Big time players make big time plays at the right time, and that is exactly what Ralph Bucci did on 16th November. With the game tied at 67, the ball left the seasoned veterans fingers from the three-point line, only two seconds left on the clock and everyone in the Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre holding their breath.
The ball splashed the bottom of the net, snapping the Wildcats’ three-game losing strea and the exuberant crowd nearly snapping the roof off the arena. Durham’s thrilling win ended a frustrating string of three losses, the first of which coming when the Manchester Giants visited back on 26th October. Bucci’s buzzer beater improved the Wildcats to a 4-5 record.
Filling more drama to this wild game was the fact that Durham was missing the help of two of their top three scorers. Odiba Attah and Panos Mayindombe were unable to perform and were taken off the active roster due to injuries they suffered in Saturday’s training session.
Durham’s captain stepped up and led the charge with 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. Making an impact in the paint was Fran Urli who again led the team in scoring for the second match in a row with 18 points and he had 10 rebounds and two assists. These performances earned Bucci and Urli a spot on the BBL Team of the Week.
Chris Jones was honoured on the BBL’s Off the Bench team with his contribution of 15 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals. The hero of the night however had nearly handed the honour to a Manchester player after a late turnover by the Durham captain allowed the Giants to attempt their own moment of triumph.
The game was tied 67-67 with 45 seconds left to play. Jones took the half court inbounding pass from David Buchberger and carried it to the right wing. Bucci ran off a John Puk screen set low in the paint and popped up to receive the ball at the top of the three-point arc. Bucci drove left and was met by a couple of defenders, leaving Puk open a few feet away.
Bucci saw him, jumped and attempted to feed the big man the ball. But the long arm of Manchester’s Ben Eaves anticipated the pass, deflecting the ball to his teammate Stefan Gill who led the charge down to the other end, setting up Manchester’s offence with just over 25 seconds to go.
Manchester’s co-leading scorer Callum Jones had the ball and was looking for some options. He eventually found a small bit of space at the free throw line. His shot rattled off the left side of the rim and into the waiting hands of Durham’s Jones.
With about 10 seconds left in the game, Jones took off, cutting across the court. Jones crossed paths with a Manchester defender who made significant enough contact to stumble Jones. He was able to keep his balance and his dribble and continued on towards the key, four seconds to go. Jones found Bucci awaiting outside the three-point line, off centre to the right.
Bucci pulled the trigger, the ball finding nothing but net. The captain ran with arms spread wide and he and his squad court met their mates on the bench for a frantic celebration.
Bucci said of the final sequence: “Chris had the ball, and I saw that much of the defence was collapsing on him, so I tried to find a little opening. Luckily, Chris saw me, and I was due to make one. Fortunately, the shot went in.”
He added that it was planned to not call a timeout after the final Manchester shot so they could set up their own final play. “It was one of those times where it was best not to run a set play.”
Buchberger came back to action for the first time since 19th October and contributed with crucial three-pointers in the first half and two steals in the second half. He finished with six points. Puk contributed eight points to the winning total whilst Joel Madourie had four and Sam Martin nailed a three-pointer.
Not much separated the two teams throughout the match. Durham’s largest lead came midway through the second quarter with the score 33-24. Manchester’s briefly held a six point lead in the third quarter. There were 11 lead changes during the night.
Durham again won the rebounding battle, snatching 41 boards to the Giants’ 32. The Wildcats did lose in turnovers, finishing at +8 with 20 turnovers to Manchester’s 12. The Giants gained 14 points from Durham’s turnovers.
The Wildcats will now look towards a double-header this weekend, first on the road and next at home. Durham will travel to face the 1-8 Leeds Force on 21st November. The Wildcats dominated Leeds in their home opener back on 28th September with an 80-46 victory.
On 23rd November the Wildcats will return to Newton Aycliffe to take on the London Lions during Durham’s Community Basketball Day. The BBL match will be preceded by a central venue league tournament competed by local primary school and academies in the area. Eight teams will compete on the home court of the Wildcats beginning at 12:00pm on the 23rd. The championship match of the tournament will take place during halftime of the Wildcats-Lions battle.
Tickets are now available on godurhamwildcats.com
