The Durham Wildcats again came up short on the road at Leeds Force on 12th December with an 81-70 defeat. The Wildcats led at the end of the first quarter 23-22 but could not keep the pace with Leeds in the middle terms. In the second and third quarters Leeds outscored Durham 39-25 to help them seal their second victory of the Wildcats this season.
The trio of Odiba Attah, Chris Jones and John Puk each scored 14 points in the loss. Puk was 7-11 from the field and had seven rebounds. Jones had four assists and two steals while shooting 6-10 overall. Panos Mayindombe also had four assists and scored 12 points. He and Attach each scored twice behind the three-point line.
Ralph Bucci led all Wildcats in rebounds with 12 and was the game-leader in assists with six. Fran Urli had nine points, Joel Madourie had four and Bucci had three.
Turnovers stifled the Wildcats’ chances of gaining control of the game as they committed 13 which turned into 14 points for the Force. Leeds turned the ball over just six times.
Sheffield Sharks
After running out to a 23-7 first quarter lead, the Wildcats’ offence stuttered the rest of the way in the 65-63 loss to the Sheffield Sharks. Jones had an opportunity to tie the game at the buzzer, but his final shot from the corner bounced off the back of the rim.
The loss breaks a three-game home winning streak for the Wildcats and, with the defeat to Leeds two days prior, brings the squad to a 6-10 record and 8th position in the BBL.
The first quarter belonged to the Wildcats as the scored 23 to Sheffield’s seven. But when the Sharks began applying full court pressure on Durham, the Wildcats’ struggled to score consistently as they could only muster 14, 13 and 13 points in the subsequent periods.
Jones was one assist away from securing the first triple-double for any Wildcats player this season. The guard finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and a season high nine assists.
Urli kept the Wildcats alive in the game by nailing four three-pointers. He finished with 16 points from 6-12 shooting overall and 4-6 from behind the arc. He had five rebounds in the game. Puk scored 10 points and collected four rebounds and recorded Durham’s lone block.
Bucci had 10 rebounds and four assists with his three points. Mayindombe led the team in steals with two and had five points. Attah had six points, Madourie had four and David Buchberger had two.
The Wildcats will look to rebound on the road against the Manchester Giants in a crucial match to earn the head-to-head advantage. Durham will face the Giants on 21st December in the final game of the 2014 calendar year. The teams have split victories, with Durham’s win coming from Bucci’s buzzer-beating three-pointer on 16th November. Manchester is one spot above the Wildcats on the table with a 6-9 record.
After running out to a 23-7 first quarter lead, the Wildcats’ offence stuttered the rest of the way in the 65-63 loss to the Sheffield Sharks. Jones had an opportunity to tie the game at the buzzer, but his final shot from the corner bounced off the back of the rim.
The loss breaks a three-game home winning streak for the Wildcats and, with the defeat to Leeds two days prior, brings the squad to a 6-10 record and 8th position in the BBL.
