All Photos Copyright 2003 Peter Horrell

Erkenwald remain unbeaten after 2 games of the Founders Cup Eastern pool after a hard fought win at Huntingdon. Julian Morvan again led the scoring for the Erks with 19 points, including a huge 3 pointer after the Hawks, who had trailed for most of the game, drew level with 2 minutes remaining.

In the early stages, Erkenwald threatened to run away with the game, as the Hawks were slow out of the starting blocks after a delay to tip-off caused by the late arrival of their kit. Agressive Erks defence caused a number of turnovers which John Amoasi and Morvan cashed in on with fast break baskets.

After another steal led to a thunderous dunk from Sean Hutchison, the Erks lead hit double figures and mid-way through the 2nd quarter, the lead was out to 15 points as John Kimani connected from outside and Martin Overare made his presence felt on the offensive boards.

However, the Hawks then started to connect with some outside shots of their own and as the Erks started to force their attempts, the Hawks repeatedly had success by rebounding the ball and launching long passes over the slowly retreating Erkenwald defenders. A 10 point half-time lead was by no means a safe buffer for the Erks and although the Hawks never lead, the margin never increased as the Erks supply of fast break points dried up as their defensive intensity dropped. For most of the game neither team really looked like scoring consistently in a half-court offense, as after a slow start, the Hawks pressurised the ball to good effect, forcing the Erks into a number of off balance shots or hopeful drives to the hoop and it was only the composure of veteran forward Steve Herd that kept the Erks in front as the Hawks started to sense victory.

The final quarter started well enough for the Erks, however the risk of allowing the opposition to stay in touch rather than killing them off when you have the opportunity was brought home when the Hawks young forward Richardson suddenly developed a hot hand. Richardson scored 9 points in little over 3 minutes drawing his team level for the first time since the opening minutes and with all the momentum in their favour, the Hawks looked set to steal the win. Fortunately for the Erks, Morvan hit the biggest shot of the game on the next possession, answering back straight away from behind the arc to restore a 3 point lead and when Amoasi and then Hutchison drove to the basket for 2 pointers and the Hawks failed to connect from long range, the Erks escaped with a 5 point win.

Erks coach Declan McCusker was pleased with the effort and character shown by his team to withstand the Hawks rally, but expressed concern at the ease with which Huntingdon were able to disrupt the Erks offense, saying, "At times we were all over the place, everybody wanted to dribble the ball and play around the 3 point line and we forced far too many bad shots. Credit to the Hawks for their hustling defence, but it clearly proved that against the top teams in this competition, we'll need a decent half-court game to fall back on, as we won't be able to rely on forcing turnovers, running the break and hitting the odd three pointer. We still have a lot of work to do!"

Erks Scorers:
Julian Morvan 19, John Amoasi 17, John Kimani 11, Steve Herd 9, Sean Hutchison 8, Martin Overare 6, Declan McCusker 2, Richard Williams

Report posted: 17/11/03