Liverpool, England – Myerscough produced their best performance of the season away at Liverpool to emerge victorious after a double-overtime thriller. Both teams came into the game having only lost once in league play and it was clear from the opening minutes that both teams were determined to keep it that way.
After a back and forth first half, a 3-pointer on the buzzer, allowed Liverpool to hold a slight lead (40-36) at the break. Liverpool connected on 8 3 pointers in the first half which was addressed by coach James Jones. “I felt like we were playing hard defensively in the first half but not playing smart. Too many times we were over helping and leaving shooters open.”
Myerscough were able to make the defensive adjustments to start the 2nd half but now it was the offense that began to stall. “It was a struggle to put points on the board in the 3rd quarter. Guys were pressing too much rather than letting the ball move to shift the defense” said Jones. With the offense struggling, Liverpool was able to open a ten-point lead going into the 4th quarter.
Led by an inspired performance from Jayden Baldie, Myerscough came roaring back into the game. Ben Prince and Calum Johnstone kept the scoreboard ticking over and Emmanuel Akubuo was relentless on the glass.
A huge Baldie 3 pointer put Myerscough up by 1 (78-77) with 12 seconds remaining. Liverpool called timeout and Myerscough needed one more stop to see out the game. Liverpool missed their shot attempt but were able to grab an offensive rebound and Myerscough were forced into a foul. After missing the first free throw Liverpool made the 2nd to tie the game and force overtime.
In overtime, Myerscough showed composure as players began to foul out and the pressure was rising. Daniel Azancot was able to control the tempo of the game making important plays to score himself or set up teammates. Myerscough found themselves up 3 with the ball in Liverpool’s hands. A missed shot allowed Ben Prince to collect the rebound and be fouled with 6 seconds left. Prince went to the free throw line with a chance to close out the game but missed both and Liverpool raced down court with former Myerscough student Arnas Kildisas banking in a 3 pointer to send the game into double overtime.
Myerscough could have been deflated but showed great resilience and maturity as they opened an early lead in the 2nd overtime to take away a huge 107-100 win. Ben Prince led the scoring with 26 points supported by Johnstone with 21, Azancot with 18 and Baldie with 17. Akubuo also reached double figures with his 11-point 14 rebound double-double.
Coach Jones was delighted with the win. “I’m really pleased for the players and proud of their efforts today. They showed great resilience and determination against a good Liverpool team. The players should take a lot of confidence from this as we look to keep improving every day. They’ve earned a good rest over Christmas then we’ll to be ready to go again in the new year”.
Preston, England – Myerscough’s poor form continued in their last league game before the Christmas break as they fell in a low-scoring affair, 63-56 to Worcester Wolves whom they previously beat in the Men’s National Cup. Myerscough now sit at 3-8 in NBL league play and will look to get back to winning ways in the New Year.
Myerscough struggled offensively to start the game the visitors wasted no time in capitalising on the poor execution as they forced the hosts into a timeout after establishing a 14-3 lead with former Myerscough student Wilfred Santhe spearheading the attack with 7 points personal. The timeout would slow the pace by Myerscough still found themselves down 19-7 after the first quarter.
As play resumed the theme remained, Myerscough struggled, and Worcester had all the momentum. Evan Longman connected on a pair of free throws; and Myerscough faced its largest deficit of the game at 17 points before back-back three pointers from captain Euan Birch and a layup from Denilson Caschili gave Myerscough hope going into half-time as the scoreboard showed 24-35.
A resurgent Myerscough emerged from the locker room and continued to capitalise on the execution they displayed to end the first half and the persistence paid off as the lead was back to just a single point when Worcester Wolves called a time-out of their own with 5-minutes left in the game.
Stephen Asante would then step up with back-back layups either side of a Worcester 24 second violation as Myerscough took their first lead of the game at 56-55 for it to be snatched away possessions later as back-to-back turnovers at the worst possible moment allowed Lucas McGregor to score five quick points as the tables turned and Myerscough slipped to another defeat.
Stephen Asante would lead Myerscough with a game-high 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Euan Birch added 13 points whilst Dayvantia Campbell-Deeble provided a spark off the bench with 12 points and 6 rebounds.
Matei Balteanu led Worcester with 13 points whilst Lucas McGregor and Evan Longman joined him in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.
Myerscough returns and kicks starts the New Year with a bang when they host undefeated league leaders, City of Birmingham Rockets on January 8th, 4pm. Worcester Wolves will travel to Derbyshire Arrows in their last league game before Christmas next weekend, December 18th.
Other weekend results:
Saturday 10th December 2022
U18 Conference v Cheshire Phoenix – 60-67 L
Top Scorers
Hezekiel – 13 points
Lambert – 12 points
Creanga – 9 points
U16 Conference v Manchester Kings – 65-72 L
Top Scorers
Windle – 27 points
Sunday 11th December 2022
U18 Premier v Manchester Giants – 73-66 W
Top Scorers
Baldie – 27 points
Campbell-Deeble – 16 points
Coxon – 16 points
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