Behind the fast-break play of guards Chris Jones and Panos Mayindombe, the Durham Wildcats defeated visiting Leeds Force in the home opener 80-46 on Sunday evening at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre.
Mayindombe led all scorers with 19 points, while Jones delivered 10 assists to his teammates, with Tom Knight collecting nine rebounds.
The Wildcats set a new club record for fewest points conceded in a match, beating the previous number of 55 versus Surrey United on 24th January 2014.
Head Coach Lee Davie had been emphasising high tempo and aggressive defence all throughout pre-season to his players in order to limit the opposition’s possession of the ball, and his team executed this style of play throughout much of the game. The pace of Durham’s game on Sunday evening was too much for Leeds Force, playing in their first BBL match in club history.
“Our defence was good,” Davie said after the match, “even with the limited practices we have had. Our guards were disruptive, and that’s all we can ask for. When we make things as difficult as possible for the opposition to move the ball on each and every possession, that’s success for us.”
Durham’s aggressive defence forced Leeds to take difficult shots all throughout the night. The Force shot 17-51 (33 percent) from the field and were limited to nine assists. Meanwhile the Wildcats shot 31-61 (51 percent) from the field and four players scored in double digits. Behind Mayindombe’s 19, Knight scored 12, Ralph Bucci had 11 points and John Puk added 10 points.
The first half was a relatively low-scoring affair. With the score 20-12 to start the second quarter, Durham’s defence really began to create problems for Leeds offensively, who managed to only score seven points before half-time. The Wildcats had a 12-0 run through the first and second quarters and had runs of 9-0 and 14-0 in the second half.
Jones led the team in steals with four, to go with his eight points. Odiba Attah and Sam Martin each had nine points, while Joel Madourie had one basket to go with his three rebounds. New signing David Buchberger sat the game out with a minor injury but is expected to play some part next weekend.
Mayindombe, the game’s MVP as voted for by Wildcats fans, enjoyed a high-percentage shooting night, making 7-9 of his field goals. He shot a perfect 4-4 from within the three-point line and was 3-5 from beyond. The new signing from Greece also had the second-most assists in the game with six.
Mayindombe credited the front court of Knight, Puk, Attah and Madourie for making stops and getting the ball out and running to the guards. Knight had three steals within the paint, Puk blocked two shots and Attah had two steals to spark Durham’s transition game which Leeds had no answer for.
“The big men were really great today,” Mayindombe said. “They played tremendously on defence and helped us get the ball out into transition.”
Davie said of his guards: “Panos is really good in transition and getting his way into the lane. If he draws somebody then he is finding the open man. Chris is really crafty on the offensive side of the ball and his basketball IQ is fantastic.”
The Wildcats, now 1-1 in the BBL Championship, have a week to prepare for the local derby and play-off rematch against neighbours Esh Group Eagles Newcastle (0-1) on Sunday 5th October. The home match at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre tips-off at 4:00pm.
To ensure you have a seat for the big derby match, order your match tickets online at www.godurhamwildcats.com now.
