UNLUCKY THIRTEEN FOR GALLANT WILDCATS
The Durham Wildcats finally lost their unbeaten record on Sunday, but did so with heads held high as they fell to Division One leaders Manchester Magic, in the National Cup, by just two points after a pulsating encounter.
National Cup Quarter Final.
Durham Wildcats (18, 35, 56) 77 Manchester Magic (17, 35, 62) 79
The leaders of Division Two and Division One went into this game with remarkably similar records – both leading their division, with 5&0 records, and both unbeaten in twelve matches in all competitions.
With both sides playing intense defence the first period was close throughout, and though Durham did open a five point advantage, at 14-9, disappointing foul shooting (just 4 of 9 in the quarter) prevented them from building on that. With the lead changing hands six times, the Wildcats had to be content with a one point cushion at the first break.
Scott Morton [pictured right] opened the second quarter with a huge 3-pointer, that gave the home side a 21-17 lead, but when Manchester embarked on a 10-0 run, to lead 23-30, it looked as though the visitors might take control.
A Paul Elderkin fast break dunk ended the drought, but the portents looked ominous for the Division 2 side as Manchester hit the next four points, to lead by nine.
A “trey” by captain Mark Elderkin signalled the Wildcats’ revival, however, at the start of a 10-1 blitz to close the quarter, culminating in a buzzer-beating “3”, off the glass, from Morton that took the teams into the locker room tied at 35.
Throughout the first half the Wildcats had succeeded in keeping Manchester’s “big three” of Stefan Gill, Brandon Kimbrough and David Watts relatively quiet, but the latter signalled his intentions at the start of the third, as he put his side ahead with his first “3” of the game.
Morton immediately replied in kind, but five unanswered from the visitors put them back in the driving seat. Still the Wildcats would not let go, and baskets from Paul Elderkin and Notis Chalkidis brought them back to within one, at 42-43.
The two sides then traded baskets for four minutes, with the difference being that Durham’s included three consecutive triples from Morton, and with two minutes to play it was Durham who were back in front, 53-51.
Five without reply by Magic put them back ahead, only for Mark Elderkin to drain his third “3” of the game to level at 56. Watts, however, was continuing to find space to shoot and he closed out the quarter with a brace of “treys” to give himself 16 points for the period, and the visitors a six point lead going into the final stanza.
Gill, who had also raised his game in the second half, made it an eight point game on the restart, and things began to look bleak for Durham. The home side, though, once again showed their spirit as they held their opponents scoreless for the next four minutes, while compiling a stunning 12-0 run, which included two baskets and a steal by Morton and two “3”s and another dunk from Paul Elderkin.
Watts finally found the net for the visitors, only for another Elderkin “trey” to take the Wildcats into the final four minutes with a 71-66 lead. Gill hauled his side level with a basket and a “3”, before Stephen Jones hit a basket “and-1” to keep Durham’s noses in front.
In the closing minutes, the Durham players began to look for the killer “3” to protect their lead, rather than for the simple score, and their offence began to stutter as a result, and with 3:11 to play Gill was fouled on a 3-point shot, sand duly sank 3 of 3 from the stripe to edge his side back ahead, 74-76.
Still the Wildcats refused to give up, despite trailing by five going into the final minute, and Scott Morton’s seventh 3-pointer of the game hauled his team back within striking distance, but the clock was against them, and at the buzzer it was a relieved Manchester who celebrated, while the home crowd rose as one to give their disappointed team a standing ovation.
The Wildcats’ unbeaten start to the season thus came to an end, but a clear indication of how far the team has come was shown by the fact that the players were clearly gutted at having lost to the First Division leaders.
“I was really proud of the lads today” declared coach Dave Elderkin afterwards. “Every time they broke away we didn’t go away.
“Defensively I thought we matched everything they did, outside shooting one of our best games ever, the difference between the teams was that they were more clinical finishing around our basket.”
Wildcats’ Scorers: Scott Morton 33; Paul Elderkin 18; Mark Elderkin 11; Stephen Jones 9; Notis Chalkidis 4; Michael Davis 2; Anthony Trigg; Tolis Apostolidis; Rafa Vilar-Franca [dnp].
Wildcats and Mascots
Sedgefield Community Club
