Manchester’s shooting accuracy was too much for the Durham Wildcats to overcome in a 92-84 loss at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre on 26th October. The Wildcats fall to a 3-3 record in the BBL Championship whilst the Manchester Giants improve to 4-3.
The Wildcats battled back from a 13-point deficit in the second quarter to tie the match at 40-40 by halftime.
Down 29-16 early in the second quarter, the Wildcats went on to outscore Manchester 24-11 going into the break. Two minutes into the second quarter, Fran Urli was fouled on a made two-point bucket, converted the free throw and shortly made another bucket to start Durham’s comeback.
Durham continued the second half strongly behind two-straight John Puk buckets. Manchester would answer with baskets of their own, keeping the third quarter tightly contested. But with a 63-61 Manchester lead going into the fourth quarter, the Giants’ sharpshooting capabilities kicked in and pulled them away from Durham to the six-point victory.
Despite nearly doubling Manchester in rebounds, the Wildcats could not slow down the efficient shooting of the Giants. Manchester shot 56 percent from the field (32-57) and were 45 percent shooting from the three-point line (10-22).
Durham won the rebounding battle 45-23 but were unable to capitalise on many of their offensive rebounds, of which they had 25.
Leading the charge for the Wildcats was Chris Jones who had 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Jones was 7-14 shooting, including one three-pointer, and was 2-2 from the free throw line. This follows his BBL Team of the Week performance earned in the match against Plymouth University Raiders on 19th October when Jones had 15 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.
Odiba Attah’s offensive production continues to increase with every match as he also had 17 points. Seven of Attah’s eight rebounds were on the offensive end of the court, helping the third-year forward put back easy baskets. Last week, Attah had a pair of 14 point scoring performances versus Bristol Flyers and Plymouth University Raiders.
Also scoring in double digits were Panos Mayindombe, with 13 points, and Urli, with 10 points and playing in his first home match for Durham. Urli had six rebounds. Mayindombe nailed two three-pointers in the match.
Captain Ralph Bucci followed up his milestone-reaching performance of 1,000 points scored, 500 assists and 100 BBL league games played from last week with seven points, game-high 12 rebounds and 3 assists versus Manchester. Bucci now has 1,028 points and 504 assists in 101 BBL league games played.
Puk sparked Durham to take early control in the second half by netting six of his eight points in the third quarter. Sam Martin twice netted crucial three-pointers in the second half to keep Durham within a basket of tying or taking the lead over Manchester. He finished the game with six points. Joel Madourie had six points.
David Buchberger was a game-time scratch from the playing roster as he re-aggravated an injury during training this last week.
The Wildcats will look to rebound at home next week as they host Glasgow Rocks. Tipoff on 2nd November at the Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre is set for 4:00pm. The Rocks were defeated 89-86 versus Cheshire Phoenix on Sunday 26th October. They are 2-3 on the season.
The Wildcats will be hosting a Halloween Family Outing for the match versus Glasgow on 2nd November.
Fancy dress is encouraged and free home match tickets for 16th November will be awarded to the top-five dressed fans.
All ticket prices will be slashed with a 50% discount by entering the code “SPOOKY50” when purchasing your tickets through godurhamwildcats.com. Halloween treats will be available at the concessions stand and a “spooky” atmosphere will haunt the Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre!