WSN Basketball: Wasps beat Mohawks, but suffer defeat at Raptors

Thanks to our friends at Hull Wasps for providing the match reports from both weekend games.

Saturday

Hull Wasps were unfortunate to be on the end of a 102-78 defeat from Rossendale Raptors on Saturday evening. The Wasps held their own against the league leaders for much of the game with just a 1 point margin between them at the end of the first and second quarters.

Wasps paid the price for fouls and consequently lost John Brignell mid-third quarter, and John Kelsey in the fourth before the Raptors extended their lead to close out the game.

"We were held back tonight by many things beyond our control" said Wasps coach Matt Fawcett.

"But I'm really proud of my players and the way we competed tonight. We had our game plan and it was working. We opened up a good 8 or 9 point lead in the first half and were taking control of the game.

"We let them back in unfortunately and with the fouling situation at the end, we lost that control and ultimately it cost us. The players will be tired now after their hard work but we'll come back tomorrow more determined to win."
Tees Valley Mohawks II visit the arena tomorrow in the second part of this weekend's double-header. Tip-off 7:30pm.

Sunday.

Hull Wasps immediately bounced back from Saturday's Rossendale defeat, with an 81-80 overtime win over Tees Valley Mohawks II at the Bonus Arena.

The Wasps marginally edged the opening exchanges and took a three-point lead in at the first break. The Mohawks, who had their Saturday game against Oldham cancelled, looked more energetic and began to take control toward the end of the second quarter with a run which saw them create a 6 point lead going into the half-time break.

A very even third quarter resumed with the Wasps still behind by 5 points, but a spirited final quarter performance saw the home side close the gap and level the score. At 72-72, the Wasps had a chance to seal the win on the buzzer through Adrian Blatherwick, but the regular sharp-shooter missed the target.

A five-minute period of overtime commenced, keeping the suspense alive for the home fans. In a frantic five-minute period, the Wasps took a 1-point lead with just seconds left. Tees Valley had one final chance to win the game but the Wasps defence dug in and a desperate double-block from Matt Brutnell and John Brignell ensured an 81-80 victory for the Wasps.

“I’m extremely proud of my players this weekend” said Wasps coach Matt Fawcett.
“We played hard all weekend and put in maximum effort. I’m thrilled with the overtime win tonight and it was the very least that we deserved over these two games. We were extremely unfortunate yesterday to lose that game in the manner which we did but the way that we bounced back tonight was terrific.

“We dug deep even though there were many players with very tired legs out there. Tees Valley were more fresh than us with no game yesterday but we have big characters in this team and we’ll march on from here.”

Wasps remain fourth in National League 4 North, heading to third-placed Middlesbrough next week looking to stay in contention for the play-offs.