Heat lose season opener despite comeback
Published on: 4th October 2011
Huddersfield Heat lost their opening game of the EBL Division 3 North campaign 91-96 to Loughborough despite a stirring second half fight back. It is the first time in three seasons that the Heat have lost their first fixture in league play. The Heat were dealt a blow before the game even start with centre John Huggett and guard Aaron Allison not being able to feature, which forced player coach Eduardo Perez to rotate his squad once again for this encounter, against a highly fancied Loughborough team.
HUDDERSFIELD HEAT 91 (17+28+21+25)
Andrew (6), Irving (28), Woodward (6), Gray (10), Bigley (20) – Walker (1), Treen (0), Swaine (20), Perez (0), Kozlowski (-), Stanger (0).
LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENT RIDERS 96 (30+20+19+27)
Ward (34), Gould (6), Cope (8), Carroll (6), Stewart (15) – Hadley (-), Bishop (4), Flower (13), Pinchin (0), Anderson (6), Daley (4).
The first quarter was disastrous for the home team, as the Riders scored at a frenetic pace right from the start. Despite the Heat scoring consistently on offence, uncharacteristic turnovers would give the visitors numerous scoring opportunities, to take the first quarter 17-30.
After the restart, the Heat would begin to increase their defensive intensity, and this was quickly reflected in the scoreboard, as they began to chip away at Loughborough’s largest lead of the game (16) in the third minute of the second quarter. The Heat’s scoring trio of Swaine, Irving and Bigley would combine for 24 out the team’s 28 points, to leave the half time score with a slender 5 point lead to the visitors, 45-50.
The second half would be a huge struggle between both teams to take control of the game. The Heat would take their first lead of the game in the second minute of the third quarter (52-51) only for the Riders to hit back immediately, for whom Tom Ward and John Stewart were showing play of the highest standard. The quarter had 6 lead changes, with the visitors still ahead at the end of the period, 66-69.
In the final quarter, it would be more of the same, until in the fifth minute a 6-0 run by the visitors finally broke the Heat resistance. Despite some late flourishes, the Riders held on to take the their first victory. Joe Irving again led the Heat in scoring with 28 points, backed up by Swaine and Bigley, each with 20 points. Although frustrated with the result, Eduardo Perez could focus on the positives:
“I think today we did make a few mistakes and did not execute as well as we can do, and certainly there were defensive mistakes in our play. However, all that into account, we only just lost that game so there’s plenty to be positive about. Lots to work on this week in training but we will look forward to a tough trip to another strong side, Sheffield Sabres, on Saturday.”
|
Team |
Void |
|||||||
|
Shropshire Warriors |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
70 |
46 |
24 |
2 |
|
Leeds Carnegie II |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
84 |
61 |
23 |
2 |
|
Derby Trailblazers II |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
69 |
59 |
10 |
2 |
|
Loughborough Students Riders |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
96 |
91 |
5 |
2 |
|
Warrington Wolves |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
81 |
78 |
3 |
2 |
|
Sefton Stars |
1 |
1 |
0 |
.500 |
133 |
147 |
-14 |
2 |
|
Manchester Magic |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Sheffield Sabres |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
City Of Sheffield Saints |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.000 |
78 |
81 |
-3 |
0 |
|
Huddersfield Heat |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.000 |
91 |
96 |
-5 |
0 |
|
Stockport Falcons |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.000 |
63 |
72 |
-9 |
0 |
|
Nottingham Hoods |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.000 |
59 |
69 |
-10 |
0 |
|
Birmingham Lions |
0 |
1 |
0 |
.000 |
46 |
70 |
-24 |
0 |
