BASKETBALL: Tameside 52 Bury Blue Devils 78 (From Bury Times)

BASKETBALL: Tameside 52 Bury Blue Devils 78

3:24pm Wednesday 27th February 2013 in Sport By Bury Times Sports Reporter

TABLE-toppers Bury Blue Devils rounded off their away campaign with another impressive win and, with the last five Manchester Area Basketball League Division One fixtures at home, must now be favourites for the title and promotion.

Mike Nicholls’ side looked dominant from the start, scoring 10 unanswered points with Charlie Cuthbert and Nick McCarthy on target from long range.

Ajaz Wadood and Jay Knowles found the basket, setting a high standard for the Blue Devils attack. Defensively, Bury kept the home team down to only six points.

The second quarter followed much the same pattern with Chris Stainton scoring 10 points and McCarthy bringing his total to 14 for the half.

Bury’s man-to-man defence limited Tameside’s attacking options enabling the visitors to take a 46-14 advantage into half time.

But then Tameside stepped up a gear as Bury conceded shots from distance and failed to score themselves.

Chris Taylor stemmed the scoring drought with Stainton receiving some passes for close-range baskets and Kin Ling got on the end of several fast breaks.

In the final period, Taylor, Ling and McCarthy found the basket but Bury allowed too many easy shots. With a 20-point lead, Bury scored two three-pointers to end a scrappy second half, but the win kept them top.