Phoenix falter as Plymouth push on for third
Plymouth Raiders made it two wins from two over the weekend by holding off a late charge from Cheshire Phoenix at Northgate Arena on Sunday night, coming out 98-92 victors, and sit, for the time being, in third place in the BBL Championship.
Considering the dreadful weather conditions around the Cheshire area over the past few days, fans turned out in force to support Phoenix despite knowing their side had not made the play-offs for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
Both sides have had their fair share of roster trouble, and Plymouth were only able to run a six-man rotation for the entirety of the game. Cheshire had the extra man advantage, but what Gavin Love’s men lacked in numbers, they made up for in experience and desire.
Starting fives
Cheshire: Bland, Gumbs, Haskins, Marks, Myers
Plymouth: Lasker, O’Reilly, Schneck, Schreiber, Williams
It seemed as though straight from tip-off that Cheshire had been standing out in the freezing cold weather for their warm-up, as Plymouth raced out to a 2-14 lead, with Matt Schneck racking up eight points against his former team in less than three minutes.
Phoenix hit back to bring the gap back down to single digits, but another short burst from Raiders pushed it back out to 14, before baskets were traded.
The home side finished the quarter in better form, as turnovers played in their favour going on an 8-0 run, but Andrew Lasker had the last say with a shot from downtown to end the period, 16-25.
In the second quarter, Stuart Thomson and Javarris Barnett were battling it out for who had the hottest hands, with the latter coming off victorious.
Thomson was able to find his range with ease bookending an 11-0 run with three pointers to draw the deficit to just two, but Barnett caused chaos inside and outside as Cheshire’s defence struggled to cope with tracking him on court. Too many times was Barnett allowed to stray beyond the perimeter with enough space to make Phoenix pay and re-establish a 15 point margin. However, Phoenix did finish the stronger again closing the score to 39-52.
After the half-time break, Plymouth seemed in complete control of the tempo of the game, aside from Shawn Myers and Chez Marks’ best efforts to reel in the Raiders, but always looking comfortable, the lead was always between 10 and 16 for the visitors as Barnett’s shots found success, and with a trademark jam from Schneck, seen in the past on a regular basis at the Northgate, the third stanza finished 61-76.
However, what Coach Matt Lloyd would have given to see his side put in a performance throughout the game akin to that of the final few minutes of the last quarter.
Barnett drilled home yet another three pointer, to give Plymouth a game high lead of 18 points, but rather than just roll over and take a beating, Cheshire fought back as Marks hit back with two of his own. Raiders responded with seven points of their own, but the intensity that had seemed to lack throughout the game was building on court for Phoenix, and Thomson was content with shooting from almost any position.
At 75-90, Cheshire went on an 11-2 run, which not only buoyed the hardened supporters, but also the flow of each play for the Phoenix. Threes from Thomson, Pearce and Marks, as well as a huge jumper just inside the arc for Haskins, and there was a feeling that a comeback was on the cards, having clawed back nine points in 90 seconds, and also having plenty of time on the clock to find the rest.
Momentum turned on one single play alone, as Chris Pearce stole the ball from Barnett and raced down court side by side with Marks, his lay-up rolled around and out of the rim of the basket, Thomson claimed the rebound but was unable to do the deed himself and Jamal Williams picked up the defensive board.
A timeout was called by Love and allowed his players to regroup, and they hit back with vengeance as Lasker bagged a three. As the game was drawing to a close, needless fouls were being made and in the blink of an eye Plymouth were finding themselves go to the line for freebies. Marks made a buzzer beater jumper but it made no difference to the result bar the score itself, at 92-98.
One point of interest is that Jerome Gumbs and Alif Bland did not feature at all in the final quarter, even after Gumbs had made 7 from 9 in the field.
Matt Lloyd, whilst disappointed in defeat to Plymouth, was not ready to give up on getting the wins on the board still: “Basketball’s a game of runs; sometimes you start off slowly and sometimes you’re always on the backfoot, which we were constantly tonight.
“They were hungry on the boards and made sure they got after every rebound, but our slow start meant that we were going to struggle getting back in to the rebounding game after those first few minutes.
“I attempt to try and win every game,” said Coach Lloyd, “so I’ll go through the preparations I normally go through. Sheffield will be playing more, and their game fitness will be there already, so we just have to be ready.”
Head coach of Plymouth Raiders, Gavin Love, was happy his side had jumped to third in the table, but unforgiving at the fact his team made it look a closer game than it was: “We had control of the game, but like a few other games in the last couple of weeks, we’ve taken our foot off the gas a little bit and lost focus. Cheshire made a run towards the end but we weren’t in danger of losing the game, but I was a bit frustrated at the players losing their mental toughness at the end.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re by 30 or 3, you expect your players to be 100% into the game. We did a fantastic job to come here and by up as much as we were for over 35 minutes, but we got the win in the end and got the two points.”
Whilst there are still games left in the race for the playoffs, Love’s hope is to secure a finish as high as possible, but also to think about his troops: “Third would equal the best in our club’s history, so we’re looking towards that, but as important as that is keeping fit and healthy. We’ve got some players playing when they should be rested.
“Drew’s played through his without too much problem thankfully, but Michael Ojo’s still sat out obviously. Drew’s now more mobile as it showed tonight compared to the last week, and now he’s got another few days to be able to improve further.”
The support in the bleachers had grown from the past few weeks for Cheshire, despite having already been knocked out of the playoffs, but Chez Marks, captain of Phoenix, felt it’s more about giving the fans a W over anything else: “We knew we couldn’t make the playoffs but I went out and told the guys to play hard; I just want to win, that’s it, people come out and pay to watch us, so we have to just perform and get that win every game.
“Plymouth played great and congratulations to them; Matt is a monster on the boards, and their back line is huge with Schreiber and O’Reilly. They still have players injured but if they can get everyone back healthy, they can make a great run.”
Game MVP, Matt Schneck, knew what was at stake after defeat against Sheffield Sharks on the road: “I’m very happy with how we played tonight. As a team we understood the importance of this weekend to our playoff positioning and competed at a high-level.
“We’ve had five games in nine days, with four of those being on the road. You would expect us to be worn down, but it was one of our most energetic performances we had during that stretch.”
His rebounding, alongside Shawn Myers and Alif Bland had been marked out as a key battle ground for the win, and over recent weeks, Schneck’s ability to bag a double-double have helped the team through injury-stricken times: “It’s something I’ve always prided myself on, my game really relies on how I’m performing on the glass. Each match I set a goal for myself to reach the 20 and 10 mark as long as it’s within the flow of the game.
“When I’m in the mode where I have a knack for the ball, and a lot of energy, I can be difficult to keep off the glass. Myers and Bland have been great rebounders this year, they are both very athletic. For me it’s about consistency, so I don’t really look at the numbers, but I’d assume we’d all be up there, alongside guys like Frank Holmes and Kareem Maddox this season.”
Play of the game
Two plays of the game that summed it all up – Javarris Barnett’s second quarter shootdown helped give Plymouth a very comfortable half-time lead. 16 points in ten minutes. Whilst Matt Schneck’s huge, and it really was huge, one handed take down of the side of the backboard in the second half. There’s a reason he’s top of those stats columns.
Game MVP
Almost split between the two aforementioned individuals for Plymouth Raiders, but being able to narrow it down to one is mighty Matt Schneck. He brought to the court on Sunday night every aspect of his game that he had in his rookie season with Cheshire Jets; proof as to why he really is a bull in the paint.
That’s also put his weekend tally to 46 points, 22 rebounds (11 ORB & 11 DRB), four steals and two blocks. A great response from Schneck after being kept leashed on only 26 minutes at Sheffield midweek.
Next up
Cheshire Phoenix at home in their final game of the season against Sheffield Sharks, 5:30pm, Sunday 7th April, Northgate Arena.
Plymouth Raiders away to Worcester Wolves, 7:30pm, Friday 29th March, University of Worcester.
