the first five minutes of the stanza and a three-pointer by Dave Ajumobi took them into the locker room at half-time just two points adrift at 42 – 44.
Back to back triples by Roberts moved them into a 54 – 48 lead half-way through the third period before their collapse in the fourth.
Coach Youngblood could not be consoled after the game but commented briefly: “I really don’t have much to say about that performance,” he said. “I’m very disappointed in how we played, it was very poor. Missed free-throws will often cost you games.”
Storm drop to fourth place in the table with a won seven lost four record behind leaders Solent Kestrels, Loughborough Riders in second place and Worthing Thunder in third.
Dave Titmuss Storm’s Coaching Director stressed that following a summer of changes and rebuilding the Club goes into the Christmas break in a far stronger position than the same time last season: “We shouldn’t forget that this time last year we were sitting one place above the relegation zone. This year we’re still on track for at least a top four finish and qualification for a home draw in the end of season National Championship Play-Offs, and we have a chance to advance to the National Cup Final.
“We have plenty to look forward to and to build on for the second half of the season.
“It’s true that our form has dipped of late,” added Titmuss, “but we’ve brought new guys into the team this season and have a new Head Coach in Robert Youngblood and things always take time to gel.
“We have talent, experience and leadership in the squad which I’m confident will pay dividends for us in the second half of the season.”
Storm team and scorers: AJ Roberts 23, Bode Adeluola 18, Lee Greenan 15, Wayne Yeboah 7, Dave Ajumobi 6, Jack Burnell 3, Michael Darlow 3, Courtney Van-Beest 2, Chuck Duru, Tom Adorian, Walid Mumuni, Rhyce Donegal
Storm are right back in the thick of it after Christmas when they start the new year competing in the National Cup Semi-Final against Loughborough Riders which is taking place at Sportspace on Saturday January 6th., tip-off 7pm. Tickets are available from the 'tickets & shop' drop-down menu above.
Picture captions:
Top: Storm’s AJ Roberts led his team’s scoring with 23 points.
Left: Father Christmas and Storm fan Miles Nouch. Santa collected some donations for the Hospice of St Francis at the game on Saturday.
