Solent & Wessex League game reports - Date order

Mixed week for the Wasps - 18 February 2010

The start of the week saw the Winchester Wasps defeat the Southsiders 52-48 to avenge last seasons first round Solent Intermediate cup defeat.

The Wasps defence dominated the first half as they went in at the break leading 31-17. In the second half the Wasps, who only had 7 available players for the match, managed to hold on against a big Southsiders team who used there numerical advantage to keep fresh players on the court at all times. The Southsiders bought the deficit back to 40-28 after 3 quarters.

However to start the 4^th quarter Isaac Paddington scored a 3 pointer and then drove to the hoop to put the Wasps up by 17. The Southsiders never gave up though and started to hit 3’s of there own. However the Wasps had built up a big enough lead to resist the come back to make it through to the last 8 of the Intermediate Cup were they will face the Polish Eagles in Southampton.

Scorers Wasps - Ian Hannah 11, Dave Sharpen 10, Ryan Squires 8, Isaac Paddington 8, Darren MacAskill 7, Steve Vaughan 6, Jeff Sponagle 2. 

The Hythe Stags then came to Kings and played out a tough competitive top of the table clash with the Wasps. The game could have gone either way but went the way of the Stags in the closing moments.

The defences of both teams dominated the game with everyone working hard to deny the easy passes inside. The Wasps were guilty of several turnovers due to bad passing and found themselves down 30-23 at the half, having lost the 2nd quarter 19-9.

The Wasps started the 3rd quarter strongly retaking the lead at 32-31, 5 minutes in on an and one play by MacAskill. However the Stags managed to gain back the lead at 39-35 to end the 3rd quarter.

Wasps came out firing in the 4th with threes from Sponagle, Matthias and Paddington as well as a strong inside move from Ian Hannah that put the Wasps up 46-43 with 7 minutes to play. The run was halted after the Wasps deflected a pass that ended up in, former National League star, Mark Jacksons hands and he hit the open 3 to tie the scores.

The Stags pushed themselves into a commanding position with less than a minute up 58-52, but a Dave Sharpen 3 bought the Wasps back to within 3 points. A time out was called with 22 seconds to play and the Wasps in possession. Jeff couldn't get free for a game tying 3 pointer and made a pass inside to Darren instead who scored the basket but didn't get the foul call with 7 seconds remaining. Wasps pressed trying to force the turnover, but were beaten by a full court pass to Josh Held who scored to win the game 60-57 for the Stags.

Wasps Scorers - MacAskill 11, Paddington 10, Hannah 9, Sharpen 7, Sponagle 7, Matthias 7, Vaughan 4, Squires 2.

Wizards get win number 1!!! - 2 February 2010

The Wizards are up and running thanks to some better all round team play and Sharlands shooting.

They got past the Barracudas 78-72 after a slow start where they went from 7-3 up to 7-15 down, 8 minutes into the first quarter. Dean Carey and Adrian Rochester then scored 7 of the next 9 Wizards points to bring them back to 16-19 down at the end of the 1st.

The Wizards then went on a run to take them from 22-23 down to a 36-23 lead capped by 6 straight points from Dave Clarke. However the Barracudas were able to bring it back to 36-29 at half time.

In the third quarter Nick Penn took over the Barracudas offence scoring 15 of his game high 36 points. The Barracudas took the high scoring quarter 28-23 to pull themselves to within 2 points of the Wizards at 59-57, who were paced by Craig Sharlands 14 3rd quarter points.

The Wizards started the 4th brightly outscoring the Barracudas 11-2 in the first 4 minutes to establish a comfortable 70-59 lead. However they were still unable to control Penn who scored 9 in the quarter to bring the Barracudas back into contention.

Wizards scorers: Craig Sharland 29, Adam Gillies 15, Dean Carey 8, Dave Clarke 8, Adrian Rochester 7, Kev Chase 6, Andy Guise 3, Guy Wilcox 2. - As a footnote that was the Clubs 100th league victory!!!

Isle of Wight 61-63 Winchester Wasps - 17 January 2010

The Wasps had 3 of there 8 players foul out in the 3^rd and 4^th quarters but were still able to inflict only the second home loss this season on the Isle of Wight with a 63-61 victory.

With 2 minutes of intense play nearing the end of the final quarter Jeff Sponagle and the Wasps swarming defence turned a 3 point deficit into a 6 point lead, which was just too much for the Isle of Wight to pull back.

The first half saw the Wasps struggling to adjust to the Isle of Wights 1-3-1 zone defence and found themselves 33-31 down at the break.

The Wasps only scored 2 points in the first 6 minutes of the 3^rd quarter and as they went further behind at 40-33. Ian Hannah then steadied the Wasps slide by scoring 6 of the games next 8 points to bring the Wasps back to 3 down before another Isle of Wight fast break gave them a 5 point lead at the end of 3 quarters.

With the Wasps trailing 45-48 Jeff Sponagle took over the Wasps offence outscoring the Isle of Wight 10-1 including a pull up 3 on the fast break. The Wasps had opportunities to pull further ahead but their poor free throw shooting, only connecting on 3 out of 10 shots (11/23 for the match), meant they kept their opponents in the game to the end.

Scorers – Jeff Sponagle 18, Dave Sharpen 10, Ian Hannah 10, Jon Pickering 10, Ryan Squires 7, Steve Vaughan 5, Pascal Matthias 2, Darren MacAskill 1

Old School 105 – 104 Urchins in Overtime (final score 100-100) 23 December 2009

A driving layup by Ian Hannah, with 4 seconds left of Overtime gave Old School a fantastic 105-104 victory in the ‘Old’ v ‘Young’ Charity match at Princes Mead School. The game raised £110 for a Ugandan Orphan school.

The games opening basket by Dave Clarke gave Old School, whose average age was 32, the lead, which turned out to be their only lead until the last minute of the game. The Urchins, whose average age was 22, then stepped up the pace. Solent Kestrel U18 and Southsiders player Rich Mann took over the 1^st quarter as he scored 21 points, including five 3s, to help the Urchins to a 34-20 1^st quarter lead.

In the second quarter the Urchins took a 20 point lead at one stage, but two 3 pointers a piece by Chris Hall and Dave Clarke meant that Old School went into half time trailing 46-60.

Craig Sharland then found his shooting touch scoring 15 points in the 3^rd quarter, which included four 3’s, to pull Old School back to within 8 at 73-81.

In the fourth every time Old School started closing the gap, the Urchins had an answer. Until Ian Hannah decided he wanted to win the game, he scored 14 of his game high 28 points in the quarter to give Old School their second lead of the match at 96-95, only for Rich Mann to hit another big 3 point shot to put the Urchins 98-96 in front. Dave Clarke and Elliot Hood then traded baskets. Then with 12 seconds left Pascal Matthias was fouled and hit both of his free throws to take the game to Overtime.

Due to the weather getting worse outside, it was decided that Overtime would be 2 minutes. Adrian Rochester scored the first 3 points from the foul line to give the Urchins a 103-100 lead, before a big 3 point shot from Pascal Matthias with 50 seconds remaining levelled the score. National League Player Liam Dell was then fouled and sent to the free throw line where he hit 1 of 2 to give the Urchins a 104-103 lead.

Old School then called a time out with 15 seconds remaining to draw up the winning play.

The organiser would like to thank everyone that braved the bad weather to make this such a great contest and help raise money for the Charity.

Scorers

Old School – Ian Hannah 28, Dave Clarke 22, Craig Sharland 17, Chris Hall 11, Jules Prieto 10, Pascal Matthias 9, Mike ‘Daddy’ Castle 8

Urchins – Rich Mann 27, Isaac Paddington 20, Elliot Hood 20, Adrian Rochester 17, Ben Urquhart 8, Liam Dell 7, Ollie Marsh 5

The half time 3 point shoot was won by Jules Prieto, who was cheered on by his son all the way through the shoot out and game. Ian Hannah finished runner up, after a 4 way tie lead to a sudden death shoot out with Rich Mann and Chris Hall also involved in the tie.

Barracudas 47-66 Wasps

The Wasps got an easy win away to the Barracudas on Wednesday night to go 7-0 at Christmas. The final score was 47-66, could have been a lot more but for poor free throw shooting and the Barracudas hitting 3's in the last quarter where they outscored the Wasps 17-10.

Dave Cooley played his last game for the Wasps until late March in this win, still suffering from a badly sprained ankle. We will miss him.

Scorers Dave Sharpen 15, Darren MacAskill 10, Jon Pickering 8, Jeff Sponagle 8, Yaz El-Hakim 7, Mark Radford 6, Ian Hannah 4, Pascal Matthias 4, Dave Cooley 4.

Southsiders 45-49 Wasps - 29 November 2009

The Wasps managed to withstand a final quarter come back from the Southsiders to win a physical encounter 45-49 in Hamble and remain undefeated.

The tone of the match was set early as both teams set about stopping the opposition with tough aggressive defence; the match had to wait 4 minutes for its first basket. The Wasps then jumped out to a 9-3 before being pegged back to lead by 10-8 at the end of the 1^st quarter, Jon Salmon had all 5 of his points in the first quarter.

The second quarter saw the Wasps keep up their unforgiving defence, holding the Southsiders scoreless for the first 5 minutes of the quarter while scoring 10 points of their own. The Wasps went in at the break leading by 27-16 against last seasons Solent Cup finalists.

With the fouls and the unforced errors starting to pile up the third quarter was another disjointed offensive performance from both sides. End of the 3rd Wasps lead 35-28.

The fourth quarter saw several potential game deciding plays, and better shooting from the Southsiders. Rich Mann hit his second 3 of the match to put the Southsiders level at 42-42. The Wasps then missed on their next possession and fouled, sending Pete Horsley to the foul line to make 2 free throws and the Southsiders had their first lead of the match with 90 seconds remaining.

Experienced Guard Mark Radford then hit a 3 pointer for the Wasps to put them back in front at 45-44. A well drawn offensive foul by Ian Hannah lead to the Wasps gaining possession and Steve Vaughan making 1 of 2 from the line after being fouled for a 2 point Wasp lead. The final minute saw both teams taking the ball aggressively to the hoop and picking up fouls. The Wasps moved 3 points clear after 2 Jeff Sponagle free throws. The game was finally sewn up with 9 seconds remaining after Dave Cooley hit 1 of 2 from the line after another great Wasps defensive effort.

Scorers Wasps - Ian Hannah 12, Jeff Sponagle 10, Dave Cooley 5, Isaac Paddington 4, Jon Pickering 3, Mark Radford 3, Darren MacAskill 3, Dave Sharpen 2, Ryan Squires 2, Pascal Matthias 1, Steve Vaughan 1.

Southsiders - Rich Mann 10, Rob De ath 7, Dave Mead 6, Jon Salmon 5, Dave Smith 5, Pete Horsley 4, Liam Dell 3, Mark Lewis 3, Elliot Hood 2.

Salisbury 51-59 Wasps

The Winchester Wasps continued their unbeaten start to the Solent League division 2 season thanks to largely to an impressive last 5 minutes where they outscored the experienced Salisbury team 9-2 to record victory number 5 of the season.

The Wasps looked sluggish in the first quarter of this encounter and it was only due to the impressive shooting of Jeff Sponagle, who had 8 of his 13 in the 1^st quarter, that they managed to stay within 2 points of Salisbury.

The Wasps took their first lead of the game at 23-21 half way through the second quarter, before a couple long range 3 pointers from Salisburys John Jones helped ensure that Salisbury went into the break 32-29 up.

The Wasps switched their defence in the second half putting the former Southampton Trailblazer junior Jon Pickering on the Salisbury marksman, and he held him scoreless for the rest of the game, also the inside shot blocking of Dave Cooley limited the Salisbury teams close range attempts.

Ian Hannah exploded to the hoop on a number of occasions during the quarter, scoring and drawing fouls to help the Wasps to a 41-43 3^rd quarter lead.

Salisbury weren’t beaten however and traded basket for basket with the Wasps until the final 5 minutes of the game.

Scorers Jeff Sponagle 13, Dave Cooley 11, Jon Pickering 9, Ian Hannah 8, Darren MacAskill 8, Dave Sharpen 4, Ryan Squires 4, Pascal Matthias 2

Wasps 70-45 Weymouth - 29 October

The Winchester Wasps won their fourth consecutive game to start their Solent League Division 2 season, beating the Weymouth Bandits 70-45.

After last weeks comfortable win away to Bournemouth the Wasps were expecting a bruising encounter against the Bandits and so it proved, with coach Styants picking up his first technical foul of the season for complaining about Weymouths flying elbows.

The Wasps began the game strongly with Yaz El-Hakim and Jeff Sponagle combining for 17 of the Wasps 24 first quarter points. Weymouth struggled at both ends of the court and found themselves 14 points down entering the 2nd quarter.

The second and third quarters were low scoring with great interior defence from both teams limiting scoring opportunities. The tird ended with the Wasps leading 46-30.

The Wasps got back into their stride in the fourth getting the ball inside to their big men to finish or pass back out for a Sponagle 3 pointer.

Scorers - Sponagle 25, El-Hakim 13, Sharpen 9, MacAskill 7, Hannah 6, Vaughan 4, Radford 3, Matthias 2, Paddington 2.

Wizards 65 - Weymouth 53 - 20 October
 
The Wizards secured their first win of the season, at home to the physical Weymouth Bandits.
 
After a strong start, which saw the Wizards break out to a 15 point lead, thanks to some strong play by Guy Wilcox. The Weymouth team responded in the second half by playing hard defence and hitting their long range shots, but the Winchester team played some clever patient basketball to grind out the win, 65-53. Guy Wilcox and Craig Sharland had 12pts each, whilst captain Adam Gillies top scored with 14 for the home side.

Scorers: Gillies 14, Guy 12, Craig 12, Dave Hoskins 7, Dean 7, Brummy 6, Dave Clarke 4, Louie 3, Justyn 1 and Kev 0.

Bournemouth Razors 52-71 Winchester Wasps - 19 October

The Wasps used a strong first quarter to propel themselves to victory away to a big experienced Bournemouth team.

Bournemouth opened up the game playing a man to man defence which the Wasps were able to beat at will establishing a 22-9 lead to end the first quarter. Jon Pickering was on fire during the quarter scoring 12 of his 20 points in the period as well as forcing the Bournemouth guards into several errors with his all action defence.

Bournemouth switched to a zone defence in the second quarter which slowed the Wasps offence down. However with Yaz El-Hakim, Ian Hannah and Dave Cooley able to find the gaps in the zone and the Wasps swarming defence forcing turnovers, the Wasps extended their lead at half time to 41-22.

Wasps started the 3^rd quarter slowly. 8 minutes into the quarter Bournemouth managed to close to within 13 again. Wasps called a time out and adjusted their offence slightly enabling Ian Hannah and Dave Cooley to take the ball to the basket and draw fouls off the Bournemouth big men as the Wasps pulled away to end the third quarter up 54-37.

The Wasps began the final quarter quickly and pulled away to a 61-39 lead before El-Hakim was caught with an elbow for the second time that put his tooth through his lip. Pascal Matthias and Dave Sharpen then stepped up scoring points and drawing fouls to ensure the Wasps came away with a comfortable victory by 71-52.

Scorers Jon Pickering 20, El-Hakim 13, Cooley 13, Sharpen 8, Hannah 8, Matthias 5, McMillan 2, Vaughan 2

Wasps 72-62 Wizards - 8 October - by Louis Paddington

Jeff Sponagle scored 21 points, including a pair of key three pointers in the fourth quarter, as the Winchester Wasps withstood a strong second half surge to beat the Winchester Wizards 72-62, and remain undefeated against their city rivals.

Despite trailing 29-40 at halftime, the Wizards reduced the deficit in the third quarter, behind the fine outside shooting of Kev Chase and Craig Sharland, who combined for 15 points in the period.

A three pointer by Chase (17 points total) to end the third quarter and a jump shot by Thom Attwood (9 points) to begin the fourth brought the Wizards to within a point at 54-55. But the Wasps responded well, Ian Hannah’s rugged inside play resulting in a basket plus the foul. Despite momentarily relieving the pressure, Chase converted on another three, to bring the Wizards to within a point once again.

But they were to rue their inability to take the lead, as Sponagle and Hannah (12 points) combined for the next ten points to put the result beyond doubt.

The Wasps began the game brightest, taking a quick 7-0 lead. Wasps guard Mark Radford facilitated multiple transition opportunities, the main beneficiary of which was Steve Vaughn, who scored all of his eight points in the quarter.

A three pointer by Sharland to begin the second quarter brought his team to within six points at 14-20, but the Wasps reasserted their dominance to lead at the break.

With Chase and Sharland (13 points) spurring their team during a frenzied 17-8 run in the third quarter, Darren MacAskill (10 points) proved a steadying factor, scoring all eight of the Wasps points to keep them ahead in the game.

Scorers - Wasps Sponagle 21, Hannah 12, MacAskill 10, Vaughan 8, Squire 6, Radford 6, McMillan 4, Cooley 3, Matthias 2

Wizards - Kev Chase 17, Sharland 13, Gillies 10, Attwood 9, Carey 6, Guise 5, Moore 2

On Sunday the Wizards went to the Isle of Wight, where they found the going tough. The Wizards lost the game in the 3^rd quarter where they were outscored 35-8, eventually loosing the match 88-61 to the Islanders. Craig Sharland lead the Wizards with 19 points, Guy Wilcox had 14.

Southsiders 79-74 Salisbury in OT (4 October 2009)

Big second win for the Siders against a tough Salisbury side who were a constant threat throughout with their perimeter shooting. 

Southsiders took the early lead though this was pegged back and surpassed by Salisbury’s shooting through the second and third quarters.  Although the Southsiders stayed with them throughout mid way through the third quarter they found themselves down by 11. 

After a positive time out and a return to the senior players Siders played an uncompromising man to man defence that enabled the Siders to take the lead again going into the final minute,  with around 8 seconds left a John Jones 3 , put the Salisbury lads up 3 . This was then answered with a Long 3 from Rich Mann to force overtime. 

In overtime a professional approach saw the Siders close out an impressive win with big performances from John salmon and Richie Mann.

MVP Rich Mann/John Salmon

Scorers Mann 26, Salmon 18, Hood 12, Sach 12, Horsley 6, Mead 3, Barton 2

Winchester Wasps 70-67 Isle of Wight (1 October 2009) - by Louis Paddington

The Winchester Wasps began their Solent League Division Two campaign in style, displaying their trademark resiliency in overcoming an 8 point deficit in the final moments to defeat the Isle of Wight 70-67.

Trailing 58-66, the Wasps outscored their opponents 12-1 in the final moments.  With an improved defensive and rebounding effort proving the catalyst, they displayed patience at the offensive end, consistently working the ball inside to Ryan Squires who contributed 8 of his 9 points during the run.

Several new additions to the squad provided invaluable contributions for the Wasps, led by Jon Pickering, whose 11 consecutive points in the third quarter proved to be the turning point in a game which had been dominated by the Isle of Wight and the high-flying Liam Woodburn.

Woodburn and Ross Toogood, who finished with 26 and 14 points respectively, demonstrated an accomplished inside-outside partnership for the Isle of Wight, as they began brightly, taking a 19-12 heading into the second quarter.

The Wasps were hampered throughout by poor free throw shooting and rebounding, with Woodburn in particular able to take advantage of second and even third chance opportunities.

However, the Wasps closed the gap in the second quarter, and trailed 28-31 at halftime, with Scott McMillan (7 points) displaying the ability to penetrate the defence and finish at the rim.

As the Isle of Wight began to pull away again in the third quarter, the play of Pickering brought the Wasps back into the game, and the momentum gathered pace as Toogood was ejected following two technical fouls.

With the lead swinging back and fourth to begin the final quarter, the Isle of Wight again forged ahead due to some acrobatic finishes on the fast-break from Woodburn. But the Wasps were able to engineer a decisive run down the stretch, sparked by two Darren MacAskill (7 points) jump-shots to eventually secure victory.

Wasps scorers - Jon Pickering 13, Jeff Sponagle 9, Ryan Squires 9, Dave Cooley 8, Dave Sharpen 7, Scott McMillan 7, Darren MacAskill 7, Pascal Matthias 6, Steve Vaughan 4

Wizards 63-64 Wasps 31 March 2009

By Louis Paddington

With seven seconds remaining, the Wizards stepped to the free throw line for two shots, already with a 63-62 lead. The Wasps knew they needed a miracle to clinch the Division 3 title and salvage their unbeaten season.

After missing the first, the Wizards connected on the second free throw, only for it to be waived off for a lane violation.

After securing the inbound pass the Wasps got the ball into the hands of inspirational point-guard Jeff Sponagle. Unable to find an open team-mate or a lane to the basket, Sponagle’s jump-shot from the left wing found the bottom of the net as time ran out; sparking joyous scenes from his Wasps team-mates in the most dramatic game of the season for either team.

Sponagle scored 15 points in another brilliant performance, but two other Wasps players made indispensible contributions. Ryan Squires (who contributed a game-high 24 points) provided the Wasps with a strong inside presence; while Dave Sharpen (12 points) proved himself an excellent defender and strong rebounder.

In another intense encounter between the teams, the Wizards got strong performances from a number of players, particularly Dean Carey (16 points), and Andrew Guise, (8 points) who contributed in equal measure to a fascinating point-guard duel.

Coming into the game the Wizards still had a chance to win the league, if they were able to equal or better the Wasps 13 point win in the first fixture. The Wizards desire was evident early on as they opened up a double digit lead in the first quarter. Dave Clarke was particularly effective, as the Wizards began the second quarter with a 20-12 advantage.

The Wasps got back into the game in the second quarter, briefly taking the lead behind the play of Squires. However the Wizards were able to take advantage of turnovers, with Carey able to convert on the break to push the Wizards advantage to 36-29 at halftime.

A solid defensive effort in the third quarter enabled the Wasps to take the lead, as they limited the Wizards to just nine points in the period. Sharpen was particularly active on the offensive boards, as he was able to give his team second, and sometimes third opportunities.

With the Wasps leading 46-45 entering the final quarter the Wizards came out with renewed energy, as they took a commanding ten point lead midway through the period. A Wasps timeout reinvigorated their focus as they began to chip away at the deficit. 

With both teams desperate to win, the final minutes featured a number of clutch shots, before Sponagle stole victory, keeping the unbeaten record intact, in a thoroughly engrossing encounter.

Warriors v Fury report (from Fury Facebook page)

FURY EDGE CLOSER TO LEAGUE TITLE

Winchester Warriors 78 Portsmouth Fury 80

The Portsmouth Fury who came off a strong win against league title contenders Hythe last week faced a hard test this weekend against a Winchester team unbeaten in nine games. The Warriors needed a win to continue their own pursuit of the title as a win against the Portsmouth side would have given four teams the opportunity to claim the championship this season. The Portsmouth Fury however have only seen defeat once this season and a win would give them a little breathing space at the top of the league. One thing for certain was the spectators weren’t to be disappointed as the top of the table clash brought one of the most exciting games of the season.

The first quarter started with Paul Goodale making some tough drives inside the key to begin his tally and with the outside shooting of Ian Chambers, the visitors soon took an early lead. Steve Ware brought the ball up for the Portsmouth side and controlled the offense with some quick ball movement. The Warriors soon showed their presence as Grant Smith displayed his outside shooting whilst Ian Hannah made an impact down low to reduce the deficit. As Paul Goodale continued to cause problems for Winchester with his inside play the home side found it difficult to contain the Fury as Lawrence Rowe and Emmanuel Davies contributed to the scoring as well. The first quarter ended with the visitor’s leading by six points.

The second quarter proved to be much tighter as both teams matched each other offensively. Simon Coutaud made some good drives inside the lane for some easy layups whilst Emmanuel Davies and Paul Goodale continued to increase their individual points. Adam Gillies and Toby White help the Warriors with some good shots from the outside whilst Grant Smith continued to control their offence. The first half ended with Portsmouth ahead by eight points 31 – 39.

The second half began with a fired up Portsmouth side looking to increase the deficit against their title rivals. Ian Chambers started very brightly hitting some impressive outside jumps shots as well as driving inside the key for some tough layups. Lawrence Rowe added to the scoring through some fast break basketball from the visitors. The Fury looked to have lost Emmanuel Davies after his legs were taken from him whilst in the air as he feel hard on the court but he continued on and fortunately wasn’t injured. With the game beginning to slip from the home side Grant Smith took control of the Warriors offence to keep them within reaching distance of the quick Portsmouth side. However, with Paul Goodale and Emmanuel Davies continuing their scoring by the end of the third quarter Winchester found themselves trailing by fifteen points.

The fourth quarter was to be as exciting as ever as it started with Portsmouth controlling the game maintaining their well earned fifteen point lead. As the last quarter continued the Warriors sensed that the race for the title was starting to slip from their grasp as a lose would surely see them unable to finish in top spot. The Warriors began to play with more aggression inside the key and made sure their offense was much quicker. Unfortunately for Portsmouth after a clash of heads Paul Goodale was forced to the sidelines with a bloody nose. As the Portsmouth side began to get more frustrated at the lack of calls from the court officials, a number of players began to receive technical fouls in frustration. Coach Andrew Goodale was forced to miss the last minutes of the game after too many technical fouls received from his bench players. With this the Fury saw their seventeen point lead reduced to six with a few minutes remaining on the clock due to some speculative court officiating. Lawrence Rowe hit a three pointer to increase the lead for Portsmouth as well as Emmanuel Davies scoring from a fast break but Winchester answered right back through Ian Hannah. With less than a minute remaining the Warriors reduced the deficit to just two points after a three pointer from Craig Sharland. With the momentum fully behind Winchester Craig Sharland was given the opportunity to take the lead with another shot from beyond the arc but fortunately for Portsmouth he missed. With less than twenty seconds on the clock the experienced Portsmouth side made sure they wouldn’t see defeat as the final whisper was blown.

The final score line saw Portsmouth win the game by just two points 78 – 80. The final score line looked a lot closer than it should have been as Portsmouth found themselves hanging onto their well earned lead after some speculative court official decisions. Top scorers for Portsmouth were Emmanuel Davies 20, Lawrence Rowe 19, Paul Goodale 16.

The Portsmouth Fury have now taken a huge step into claiming the league title this season as they stand two points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand of their closest rivals. A win next week against third placed Hythe will surely see the Portsmouth outfit claim silverware.

Wins for Warriors, Wasps and Wizards in the Solent League

The Winchester Warriors continued there good form winning their 9^th game in a row against the Dorset Cavaliers team. The Warriors, lead by Craig ‘Sio’ Sharlands 22 points, including 5 three pointers, beat the Cavaliers 82-60 to move to 8 wins against just 2 defeats extending their lead at the top of Solent League division 2.

The top 3 positions in Solent league division 3 are all occupied by Winchester teams. The Wasps, currently standing at 13 wins and 0 losses overcame the lose of their top 2 scorers, who are out for the rest of the season, to record 2 more wins. After last weeks 78-71 victory away to the Polish Eagles, where Pascal Matthias scored 25 points, they managed to beat Southampton University at Kings School 61-55 in a tense match. The Wasps kept threatening to pull away during the game but whenever they opened up a 10 point advantage the University sharp shooters hit 3 pointers to bring them back into the game. In the final quarter, Dave Sharpen hit 2 three point shots and scored against the University’s zone defence at will to lead the Wasps to victory. Dave Sharpen scored 27 points and point guard Jeff Sponagle contributed 15 in the Wasps win.

The Winchester Wizards managed to get by the Winchester Southsiders 58-55 in a battle between second and third in division 3. The Wizards looked comfortable at 58-48 with a minute on the clock, but the 2 inside baskets from Rich Mann and Rob De’ath and a 3 pointer from Dave Mead gave the Southsiders one more shot at it with 2 seconds remaining. Dave Meads long range 3 point attempt missed and the Wizards moved to 9 wins and 2 losses compared to the Southsiders 6 and 4. Adam Gillies (pictured) lead the way for the Wizards with 23 points while Rob De’ath had 19 for the Southsiders.

The 3^rd season of the Winchester Basketball league is due to start the first week of April. If anyone would like to enter a team, join an existing team or would like to become the new league sponsor please contact Richard Styants at richstyants@hotmail.com.

Scorpions v Wizards

by Dean 'the Dream' Carey

The game started off with a 8-2 run by the Scorpions, the Wizards looked a bit too laid back, and theScorpions just jumped on them early. The Scorpions were very hyped trying to atone for last time the 2 teams met.

Then the Wizards started to pick up. Great movement by Dave Clarke and Gillies inside, all very unselfish play by Jon and Brum, and then the Wizards started fast breaking and ended the quarter up 23-15.

The second quarter is where the Wizards killed them. Firing on all cylinders, everything they tried went in the hole and the Wizards defence was impenetrable, as we held them to 14 points and extended our lead to 17 points at the end of the half. Dave hit two threes and 'the Dream' had 12 points in the quarter.

Third quarter again, very fast , offences, and tight defence meant the Wizards ended the quarter up by 21.

However, the Wizards started the final quarter lazily. Whereas the Scorpions came out in the 4^th fast and hard as Ben Davenport hit all 9 points as they went on a 9-0 run. The game then went back and forth, but the Scorpions stepped up their defence and made the most of their shots from all ranges and pulled it back to within 3. The Wizards  kept their mettle, played tight D, drew fouls, made free throws and a clutch 3-pointer from Kev Chase in the last minute broke the Scorpions stride, and the Wizards held on for the win, 79-73.

Scorers: Dean – 22, Gillies – 18, Dave - 16, Jon Gill – 9, Brummy – 4, Kev – 4, Sam James – 4, Weasel – 2 and Mikey – 0.

Ben 'Traitor' Davenport had 29 for the Scorpions.

Winchester Wasps 60 – 47 Winchester Wizards

By Louis Paddington

The Wasps emerged as victors, 60-47, in an engrossing encounter with Winchester rivals the Wizards. The win was the eighth in a row to begin the season for the Wasps, who have now beaten every team in the division.

A strong team effort and balanced scoring was enough to withstand a stellar performance from Jon Gill, who poured in an impressive 26 points for the Wizards.

However it was Wasps point-guard Jeff Sponagle who stole the show with a momentous all round effort. A constant thorn in the Wizards side, Sponagle typified the Wasps gritty performance with smothering defence and timely shots, including a three point play in the final moments to put the game beyond doubt.

The Wasps were led by John Neal’s team high 16 points, followed by Yaz El-Hakim with 13, Ryan Squires with 10 and Sponagle with 8. Adam Gillies was the Wizards second leading scorer with 7.

The intensity was clear from the outset as both teams looked to stake their claims for the title, although this did lead to a scrappy game, with both teams getting into early foul trouble. The Wasps could have put the game away much earlier if not for their ineptitude at the foul line, making just 17 of 44 free throws. As tensions ran high the game did threaten to boil over on occasion, with a number of technical and flagrant fouls called. 

The introduction of Squires late in the first quarter sparked the Wasps, who had looked lacklustre early. Squires inside presence led to easy baskets, helping the flow of the Wasps offence.

Trailing 11-10, the second quarter proved instrumental as the Wasps built on their strong finish to the opening period. Neale and El-Hakim combined for 15 points, with the Wasps stingy defence allowing just nine points, as they finished the half ahead, 32-20.

The Wizards attempted to reduce the deficit in the third but were inhibited by foul problems, sending the Wasps to the line 12 times in the period.

Despite the best efforts of Gill, who connected on a number of remarkable shots, the Wizards were unable to get within single digits in the fourth quarter as the Wasps took the first instalment of this heated rivalry.

Winchester Wasps 63 – 43 Southampton University B

by Louis Paddington

Winchester Wasps 110 – 67 Polish Eagles