Hemel Storm II 83 – 79 Anglia Ruskin University
(Division Three)
Hemel Storm’s second team bounced back from last week’s defeat with a hard-fought victory over Anglia Ruskin University.
The visitors were out of the blocks quickly hitting their first two shots to take a 5-0 advantage. Certa-sponsored Hemel Storm responded with 10 straight points including 4 from centre Ollie Dykes, but Hemel’s big man was forced to take some early bench time following early foul trouble. By the end of the quarter ARU edged the highly competitive game by 2 points at 19-21.
The game turned in the second quarter. Tenacious defence on the perimeter from new recruit Atif Kahn and dominant rebounding from Mike Coumas underpinned a relentless defensive effort that restricted ARU to just 6 points and gave the home team a 10 point advantage.
ARU’s third quarter response was emphatic as they upped the tempo, forced turnovers and connected on shots from long and short range. Hemel were relieved to have retained a very slender lead at 52-51 going into the final quarter.
Storm regained their composure at both ends of the floor and stretched the lead back to 9 points. Instrumental in this was another new recruit, Mac Mavhangira, who gave a very assured performance scoring 8 of his 10 points in the final period. A late 3 pointer from ARU was enough to make the last few seconds a little uncomfortable for the home team but Hemel hung on for a 4 point win.
Coach Allin said: “Everyone who stepped on the floor for us today made a massive contribution. Technically,we still have a lot to improve on but the effort today was outstanding.”
Scorers:
Nick Allin 17, Daryl Craine 14, Ollie Dykes 13, Shaun Allin 11, Atif Kahn 11, Mac Mavhangira 10, Mike Coumas 5, Ben Pearce 2, Dominic Charles, Luke O’Mahony
Storm II travel to Bury St. Edmunds Bulldogs this Saturday (2nd November).
