Oldham 64

Hornets power past Oldham to re-take 1st place

Hornets were without the inside power of Andy Sienkiewicz and Sam Barnard tonight and the tall Oldham team could have caused problems, but they had only brought 6 players and the Hornet intensity left them struggling.

Oldham took an early lead in Q1 , Andy Rushton scored with two jump shots but a number of  Hornet shots were missing. Sam Bithell managed to close the gap with a brace of his own before Kris Wood sank an unstoppable jump shot to put the Hornets in the lead. Neil Hawkins now showed that matches can be won in defence as well as offence applying  tight control on the Oldham guard, forcing a number of turnovers. Tush benefitted with drives from open play but the lead was only 2 points at the end of the quarter.

Hornets unleashed all their offensive weapons now. Zander Fyfe sank an open 3 pointer, Guy Johnson scored off his own rebound, Kris landed a fine drive and Tush sank another 2.

Oldham responded with a 6 point unanswered spree but the Hornet pressure was beginning to tell and Oldham were already blowing hard. Tom Lee sank from outside the 3 point line and Hornets went on to score 14 points in the last 4 minutes. John Whelan leading the rebounding effort and Tush unstoppable off his drive with assists from Jake Coventry. Hornets up by 15 at the break.

Hornets carried on scoring freely,  Tush and Guy on the inside and John and Sam benefiting  from the line.  Zander and Sam both landed 3 pointers and Kris was starting to throw down dunks. Oldham were still a force to reckon with on the inside though and fouls were racking up for the Hornet big men. Guy Johnson fouled out and Sam hobbled off with an ankle injury. Hornets were now 21 up and looking to avenge their 26 point loss away.

Hornet scoring dried up and Oldham pilled on pressure from inside as the Hornet’s lost focus. A timeout reminded them of the task in hand and pressure was re applied. Tush was scoring from everywhere and with the Hornets up by 25 there was time for one last hurried shot from Tom – but it wasn’t to be and Oldham carried off the bragging rights for this season

Top Scorer – Tush 38 Points

Played Out of their skin – Tush – a scoring machine. Neil brilliant defensive effort.

Best Basket – side line fast break that was less than 3 seconds from start to finish – no bounces and finished at the ring by Kris..

Must Improve - Snoozing when leading easily – the job wasn’t done till we had a 26 point lead!

Pride: 70

Hornets lose their away to the best defence they have faced this year.

Pride II showed why they are unbeaten at home with a defence that most national league teams would be proud of. Hornets had only taken 8 players and didn’t match the Pride intensity.

Q1 was a very slow start for the Hornets. Tom Lee’s 3 pointer was the only shot to score for 5 minutes as Pride raced to an 8 point lead. Andrew Rushton accelerated the scoring for the Hornets but easy baskets were being given away with unnecessary turnovers. Hornet defence blocking was lack lustre and the switch to a zone defence didn’t help  as Pride released their outside shooters. Sam Barnard worked hard to return a rebound and Tush scored an And 1 but the Hornets had lost the quarter by 10 points.

Hornets got their defence tighter in Q2 but still found baskets hard to come by at the other end. Neither team put the scorer to much work apart from racking up fouls – and this was hurting the Hornet short bench more than Pride. Danny Wareham sank a long range 3 as the highlight of the quarter but the Hornets were 18 down at half time.

Barney now threw in a master class – demonstrating that a 6’9” centre who can shoot will always be a handful and he landed 11 of the 12 points scored by the Hornets this quarter. The other coming from Neil Hawkins on the line after being checked “in the act”. Barney along with Guy Johnson also dominated the defence boards and the Hornets tried to close the gap but Barney picked up a 4th foul and this limited some of his options.

Sam Bithell, Danny, Guy and Zander Fyfe all got on the score sheet in Q4 as the Hornets got their defence to step up and take steals and benefit from the fast break. Tush put in a shift trying to score with the “And 1” to slow the game to Hornets liking – but gaps opened in the defence as the Hornets chased the game and no impact could be made on the deficit. Hornets lost by 20.

Top Scorer – Tush 19 Points

Played Out of their skin – Barney – great rebounds and unstoppable jump shots.

Best Basket – Guy pulls down a rebound outlets to Tush who draws his player and drops an assist to Zander to finish unopposed.

Must Improve -  Movement of the ball by passing and screening off the ball.

Falcons: 83

Hornets lose their first home league game of the season to an athletic Falcons team who proved they could all shoot.

Q1 was a tight affair with both teams showing prowess from the outside and the ability to drive into the zone. For the Hornets Sam Barnard proved a handful from the post and Andrew Rushton also scored from close in. Falcons responded with some excellent individual work through the zone. Tom Lee loves playing against a zone and planted three 3 pointers in a row. But Falcons had brought their shooting boots too and pulled themselves back into the game. Tush brought the lead back and Guy Johnson added from the line but sloppy defence at the end of the quarter handed the lead back to the Falcons. Hornets down by 1.

Hornets swapped to a zone defence at the start of Q2 to counter the inside threat and paid dearly. Falcons with an array of National League players needed no further invitation to show off their shooting skills. Hornet Offence had dried and Hornets shipped an unanswered 12 points that was to cost them the game. Guy and Steve Arnold, on his season debut, showed a never say die attitude and added hard worked points on the inside. Barney finished a couple of “And 1” moves but Falcons were scoring freely at the other end and Hornets were 15 down at the break.

Hornets continually tried to chip away at the deficit in Q3 Tush and Barny leading the charge and Tom chipping in with another 3 pointer. But with the Falcons scoring freely headway was hardly made. A late surge from Guy, John Whelan and Andy Sienkiewicz did close the gap but John would be missing from the last quarter, picking up his last foul by offering the ref too much advice. Hornets down by 11.

Q4 was a tight and cagy affair. Scoring was slow. Barney and Tush in particular lead the effort but the Falcons knew what was required to protect their lead and shut the game out from the Hornets. Falcons ran out, deserved winners by 14.

Top Scorer – Tush 25 Points

Played Out of their skin – Tush able to score inside and outside against tough defence. Great debut from Steve Arnold too, multiple steals in a strong defence performance.

Best Basket – John Whelan pulls a rebound and outlets to Steve who dribbles into the zone and reverses for Guy to finish at speed – great fast break

Must Improve - Turnovers – too much dribbling played into the Falcons hands.

Rainford: 47

Hornets controlled this game from start to finish and have a full team of point scorers enabling them to pile on the agony for a spirited Rainford. Hornet first 5 scored 43 points in this game and the “bench” scored 41 with a range of long shots, inside moves and fast breaks.

Sam Barnard was magnificent in Q1 grabbing rebounds at both ends and scoring 10 points in the quarter with a combination of jump shots and rebound returns. Tellingly in addition to this he drew the Rainford Centre into foul trouble early in the game and this was to pay extra dividends throughout the game. Andrew Rushton and John Whelan proved a handful from the post, John scoring over two defenders in a basket of sheer determination. Andy Sienkiewicz benefitted from the line after a powerplay and Danny Wareham finished a magnificent fast break. Hornets were up by 5 at the end but thought they deserved to be up by more.

Danny and Kris Wood combined well to provide assists for each other and Kris got his 3 point shot into action early in the Quarter. Hornets were looking unstoppable now and the defence locked into place with fantastic help defence. Kris seemed to be able to score at will landing inside shots and another 3 to take his quarter tally to 10. Guy Johnson scored off a rebound and Andy landed the basket of the night. John and Tush returned to the fray and couldn’t  be stopped as they ran in 8 late points between them. Hornets were 23 up at the break.

Danny immediately opened Q3 finishing off a fast break but Rainford rallied to hold together their defence and Hornets struggled to get past. Points started to flow again from the free throw line Tush, Guy and Sam Bithell were all 100% from the line after being fouled “in the act” – with Rainford in foul trouble John, Guy and Andy all found a path trough from close in and the Hornets had stretched their lead to 31.

Hornet players now decided to show off some of their defensive skills – Zander Fyfe and Tom Lee making the art of double teaming and steals look easy. Tom also unleashed a couple of long range shots the second only being a 2 pointer with a toe nail on the line. Tush could only be stopped by illegal means from his post drives and benefitted from the line. Kris landed a well worked jump shot and fittingly it was Kris’s assist to Danny to score the last basket. Both players walked off having completed their best match of the season – so far!

Top Scorer – Kris and Tush both 15 Points

Played Out of their skin – Kris and Danny – both made point scoring look easy.

Best Basket – Andy provides a pick for Kris to work off. Both defenders go to Kris’s faked shot and Andy spins to find Kris’s pass in his hands to finish with only air between him and the ring.

Must Improve - Transition from defence to offence was a little slow at times

Atlas: 62

Hornets consolidate the top spot with a hard fought victory over Atlas

This was a “no quarter asked” contest with both teams working for power play rather than an open game. Q1 saw Hornets working well against a zone defence with both John Whelan and Sam Barnard scoring from the post. Andrew Rushton popped a long 3 but the Hornet outside shooting was generally poor and the offence relied on Outstanding rebounding particularly from Sam and John. Kris Wood scored a superb drive finishing ring high and Tush scored a brace from the line to give the Hornets a 10 point lead. Fouls were hurting the Hornets now though and Atlas pulled back as some of the hornet big men were “rested” – Hornets up by 6 at the close.
Hornet shooting now amazingly went down hill and shot after shot was missed and Atlas worked themselves back into the game. Only John and Zander Fyfe scored in the first 7 minutes and Atlas opened a 5 point lead. Tom Lee sank a 3 pointer and Tush and Barney scored late on to bring the Hornets back to a one point loss at half time.
Hornets took control in Q3. Sam and John again dominated the boards and slowly Hornets built a lead largely based on solid defence. Tush and Sam Bithell landed back to back 3 pointers and Guy landed a jumper for 2 and at the end of the quarter Hornets were up by 11.

Atlas threw everything at the Hornets now – long shots, short shots, rebounds and the kitchen sink! But the Hornets weathered the storm.  Barney and John in particular showing they are a handful for any defence. Danny Wareham directed the traffic at the end and Tush and Tom held their nerve to land free throws as Atlas chased the game. Hornets are mastering the art of squeezing a game to a conclusion and played out the clock in this bruising encounter.

Top Scorer – Barney  19 Points
Played Out of their skin – Barney stood out tonight – how do you stop someone who is 6’9” with a jump shot? You don’t you just cheer!
Best Basket – John Pulls down a rebound and breaks out with Sam. Sam reverses the ball into the zone for Barney to finish at the ring – top quality!
Must Improve -  Fouls hurt us tonight – you’ve got to get the legs moving, not the arms!

Another Technical foul – and we haven’t done the punishment for the last one yet!