WELSH DRAGONS SLAIN BY WILDCATS

 

Durham Wildcats       (26, 56, 74) 100
Glyndwr Nets               (13, 29, 47)   70

Concerns over the fitness of Mark Elderkin, who had been at hospital in Mansfield until midnight having his wound stitched, [pictured below left sporting his war wounds] and Paul Elderkin, whose ankle was very sore, were quickly dispelled as they declared themselves fit to face the visitors from North Wales.

The brothers’ optimism proved to be fully justifed, as Paul Elderkin led all scorers with 29 points, and Mark hit 18 as the Wildcats surged to a big win.
Alan Duppa opened the scoring to give Glyndwr their only lead of the night, but the next twelve point put Durham in control, with a ten point lead after just four minutes. That was extended to 26-9 before Max Casenove hit the last 4 points of the quarter to leave the margin at 13.
Casenove and Alan Duppa helped the Nets back to within 11 early in the second, but an 11-2 run by the hosts was followed by another of 12-5 and the massive 51-24 advantage allowed them to take a 27 point cushion into the interval.
With all nine players recording points, Durham were able to keep their guests at arms length throughout the second half, for a comfortable 30 point victory.
Wildcats: Paul Elderkin 29; Mark Elderkin 18; Anthony Trigg 14; Scott Morton 12; Steve Jones 12; Notis Chalkidis 6; Michael Davies 4; Rafa Vilar-Franca 3; Tolis Apostolidis 2.
Glyndwr: Max Casenove 20; Alan Duppa 16; Usma Baba 13; Delme Herriman 7; Anthony Woods 7; Arnas Luitkus 2; Maarten Wijdjekop 2; Matt Weedall 2

Team Talk by Coach Dave Elderkin

“We worked very hard today on our defence against Delme Herriman, as we saw the ex-England and GB international as a big threat” said coach Elderkin.
“Casenove gave us a hard time, with his outside shooting, but we performed well as a team, and we had a strong running game. After last night’s shoot-up we gave the “3”s a rest, and hit just eleven in the game.
“With Edmonton losing this weekend, and Westminster going down at Brixton, it was a very satisfying weekend all round. However, there’s still 40% of the season to go, and we’re not getting carried away. That said, we’re delighted to be going into those last eight games in a strong position.”