By Ryan Gillham
Durham Wildcats put up a valiant fight as they were beaten by league leaders Newcastle Eagles 97-82 at Newton Aycliffe Lesiure Centre.
In the end an experienced Eagles side came out victorious but Wildcats head coach Dave Elderkin thought the scoreline didn’t represent the final result and took a lot of positives from the game.
“We performed very well tonight, we stepped up the pace and really took the game to the Eagles,” he said.
“Experience and the fact we have played 12 games in the past couple of weeks didn’t help us but when the Eagles have players like Andrew Thomson and Paul Gause, who I believe are the two signings of the season, you are always going to have a tough game on your hands especially after Gause shot 90% throughout the whole game.
“If we can play like we did tonight in our next game I am sure we can come out the victors.”
The opening quarter saw the Wildcats finish on top of the league leaders in a high tempo 10 minutes. Both sides were trading baskets over the duration but the Wildcats took a lead of five points which forced the Eagles coach Fabulous Flournoy to call a timeout.
Durham held on to finish the quarter with a one point lead after a very impressive start to the game.
The Eagles had to switch their game plan to start the second quarter to stop the Wildcats from causing further damage and it proved to be a good move as Newcastle went on a big run taking the score to 36-45.
The Eagles did not let up easy, stretching the gap to a 14 point ball game with Paul Gause hitting three from downtown shooting 100% field goals.
Durham started to hit back with a few threes of their own narrowing the gap before Bucci on the buzzer ended the second 47-58 in what was an incredible half of basketball.
The Wildcats started the third in a positive fashion as Paul Elderkin hit a big three to get the second half underway.
But the positive start was short lived when the Eagles big man Andrew Thomson hit some big shots from behind the arc in what was a mediocre third quarter for both sides compared to the first half of this BBL encounter, and the third finished with the Eagles leading the way 63-81.
The fourth quarter started well again for the Wildcats shooting well from downtown bringing the score to an 11 point ball game. The Wildcats seemed to become tired towards the end with the Eagles taking advantage and increasing their lead.
Newcastle pressed very well as the Wildcats struggled to score late on but the game came down to the experience of the Eagles running down the time as the visitors left victorious as the game ended 82-97.
M.V.P – Paul Gause 22pts, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, Shooting 90% in the game!
Key Players
Durham Wildcats – Mario Flaherty 24pts; Mike Capocci 18pts; Paul Elderkin 11pts.
Newcastle Eagles – Joe Chapman 24pts; Paul Gause 22pts; Charles Smith 17pts.
The half time entertainment was performed by local dance school KDANZ putting on a fantastic show for the fans. KDANZ use all different types of dance from breaking dancing to cheerleading. Anyone interested in joining KDANZ contact Kay on 07900365892.
