Durham Wildcats faced squads situated on the opposite ends of the BBL table over the weekend and came away with a win and a loss. They made the short trek across the Tyne and gave derby rivals and first place holders Newcastle Eagles their best fight on 5th December but lost 99-83.
Two days later Durham took on the co-sharers of the bottom rung of the ladder Surrey United and the Wildcats ran away to a 101-57 victory. The split weekend leaves the Wildcats with a 6-8 record. Durham take the 7th position in the league after Manchester Giants were defeated in their two games over the weekend and dropped to 8th.
At Newcastle, Head Coach Lee Davie and the Wildcats going in were confident they could compete stride for stride with the best all-around squad in the BBL. In their first face off back on 5th October the Wildcats battled tough with the rivals, even holding a 55-50 lead early in the third quarter. But the Eagles’ experience allowed them to take control of the rest of the match to win 99-73.
It much the same on Friday night. Newcastle’s offensive efficiency from every corner of the court proved too much for the Durham Wildcats on 5th December in the 99-83 loss.
The Wildcats were down 45-42 at halftime to the North East derby foes before the Eagles turned on the jets on the way to their 11th straight victory.
“We were right there with them again,” said Davie. “We managed to score well and trade baskets against one of the best defensive teams in the BBL. In the end they were able to get defensive stops when they needed to and we could not.”
Chris Jones led the Wildcats with 20 points (7-11 FG, 1-4 3FG) and Panos Mayindombe added 16 with the help of 2-3 shooting from three-point range. Ralph Bucci led all rebounders with 13 and led the Wildcats in assists with four. Fran Urli had 13 points and Odiba Attah had 12.
Durham was 23-40 shooting from two-point range and were 6-19 from beyond the arc.
Against Surrey United, both offenses started off slow and inconsistent, translating into a low-scoring first quarter. Davie admitted that his squad was out of rhythm in the first term. Once the defensive pressure from Durham started to fluster Surrey United, points came in bunches for the Wildcats to help them to the 101-57 win.
“Once we got going defensively we managed to create some good shots for ourselves,” Davie said. “The more and more we pressured them on defence the better we played on offence.”
Mayindombe and Sam Martin both scored 19 points and Attah added 16 points. Martin came off the bench and provided Durham an offensive spark starting in the second quarter with his three-point shooting. The Yale graduate was 5-6 shooting from beyond the arc, adding also a reverse layup in the third quarter after receiving a no-look pass from Jones. Martin was 2-2 from the free throw line. He was given an honourable mention spot on the BBL’s Team of the Week.
That pass from Jones was one of his six assists on the night in addition to his eight points. Bucci had five assists and Mayindombe had four.
Also scoring in double digits were Urli and David Buchberger who had 15 and 10, respectively. Urli led the Wildcats in rebounds with six and joined Martin on the BBL’s Off the Bench team.
John Puk had eight points and Joel Madourie added six.
Martin’s 19 points was his season-best which led the way for Durham’s bench production. Attah, Martin, Buchberger and Madourie combined for 51 points coming off the bench. Surrey United only had five points from their second unit.
Davie found the performance of his bench very important looking forward to the rest of the season. “We are not a team with one superstar. We have nine guys and it’s important that each of them contribute in their own way especially with the length of the season that we have. Everyone has a role on this team and we saw that come true today with everyone coming off the bench and contributing well.”
The Wildcats shot 60 percent overall (39-65) and were 12-24 from the three-point line. They were 11-12 from the free throw line. The Wildcats welcomed back their former teammate in Kirk Crecco. Now with Surrey United, Crecco had 13 points and two assists in his return to Newton Aycliffe. Bucci, Madourie, Attah and Davie conversed with Crecco before and after the game.
“It was good seeing Crecco and we caught up before the game,” Davie said. “It is great to see a guy who is a product of our system; he has his Master’s degree from Durham University and has himself set up very well for his own future. It’s great to see another BBL team has recognised Kirk for his talents and what he can bring to their team.”
This weekend, the Wildcats will travel again to Leeds Force on 12th December in hopes to this time earn a needed road victory. On 14th December, the Wildcats will have their final home match of the 2014 calendar year when they host One Health Sheffield Sharks.
Tickets are now available for the match versus Sheffield on godurhamwildcats.com