Wolves and Jets all square at the halfway mark

Cheshire Jets almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory but instead came out with an 80-80 draw away to Worcester Wolves in the first leg of the BBL play-off quarter finals.

There was a nervous start for both sides, but soon the Jets took the initiative going on a 12 point run when 3-0 down. Wolves would fight back, but Cheshire would keep in control. Adam Brown made it a five point lead, 19-24, going into the second quarter.

The following stanza saw Matt Schneck pick up a third foul early on, which allowed Nathan Schall to pick up a considerable amount of minutes on the night. The lead changed hands midway through the quarter with Tomas Kaslauskas converting three from the charity stripe followed by a big three from Tommy Freeman. Cheshire regained the advantage shortly after to maintain the five point advantage, 40-45 into half-time.

After the break, the lead was extended with some impressive fast breaks, but with Schneck again having to sit out after quickly picking up a fourth foul.

Despite having a 15 point lead late in the third quarter, points from Richie Gordon and Sherrad Prezzie-Blue cut the score to 10 points, 55-65, as the home side showed signs of a revival.

It was to rain down three pointers for Worcester from Freeman and Prezzie-Blue, three on the run for the latter. The home crowd soon began roaring their side on and Kaslauskas nailed one from outside which sealed the fight back.

It was about hanging on for Cheshire as Schneck returned on court, but was ejected for good not long after. As the lead traded, Freeman missed one of his two free throws to make it 78-78. Prezzie-Blue stole the ball to convert and give the Jets one last chance, which Brown (who produced a game high of 31 points) duly took advantage of and were able to see out the final few seconds of the game.

Colin O’Reilly was the big winner on stats with the only double-double of the game, 16 points and 13 rebounds (10 offensive – more than double any other player on court), with Sherrad Prezzie-Blue reaching 22 points and top scoring for Wolves, thanks in part to the huge number of threes posted in the last quarter.

Speaking with Jets coach, John Lavery after the game, he was in two minds how to take the result: “I’ve got mixed emotions about the draw. Part of me thinks that we should’ve come out with a 12 to 14 point win. I’m pleased with the performance that we’ve put in; Worcester are no mugs, they are a really good side. However, part of me feels happy that it’s tied going back to the Northgate. Obviously it’s a tough place to play at the moment, so we’ve just got to come out and play really hard for forty minutes.”

The undoing in the final quarter saw a lead that was 15 points eradicated with impressive home team shooting, but were there other factors?

“It could’ve been fatigue, but Worcester didn’t finish third in the league for nothing; they are a really good side. They went up to Newcastle, and beat them which not many teams have done this year, so instead we need to look at our progress throughout the season. Where we’re at at the moment, we’re playing really good basketball, a bit of a lapse in the fourth quarter and it allowed them back into the game. It’s a tied ball game though, and anybody can take it. We know what we need to do and what we can do against them, and if we can execute that at the Northgate, we should pick up a good run.” said Lavery.

Matt Schneck limited time on court due to a quick pick up of fouls on the centre, meant Cheshire needed to alter their game plan. However, Nathan Schall seemed to impress just as the time was right: “Nathan’s done a great job all year since he’s been with us. He’s a young kid, athletic, does everything as a coach that I ask him to do and does it. He stepped up and did a really good job for us tonight. To lose a guy like Matt, who gets you a double-double every game, he played about 18 minutes tonight. Some of the fouls were really harsh on him, but he just needs to keep his cool, keep composed for the return leg and come out and play a different game. Sunday at the Northgate – we get another player, we get Matt Schneck back, who we didn’t really have on court here.

Fans from the North West were in full force, equipped with the obligatory Mohawks (real and fake), but coach was incredibly appreciative of the efforts made: “Jets fans are absolutely fantastic, I know the Northgate is going to be absolutely rocking. Obviously we will try to emulate last Sunday’s game against Sheffield Sharks and hopefully everyone will be supporting us, and these are the best fans in the BBL.”

Hopefully tonight will lead to one of the most exciting and intense games of the season, with absolutely everything to play for.

The best way I can promote it is by saying: Just. Be. There.

(However, if you can’t, then follow me on Twitter or search for the hash tags #uk_sportsfans #jetsbeatwriter #theBBL)