Brightlingsea Sledgehammers 82
Erkenwald 88
Adrian Leclair leads the transition.
Keith Pringle looks to go past Hammers' captain, Julian Keeling.
Erks centre, Dave Churches top scored with 28 points.
Mark Denchfield scored 24.
Keith Pringle scored 15 points.
Robin French defends Hammers' Smith (#5).
Erks - 2006: (Clockwise from back left) Declan McCusker (#7), Steve Herd (#9), Dave Churches (#15), Mark Denchfield (#5), Keith Pringle (#11), Robin French (#8), Lee Atkinson (#10), Adrian Leclair (#6).
All images Copyright 2006 Peter Horrell
|
Erkenwald dramatically dumped the Brightlingsea Sledgehammers out of the Essex Cup last night, 88 - 82, and will now face the Southend Saints in the final. Down by one point following the first leg, Erks magnificently raised their game to earn the win.
It was an inauspicous start for the visitors though as three of the team were delayed by a minor detour via a ditch en route to the game. Fortunately all were ok, though Denchfield and French did look a little shaken when they finally showed up. This meant that Atkinson and McCusker started. From the tip off, it was easy to see why the Hammers have remained unbeaten for so long; Smith opened the scoring with a trey and immediately the home team raced into a 26 - 4 lead with Matthews and Keeling doing the most damage. Crisp passing, an ability to score at will and a tight and organised defence characterised the Hammers' play. In fact the Hammers' domination was so great that Steve Herd's four points were the only Erks points in the first six minutes. A three point play from Dave Churches saw the Erks increase their total to 7 points however the Hammers increased the lead to 23 following another Wilson field goal and two Ward (A) free throws. In the eighth minute however the Erks started their fight back; Mark Denchfield hit the first of four consecutive Erks treys (Pringle, French and Churches drained the other three) that reduced the home team's advantage to 19 - 34 at the end of the first period.
Into the second period and this time it was the Erks who started to force their game onto the previously rampant Hammers. Coach McCusker called for a tighter defence and his team responded by shutting down the Hammers' offense for the first three minutes while Denchfield, French and Churches continued to score. Both teams found offensive success with Keith Pringle and Dave Churches leading the visitors with 7 and 6 points respectively. Jones and Ward countered with 6 and 4 and, by the half, Erks were only 11 points adrift and feeling and looking a lot happier with the situation.
Focussed and buoyed by Coach McCusker's half time instructions, Erks continued to find offensive success. This quarter belonged to Dave Churches and Mark Denchfield as they buried 12 and 11 third quarter points with Denchfield hitting three treys to Churches two. Erks' defence was also tight as speedy guards Adrian Leclair and Keith Pringle shut down the Hammers' backcourt. A Dave Churches free throw finally took the Erks into a 63 - 62 lead in the ninth minute. By the end of the period, the visitors had outscored the Hammers 29 - 14 and were up 66 - 62.
The final period was still close as both teams applied pressure defences to try to force turnovers. Both teams found offensive (and defensive) success and by the seventh minute the Hammers were back 77 - 76, just 1 point away, however two Denchfield free throws kept the Erks in front. Into the final minute and Erks had a five point lead. Steve Herd and Dave Churches finally picked up their fifth fouls and fouled out however two consecutive trips to the line for Adrian Leclair and Mark Denchfield hitting 3 out of 4 points meant that the Erks had held on to take a memorable win.
Dave Churches led the Erks with 28 points and dominated both inside and outside of the paint. Denchfield and Pringle were the next most successful Erks with 24 and 15 however every player made a massive contribution to a memorable win. The Erks will now face the Southend Saints in the final of the Essex Cup. The Saints overturned Brentwood Fire in the second leg on Monday 20th.
Erks' next game is against Cardinals in the EMBL on Thursday night at Sydney Russell.
Erks' scorers:
D. Churches 28, M. Denchfield 24, K. Pringle 15, S. Herd 8, R. French 8, Adrian Leclair 5, D. McCusker, L. Atkinson
Sledgehammers' scorers:
J. Matthews 25, J. Keeling 16, A Ward 14, W. Smith 13, D. Jones 6, F. Ariyo 4, M. Ward 2, C. Wilson 2, J. Barton
Report posted: 22/02/06
|
