Preston, England – Myerscough II picked up a huge win, after coming back from 20 points down in the 2nd half, away at Preston.
Having played a close game a week ago, both teams had an idea of what to expect, but it was Preston who started much the stronger. Coming off a tight game the night before, Preston didn’t show any ill effects as they rushed out to an early 11-2 lead, causing Myerscough to call an early timeout.
The offensive struggles continued against Preston’s zone defense and Myerscough were fortunate to only be down 14 points (27-13) at the end of the quarter.
Myerscough managed to slow Preston’s scoring in the 2nd quarter but the struggles on offense continued as both teams fought to shift the momentum in their favour. After back-to-back Robbie Gilmour 3-pointers, gaps in Preston’s zone were starting to appear, but Myerscough still trailed 41-28 at the half.
Coach James Jones attempted to make some adjustments at half time but again it was Preston who started the stronger and seemed to want the game more, extending their lead to 20 points at 54-34 and it seemed like the game might get away from Myerscough.
After another Myerscough timeout, the young team seemed to come to life. 3-pointers from Daniel Azancot and Emmanuel Yeboah energized the group and relentless work inside from Taylor Campbell and Emmanuel Akubuo on both ends of the floor allowed Myerscough to go on an amazing 26-6 run into the 4th quarter to tie the game at 60-60.
Aaron Bile played inspired defense on Reiss Haggith, one of Preston’s main threats, holding him near scoreless in the 2nd half and this proved critical down the stretch as Myerscough were able to maintain their composure to come away with an outstanding win, 74-68.
Daniel Azancot led Myerscough scoring with 20, with Emmanuel Yeboah adding 19 and Taylor Campbell adding a valuable 12 after a week off with illness.
Azancot had this to say on the game “In today’s game the team started slow and a little bit rough and we were losing by 20 at one point. In the second half the team showed a much better performance, playing good defense and finding a rhythm offensively, we were able to come back into the game. It was a big win and allows us to stay at the top of the league, good job boys!”
Bristol, England – Myerscough were unable to complete the NBL double over Bristol Basketball United as their previous 29-point win was overturned on Saturday afternoon as they dropped to a 12-point loss on the road, 85-73.
Back-and-forth was the nature of the first quarter as both teams worked to find a foothold in the game. Dayvantia Campbell-Deeble continued the form he demonstrated in Wednesday’s EABL win over SGS College as he scored Myerscough’s last 6 points of the quarter to keep the game close as BBU led 21-17 after one.
Myerscough had the better of the early exchanges in the second and when Mandre Costa split the defense to score, Sco took its first lead at 25-23. However, the lead was short lived as an energised BBU responded on a tear of their own outscoring the visitors 18-5, building a 41-30 advantage at halftime.
A high-scoring third quarter continued to provide twist and turns to the game. Myerscough found itself down by as many as 15 points before storming back in the final few minutes to reduce the deficit back to 7 points. This theme continued well into the fourth quarter as well, as every time BBU went into double digits, Myerscough would claw it back but unfortunately could not get over the hump and fell short on the day.
Dayvantia Campbell-Deeble was the only Myerscough player to reach double figures with 12 points on 6-8 field goals whilst Daniel Azancot added 9 points off the bench. Peter Asante and Denilson Caschili both added 8 points each.
Chris Taylor led the way with a game-high 24 points whilst Ryan Robinson and Aidan Khan contributed 14 and 12 points respectively.
Myerscough (3-8) travel to Nottingham Trent Hoods (0-12) next week as they search for their first league win since the Christmas break.
Other weekend results:
Saturday 10th December 2022
U16 Conference v Cheshire Phoenix II – 45-65 L
Top Scorers
Lord – 12 points
Van den Biggelaar – 9 points
Pangan – 8 points
U14 Conference v St Helens Saints – 102-29 L
Sunday 15th January
D3 Men v Preston – 74-68 W
Top Scorers
Azancot – 20 points
Yeboah – 19 points
Campbell – 12 points
U18 Premier v Liverpool – 96-30 W
Top Scorers
Nwauzu – 20 points
Ratcliffe – 20 points
U18 Conference v Cheshire Wire White – 81-57 W
Top Scorers
McWilliams – 37 points (including 8 three pointers)
Grant – 16 points
Exilus – 10 points
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