LANCASHIRE Spinners overpowered Tees Valley Mohawks 85-70 and finished undefeated in National Trophy group play on Saturday, writes Allen Gunn.
“To go 6-0 in the group stage was important to us – it was what we set out to do from the beginning,” said Spinners coach Neal Hopkins.
The Bury-based basketball club was without a trio of players, which included two of team’s top three scorers – Steve Gayle and Mark Rangeley – but guard Cian Hickey stepped up contributing 12 points, seven assists and five steals. All season-highs.
Meanwhile, Spinners’ defence returned to a state of normalcy and in key stretches it helped extend the lead beyond reach.
Lancashire (8-1) held a 38-37 halftime advantage but the lead changed hands four times over the first three minutes of the third period. Though Tees Valley’s largest lead was a single point on two occasions.
Alex Roberts, who struggled on 1-for-5 shooting in the first half, hit a long two as the shot clock expired restoring Spinners’ advantage at 45-44 igniting a 6-0 run.
In a stretch of five minutes in the third quarter, Tees Valley only managed three points – one field goal – before being outscored 9-2 over the last minute and a half as Spinners carried a 63-51 lead into the fourth.
But a 6-2 start by the Mohawks cut the deficit to eight before a well timed three from Connor Murtagh supressed any sight of a comeback.
“There’s always going to be games where we need to grind out the win. Today was one of those days,” said Murtagh who had a team-high 22 points, including five three-pointers.
Rob Donaldson finished with a game-high 25 points in the loss and Tees Valley (0-7) failed to win in the National Trophy.
Spinners return to Castle Leisure for back-to-back games against Northumbria beginning on Saturday, tip off 5.45pm.
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