There’s no place like home for the Giants

Manchester Giants continued their push for a playoff place with an 83-70 victory over the Surrey Heat. Stefan Gill led all scorers with 28 points off the bench which included a near perfect 6-of-7 night from behind the 3-point line.

Centre Mike Bernard was dominant presence in the paint as he finished with 11 points and four blocks in 14 highly efficient minutes. The Giants reserves outscored their opponents by a colossal 47 points to 12 as they defeated the Heat for the second time in the past three weeks.

The visitors were led by 18 points from Julius Joseph and centre Frank Holmes finished with 16 points and a game high 15 rebounds but they struggled to match the energy of the Giants all night. Their job was made even more difficult when their third leading scorer Samuel Cricelli was saddled with early foul trouble. He finished with eight points and nine rebounds but also had five turnovers as he struggled to find his rhythm after picking up his third personal foul with over four minutes left to play in the first half.

The visitors made a positive start to the game and an 8-0 run midway through the first quarter saw them take a 12-8 lead on a tip in by Frank Holmes with 4:43 remaining in the period. Gill came into the game at that point and made an immediate impact with a 3-pointer from the right wing to cut the deficit to a single point. That triggered a 7-0 run for the home-side as four different Giants players managed to get their names on the score sheet. A bank shot by Cricelli snapped the run for the Heat but Gill raced down the court and managed to convert a layup just as the buzzer sounded to put his side up 18-14 at the end of the period.

The Giants stepped up their defensive effort in the second quarter as they held their opponents to just six field goals and forced them to commit six turnovers which helped to facilitate the hosts’ transition game as they ran in several easy scores. Gill added two more from behind the arc to put his side up 33-26 with 3:35 remaining in the half as the home crowd buzzed with excitement and the team fed off their energy. Joseph did his best to keep the visitors close with two threes of his own in the period but the hosts continued to push the pace and scored seven unanswered points to close out the half and take a well-deserved 39-29 lead at the interval.

The Giants carried that momentum into the second half and saw their lead swell to 15 with a 7-2 run just two minutes in. James Jones knocked down a jump-shot from the left corner followed by five quick points from Nick George who poured in nine of his 16 points in the quarter. The Heat kept themselves in contention by taking advantage of some overzealous defending from the Giants which led to 16 of the visitor’s 20 free-throw attempts for the game coming in the third period. They cut the lead down to 11 after a made free-throw by Joseph with 2:44 remaining before Mike Bernard re-energised the home-crowd with the play of the game. The Giants centre received a pass from George before rising up and throwing down a thunderous one-handed slam dunk with Frank Holmes draped all over him for the basket and the foul. He knocked down the additional free-throw to give his side a 55-41 advantage with 2:41 left in the period but the Giants were unable to close out the quarter effectively as the visitors went on a 12-2 run with the last bucket coming on an offensive rebound and put back layup by Joseph at the buzzer.

The Heat continued their resurgence in the final period keeping up with the Giants scoring as Chavis Holmes notched five of his 10 points in the first couple of minutes on a couple of crafty drives to the hole to go with a made free-throw. A tip dunk from Frank Holmes pulled them to within seven with 6:33 left to play in the game but Giants point guard Devan Bailey found power forward Ben Eaves wide open on the perimeter and he drained a 3-pointer to put his side back up by double-digits. Caylin Raftopoulos made a pair from the free-throw line for the visitors before Gill dialled in from long-distance to spark an 8-0 run for the home-side which gave them a 76-60 lead with 3:26 to go in the contest. Frank Homes hit a mid-range jumper to trigger a mini-revival as the visitors went on an 8-2 spurt to close the gap to 10 points with 1:15 left. After a Giants time-out Gill knocked down his sixth and final 3-pointer of the game with 1:08 left on the clock to put the result beyond doubt and give his side a much needed victory.

The win keeps the Giants firmly in the Playoff hunt with only two points separating four teams in the BBL standings. Four of their next five games will come against teams in the hunt for the final three Playoff spots with all but one of them coming on the road. They will need to improve on their 1-10 record away from Wright Robinson in order to stay amongst the chasing pack.

Starting Fives

Manchester Giants – Devan Bailey, James Jones, Nick George, David Watts, David Aliu
Surrey Heat – Albert Margai, Chavis Holmes, Frank Holmes, Samuel Cricelli, Julius Joseph

Play of the Game

Mike Bernard’s power jam midway through the third quarter nearly brought the rim down and ignited the home crowd as the visitors began to edge back into the game. His dominance down low and presence at defensive end (he finished with a game-high four rejections) was a welcome addition for the hosts as they continue their push towards the postseason.

Game MVP

Stefan Gill – 28 points – 6 of 7 pointers, 6 of 6 free throws and four rebounds in just 27 minutes. The Giants super-sub was scorching from the field and shot the ball with extreme confidence all night long. His superb leaping ability combined with a picture-perfect shooting stroke made him a nightmare matchup for the Heat. He finished with game-high 28 points on just 12 field goal attempts with only one turnover in his best home-game of the season. He scored 11 points in the 4th quarter to end any plans the visitors had of mounting a comeback and edge his side closed to that highly coveted playoff spot.

Next Up

Manchester Giants – One Health Sheffield Sharks, Friday 15th February, 7:30pm, English Institute of Sport Sheffield
Surrey Heat – UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders, Saturday 16th February, 7:30pm, Plymouth Pavilions