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Match Report - Mansfield Giants

Coach Elderkin Comment

“That was a massive win, and a really gutsy performance” commented coach Dave Elderkin. “We didn’t perform in the first half, and then lost our best player, but we really stepped up after that. They outfought us 24-16 on the boards before the interval, but we turned that round, especially on the offensive end in the second half.
“The shooting performance was excellent. We hit 16 “3”s, at 46%, which is top quality in any division; Paul had 6 of those, from 11 attempts, and Scott hit a phenomenal 6 of 9.
“The other big factor was the performance of the supporting players. They’ve come in for some criticism in the past few weeks, but today they all stepped up and really helped to make the difference.”

 

WILDCATS HANG TOUGH TO GO BACK TO THE TOP


Mansfield Giants      (15, 35, 54) 78
Durham Wildcats       (13, 41, 60) 87


Durham Wildcats beat their old rivals the hard way, with a poor first half performance, in which they lost captain Mark Elderkin to a gashed forehead, and a better showing in a highly competitive second half which ended with top scorer Paul Elderkin hobbling on a twisted ankle.
Strong defence by both sides dominated the opening exchanges, as the sides tested each other out and it was over two minutes before the first score, as Dan Watts drained a “3” for the hosts, and another 45 seconds before Scott Morton levelled from the same distance. That set the tone for the first quarter, with never more than 4 points between the teams, and Mansfield holding a 2 point cushion at the break.
The Giants threatened to break away at the start of the second, as a Michael Elland “3” began an 11-3 run ending with a dunk from Watts that opened a 10 point margin, 26-16.
The Wildcats adjusted their defence to a 2-3 zone, succeeding in closing down Mansfield’s offensive options, and captain Mark Elderkin sparked the visitors’ offensive revival with a steal and fast-break, to score, draw a foul and sink the bonus. That heralded 15 unanswered points from the Wildcats, in which Mark and Scott Morton added a “3” apiece, as the advantage swung the other way, 26-31.
The margin was just four points between the teams, with under 1½ minutes to the interval, when Durham’s most influential player so far, captain Mark Elderkin, collided with a team-mate’s elbow, which opened a gash in his forehead and left him prostrate on the court, receiving treatment for five minutes.
As Mark was led off to have his wound bandaged there was every possibility that his team-mates’ concern could have affected their concentration, but they remained focussed and in the closing exchanges a “3” from Steve Jones kept the Wildcats ahead, and a running “trey” from Morton beat the buzzer to take the visitors into the locker room leading by six.
The third quarter was much more open, and showed a much more fluent performance from the Wildcats, with the support players stepping up well to fill the void left by Mark’s absence.
Jones opened with another “trey”, and an allez-oop dunk (inevitably off a Morton pass) by Paul Elderkin, and a “3” by the same player helped them to an early 41-49 lead. Watts hit back, with consecutive “3”s, to close the gap to two, but two more Elderkin strikes from long range made it 49-55 to Durham, and they held on to lead by six going into the final stanza.
Tolis Apostolidis opened the final phase with a “3”, and fellow Greek Notis Chalkidis hit an “and 1” to give the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game at 54-66. The margin hovered around the ten point mark until the fourth minute, when Paul Elderkin went over on his ankle as he was fouled, and hobbled to the bench for treatment.
That seemed to give the hosts renewed hope, and a 12-4 spurt brought them back to within three at 73-76, with three minutes remaining.
Anthony Trigg stopped the surge, as he scored, wide open inside, off a pinpoint Morton assist, and in the final two minutes Durham showed their true class. Preventing Mansfield from replying, Scott Morton then ran 22 seconds off the 24 second shot-clock before draining an effortless “3”, and in the closing stages he repeated the feat and Paul Elderkin took another 23 seconds off the time before also striking from distance.
At 77-87 in the closing minute, the game was already won, and Durham held on for a nine point victory that left their hosts two defeat back, and with the Wildcats holding a 2-0 head-to-head advantage, which would be crucial if they were tied at the end of the season..  
Wildcats: Paul Elderkin 23; Scott Morton 22; Steve Jones 15; Mark Elderkin 8; Anthony Trigg 8; Notis Chalkidis 6; Tolis Apostolidis 3; Rafa Vilar-Franca 2; Michael Davies.
Mansfield: Dan Watts 24; Mathew Martin 19; Daniel Richards 10; Paul Kelly 9; Michal Ciesla 8; Michael Elland 6; Dave Passmore 2; Aaron White; Sheraz Hussein [dnp]; Ben Coy [dnp]..