After last week’s disappointing defeat in London, Glyndwr Nets returned to winning ways with a well earned 81-75 victory over Medway Park Crusaders in Division Two.
Nets got off to the perfect start with captain Del Herriman grabbing nine points, Steve Flanagan adding another six, and Usman Baba and Alan Duppa chipping in with four points each to hand their side a 30-19 advantage.
Baba weighed in with an excellent 10 points in the second quarter to help Nets consolidate their advantage, while young Max Casenove added six to stretch Nets’ lead to 15 points.
The notoriously poor third quarter from Nets saw them lose 23-14, American Brad Smith shooting 15 points to cut the Nets’ lead to just six points going into the final period.
Medway’s charge continued in the fourth with two free throws from James Harris cutting the lead to two points.
However, coach Matt Weedall came into the action and alongside Herriman he steadied the ship, the latter hitting a critical three points a minute from time.
After the match Weedall was thankful for the points though disappointed with the third quarter performance, saying: “We must learn to maintain focus and close the game down when we hold a good lead.
“However, we did remain calm when the pressure was greatest and, thanks to Del’s great move, we came through.”
Meanwhile, Glwyndwr Nets U18s made it two consecutive victories as they defeated hosts Sefton Stars 58-52.
n Cheshire Jets U13s kicked off the weekend with a 83-59 win against Barrow Thorns. Top scorers for the Jets were Jake Cooke with a table topping 38 points Isaac Nixon with 19 and Alex Jones with 14.
There was a mixed bag of results for the U16 who lost at Manchester Magic 94-40 only to bounce back to make it through to the second round of the Sureshot National Cup with an impressive 105-65 win over Preston Pride.
Jordan Smith led the points haul with 20, closely followed by Jack Gritthis with 17 then Kyle Squires with a respectable 14 points.
The U18s lost 95-97 in the league at Birmingham despite being 10 up at half time. Top scorers were Alex Moore with 19, Jason Helsby with 14 and Niel Gillard with 13. But the squad picked themselves up and went on to beat Preston Pride 113-49 in the Cup. Daniel Pilkington and Sam Craige top scored with 22 and James Banks with 19.
Special mention to Niel Gillard who had a triple double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. The squad now face Stockport Falcons in the fourth round.
The U14 girls enjoyed an impressive 76-26 win against Barrow Thorns. Top scorers were Claudia Galan with 22, Rebecca Breen with 10 and Sidnee Reddy with 9 points. They followed this up with another good 43-30 victory over Manchester Mystics.
The U16 girls were on fire at Gateshead Storm, powering to a 134-32 win. Top scorers were Zoe Brunton with 34 Claire Perry with 33 and Abbey O’Brian with 18.
There was more disappointment for the Jets Women’s team which lost 90-29 to Manchester Mystics.