Another night of losses in BUCS competitions as our 3 Men’s teams lost their games. Our Men’s 1st team travelled to Manchester for a 5pm tip off. A strong start saw them end the 1st quarter 23-16. However a resilient Mets team who boasted current Manchester Giant and former Wolves favourite Jordan Whelan, lead at half time 37-36.
we won the 3rd quarter by 3. But not giving up, Manchester closed the 4th 17-15 in the final minute, earning overtime. With Lucas McGregor (8pts) out due to an ankle injury and Matei Balteanu (12pts) fouled out, we failed to capitalise losing the extra period 2-8. Sealing the victory for the home team.
Bucs’s 3 Men went up against a strong Aston University side. Who boasted an abundance of height and a full bench. Regardless, our Men’s 3rd team started the game strong with some nice ball movement leading to an open 3pt shot. This momentum ensued as UW lead the game from start till mid-way in the 4th. The loss of 2 keys players in James-Lee and Keon Dunphy however proved to be decisive, allowing for Aston to pull away at the very end.
Coach Kieran had this to say
“All in all I am happy with the performance we showed for our first game. I explained to my players before the game that this will tell me a lot about this team and everyone individually….it did not disappoint. Regardless of the loss, we stayed true to ourselves and showed signs of pure class on the court. This game however is over with now and we go again next week so all eyes are set on that. Congrats to Aston for a great game but we’ll be back.”
Coach Kieran hailed the performances of all his players but pointed out Dylan Drew for his outstanding contributions on the court despite not originally being selected in the squad. Looks like the rematch at Aston shall be a real spectacle.
Next week our Men’s 1st team take an up north trip to Northumbria, still in search of their first win of the season. The game will see us take on UW Basketball Alumni Daniel Johnson-Thompson, for the first time since he transferred in the summer.
Whilst our Women face off against Nottingham Trent University in the first of the evenings home games at 6pm. Followed by an 8pm tip off, for our Men’s 3rd team who play Warwick University 2nd’s.
