Wildcats continue improved form to beat six man Phoenix

Durham Wildcats secured a second road win on the bounce, thanks to an impressive showings from Mike Baldarelli and Andrew Keister against a still depleted Cheshire Phoenix side, to come out 82-94 victors.

Cheshire Phoenix had over two weeks to prepare for tonight’s game, whilst Durham secured a shock victory on Friday night against Plymouth Raiders on the road.

After a strong start for Durham, it took some time before Phoenix found their rhythm, but a couple of decent runs from the home side lifted both the players on court and the crowd, with Chris Pearce for Cheshire helping extend to a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter, 20-13.

Early in the second quarter, and it looked as though the situation was about to become a whole lot worse for the visitors, but after Cheshire’s poor efforts outside the arc, combined with some decent ball movement and great work on the baseline from Andrew Keister; the Wildcats began to claw their way back into the game.

A succession of three pointers and well worked plays in order to draw fouls going inside for the basket, the scores were tied, before Page popped up with a bucket from outside to take the slight lead into half-time, 41-42. From early in the quarter, 11 points down, it became a 12 point swing.

An injury scare to Keister shortly after the restart, and rather than struggle, it gave time for Mike Baldarelli to step up into the game, and step up he did by grabbing the next ten points for Dave Elderkin’s side, extending a lead out to seven points, which was maintained for the remainder of the quarter, 59-66.

Coming out for the final period, Cheshire were in need of strong finishes that have been seen at times during the season, but with having to deal with the extremity of a six man roster (albeit coach Lloyd looked to be kitted up in case of dire circumstances), it became a worry when Chez Marks went to the floor after an attempt at a three with cramp and muscle problems, which kept him out of the game for a short amount of time.

It somewhat spurred Cheshire to stay in the game rather than fold, being 13 points down at the time already; baskets were then traded in a fashion, but Durham seemed to be in complete control with more confidence in possession, and the quickness of transition from defence to offense; a trait throughout the game, together with dominance on the boards.

As the clock ticked down, it became increasingly evident that the gap was too big to try and pull it back from the free throw line for Phoenix, who had to concede what could be a vital head-to-head come the end of the regular season. Durham ‘s Michael Davies picked up the final points of the game to win, 82-94.

After the game, Dave Elderkin was thrilled with how his side have coped over this weekend, and getting their reward for their time literally on the road getting to games: “Obviously we were absolutely delighted with the performance against Plymouth; it was a long road trip but we managed it well. We started with confidence and shot well, and sometimes we’ve been there, prior to this against Surrey, Worcester, Eagles, but somehow we’ve managed to find a way not to maintain it, but at Plymouth, the boys managed to hang in there.

“This game was a different story altogether,” Elderkin continued, “because we knew right from the start we were tired. It was a long way back, and to then come over here. Credit to our guys, when it mattered most we started to string some really good offenses together and made shots when it mattered.”

When Keister went off, he was pleased with the performance of his replacement, and others on the team: “Sam Johnson is a good deputy to have when we get in that situation. We like Andrew because of his size around the basket, smart without the ball. He’s come into previous situations where Andrew’s had knocks and he’s not done a good job, but Mike did a great job in stepping up.”

Cheshire coach Matt Lloyd is still getting to grips with the system he is now having to implement: “We kept an eye on Durham’s fixture against Plymouth and were aware of them coming in with some form it was always going to be difficult.

“It’s been hard on some of the guys, but we’ve had to get on and work hard,” he went on to say, “I’ve had a lot of help from Mike Burton and Robbie Peers on getting the best out of a six man rotation. The difference between what they had though when they were here previously was that they did have extra bodies on the bench to bring in; we don’t, we’re working with just the six we have.”

Asked if there was any possibility of reinforcements since the gap left by Phil Brandreth and Niel Gillard to other ventures: “We know the transfer deadline is coming up soon, but with the way the club is run now, we can only work within our means. We are looking for someone specific though, particularly in the rebounding department as that is where we lacked tonight and where we’ve struggled recently, but I’d say it is 50/50 at the moment if we get someone else in.”

Top scorer for Durham was Mike Baldarelli with 26 points (three steals also), and for Cheshire Phoenix, Jerome Gumbs finished off with  24 points. Andrew Keister also made a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and was almost joined by Ralph Bucci (9 points and 14 rebounds). Another mention for Keith Page, who struggled towards the end of last season with Cheshire Jets, bagging himself 22 points.

• Mersey Tigers went 0-21, losing at home 70-103 against Plymouth Raiders in the earlier game of the day in the BBL Championship. Michael Ojo top scored with 27 points, whilst for Tigers’ Chris Bigley scored 17. Matt Schneck also bagged himself a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds. Martin Calvo was taken to hospital part way through the game.