Hornets can't claw back a poor Q1 and go down fighting against the Pride
Q1 was a disaster for the Hornets, they looked nervous against a well drilled Preston team and were 9-0 down after 3 minutes having rarely troubled the Preston Basket and throwing a number of turnovers. Guy Johnson always carries a never say die attitude though and opened the scoring by pulling down a rebound he wasn't entitled to and putting it back for a simple 2. The outside shots weren't dropping for the Hornets and rebounds were rare at both end and Pride totally controlled the play. Paul Coleman came up with a couple from the free throw line and Barney landed a close in jumper to narrow the gap to 5 and then the problem of turnovers came back as Hornets tried too many over elaborate passes against a tight Pride zone defence. Pride landed a couple of 3 pointers to give them a 21-8 lead after a quarter.
Q2 was a complete turnaround - Tom Lee and Sam Bithell decided they would put on a 3 point shooting show and the rest of the team pitched in with defensive intensity. Sam hit 3 x 3 pointers and when Tom sank his second the deficit was cut to just 2 points. Pride responded with some outstanding shooting of their own and they went into half time 4 points up.
Q3 started well with teams trading baskets but then Pride picked on some loose passing and again scored easy points off turnovers and put together a 9-0 run. John Whelan decided he would own both backboards at this stage and fired up the rest of the Hornets into a come back, also taking a 7 point lead. Guy finished off a superb fast break and a jump shot from John again cut the margin to 3 points. Super shooting from Pride same them stretch their lead in the last minute - Hornets were now down by 9.
Both teams had saved the best for last and a large crowd were now treated to high intensity and high quality basketball. John, Barney and Guy found gaps opening inside the Preston defence and Preston responding with fast breaks and well worked set shots. The Hornets were 13 down when with 3 minutes to go a full court press was called for. Preston looked rattled as tired hornets turned up the heat and Tom and Sam kept on the pressure by sinking long shots. Steals were made the Hornets now had the Pride in foul trouble and were gaining benefit from the free throw line. A pair of free throws cut the lead to 8 but the Hornets had left the chase too late and eventually went down by 10. The players, the crowd and the coaches went home drained!
Top Scorer: - Tom - 19 points
Best Player: - Lots to choose from - I'll single out two: Tom - 5 x 3 pointers, no fouls and no turnovers. John Whelan excellent on the boards at both ends despite carrying an injury
Best Basket: - Passing move around the outside then goes into Barney who draws the defence before pumping out to an unmarked Sam Bithell - 3 points from the moment it left his hand!
Must Improve: - Slow starts and Turnovers.
