BUCS FIZZ

Seven of the nine players in the Durham Wildcats’ Division 2 team were in the 12-man squad which represented the club’s partners, Durham University, at the British Universities and Colleges Championships in Sheffield last weekend. The other five players also play for Team Durham Wildcats in the EBL Division 4.
This was the first time that Durham have qualified for these Finals, and they were the only qualifiers, from a long campaign, from outside the BUCS Premiership (though they have since gained promotion to that standing for next season).

The basketball “Final Eight” is organised as a knock-out tournament, and Durham, had the misfortune in the first round to face a very strong Leeds Carnegie side (consisting of virtually the entire EBL Division 1 side of the same name).
Durham led for long periods of the game, before the greater experience of their opponents finally told in the closing stages. That left Durham playing-off over the next two days for fifth to eighth places, while Leeds went on to win the competition.
Another team with a host of Division 1 players, London Met University, were the next opponents, and Durham simply blew them away in the first three quarters before cruising to victory.
That set up a meeting with old rivals Northumbria (effectively the Division 2 team that the Wildcats have beaten four times in League, Cup and Patron’s Cup action this season), and another resounding victory resulted in a creditable fifth place finish for Durham.
“It was a great experience for the whole team” said coach Ian Hewitt (who also coaches Wildcats’ second team, Team Durham, in EBL Division 4). “We were disappointed not to have been able to crack the top four, but it was a tough competition, and I’m proud of the way the players responded after the initial setback.”
Added Wildcats’ coach, Dave Elderkin, “This shows that the partnership that we have with the University is beneficial to both. We’re really pleased that the players were able to repay, in some small measure, the support that we’ve had from the University over the past few years.”
Elderkin also paid tribute to the work of coach Hewitt. “When Ian started at Durham University four years ago they were in Division 3” he says, “and he has led from start to finish to get them into the Premiership.
“This last season won't have been easy when you consider he's had to coach what is effectively another coach’s National League squad.
“He's always demanded and strived to attain high standards and should leave a very proud man. We hope to have more news on his future in the next month.”