Winchester Wizards Basketball Team

The Wizards are entering their fifth season in the Solent League after starting out in the WBL. The Wizards team will be looking to bounce straight back up to division 2 after being relegated last season..

 

Current Solent League division 3 table 2011/12

http://www.solentbasketball.co.uk/League-Tables.aspx

 

Team	Won	Lost	Ave. F	Ave. A	+/-	Pts
Wizards	10	1	68.8	58.1	+118	31
Waterside Bucks	6	4	65.1	63.9	+12	22
Southampton Ravens	4	6	60.9	68.5	-76	18
Soton Uni B	4	4	65.8	62.3	+28	16
Team Solent	3	7	51.8	57.5	-57	16
JP Morgan Barracudas	4	3	62.3	54.9	+54	15
Weymouth Cowboys	2	8	59.3	67.2	-79	13

 

	Name	Games Played	Points scored	Ave.	top score
1	Adam Gillies	43	716	16.7	37
2	Dean Carey	31	271	8.7	23
3	Craig Sharland	23	245	10.7	29
4	Jon Gill	14	244	17.4	35
5	Adey Rochester	18	175	9.7	28
6	Dave Clarke	21	166	7.9	18
7	Thom Attwood	36	148	4.1	19
8	Thom Parker	5	139	27.8	38
9	Andy Guise	36	137	3.8	11
10	Guy Wilcox	24	127	5.3	14
11	Kev Chase	27	108	4.0	17
12	Isaac Paddington	5	100	20.0	25
13	Justyn Moore	14	85	6.1	13
14	Sam James	20	73	3.7	11
15	Thom Smith	5	72	14.4	24
16	Stu Ralph	10	39	3.9	11
17	Oliver Good	1	32	32.0	32
18	Adam Simpson	12	26	2.2	4
19	Keith Palmer	4	14	3.5	8
20	Rob Attwood	7	14	2.0	7
21	Andy Rule	1	9	9.0	9
22	Mike Castle	8	9	1.1	4
23	Dave Hoskins	1	7	7.0	7
24	Spike	1	4	4.0	4
25	Steve Vaughan	1	4	4.0	4
26	Matt Tallyn	2	4	2.0	4
27	Matt Jaquiery	1	2	2.0	2
28	Adam Paddon	1	2	2.0	2
29	Tom Slocombe	2	2	1.0	2
30	James Taylor	4	2	0.5	2
31	Jeff Fabrigaras	1	1	1.0	1
32	Damion Isaac	1	0	0.0	0
33	Rob Deyzel	1	0	0.0	0

 

2011/12 Game reports

Wizards take out all 4 Bucks Legs at the Ice Palace

The Wizards are through to the last 8 of the Solent Intermediate Cup with another win over the Waterside Bucks at a freezing kings school gym by 42-39.

Scorers- Perran Hutton 10 (4/8), Mike Sampson 8 (4/8), Elvijs Ungurs 6, Dave Clarke 5 (1/2), Jules Prieto 4, Adey Rochester 4, Dave Ridge 3 (3/4), Adam Jenkins 2, Michal Gyepes DNS. (Free Throws - 12/22)

Cowboys are firing blanks!

The Winchester Wizards travelled way out to Weymouth to face their Solent Area Basketball Association Division 3 opponents, the Weymouth Cowboys.  Sitting in first place the Wizards knew that the Cowboys at the bottom of the table had nothing to lose and would come out playing hard.

The Cowboys came out guns blazing and took a 17-16 point lead at the end of the first quarter.  The Wizards adjusted their defence, which really seemed to affect the Cowboys as the Wizards slowly pulled away from their opponents taking the lead into halftime.

The third quarter saw the Wizards turn the offense on, with guard Perran Hutton scoring 8 points in the first 90 seconds of the quarter. Hutton continued to dominate as the Wizards stretched their lead to 21 points going into the 4th quarter. With the game basically already decided, the Wizards went into cruise control. The Cowboys took advantage of this mistake and outscored the Wizards in the 4th quarter 23-8 to make the final score 71-65 to the Winchester Wizards. Winchester now sits with a 9 point lead in the league with 10 wins and 1 loss.

The Wizards are focusing now on closing out the next few games so they can mathematically clinch 1st place in Division 3, and can focus solely on the Intermediate Cup.

Scorers Perran Hutton 25, Mike Sampson 14, Dave Clarke 8, Adam Jenkins 8 Michael Gyepes 8, Elvijs Ungurs 4, Matt Symmonds 2, Adey Rochester 2, Sam James & David Senart 0.

Wizards sneak one against Team Solent

The Wizards managed to come away from the Improving Team Solent with a narrow 46-49 victory to move further clear at the top of Solent League division 3.

Scorers: Sampson 19, Peran 11, Spike 6, Clarke 6, Ridge 4, Ben 2, Grant 1, Jules/Mike 0

Wizards have Bucks in their pockets

The Winchester Wizards continued where they left off before Christmas, with another victory over the Waterside Bucks. The Bucks, having lost the 2 previous meetings against the Winchester side, looked to visit Winchester and leave with a early 2012 gift. The Wizards where having none of it, as they carried the lead throughout the game eventually beating the Bucks 91-64.

The Wizards started off slow on offense, but were strong enough on defence to prevent the Bucks from scoring. Newly acquired player Ged Luksas created many scoring opportunities by continually driving towards the basket for lay ups. When the lay up was denied, Luksas was being fouled and sent to the free throw line 15 times throughout the course of the game. The rest of the team started to pick up offensively, putting the pressure on the Bucks to keep up.

The Wizards led 20-15 after the first quarter, and with the Bucks in chase mode, the Winchester team turned up the defence in the 2^nd quarter allowing only 13 points to go in at halftime with a 46-28 lead.

The second half saw the Bucks came out with pressure defence and fast breaks that bought them back to within 7 points. Coach David Senart called for a full court pressing defence that seemed to bewilder the Bucks as the Wizards went on an 18-4 point run to finish out the third quarter.

Heading into the last quarter with a 69-48 lead, the Wizards kept the pressure on, winning the 4^th quarter 22-16 for the final score 91-64. This was the third and final regular season meeting between these two teams, which has seen the Winchester Wizards win each game by an increasing margin. The Wizards will see the Bucks again in a month’s time as they have been drawn together in the Solent Intermediate Mens Cup 2^nd round.

Scorers: Ged Luksas 28, Perran Hutton 18, Dave Clarke 12, Dave Ridge 9, Mike Sampson 8, Jon Pickering 5, Jules Preito 4, Adam Jenkins 4, Grant Smith 2, Matt Symonds DNS

Wizards go Buck hunting

The division leading Winchester Wizards basketball club faced off against the Waterside Bucks on Tuesday December the 6^th. Just 3 weeks previously these teams met at Waterside, with the Wizards coming away with a 3 point victory, which gave the Bucks hope that they could come to Winchester and leave victorious. The Wizards where having none of it, cruising to an easy 73-53 win.

The start of the game seemed ominous as the Bucks turned up with their full team, while the home side only had 8 available players due to injuries. However the addition of new player Ged Luksas proved very fruitful as he scored 28 points, leading the Wizards in scoring.

The Wizards started off well, but good guard play by the Bucks kept the score tied after the first quarter. The second quarter began with the Wizards coming out strong, and putting up a double digit lead by halftime.

The third quarter started the same, with the home side earning its largest lead of 23 points, which caused the Bucks to play a higher pressure pressing defense, which allowed them to get back to within 9 points by the start of the fourth quarter.

The aggressive play of the Wizards allowed them to build yet another lead, this time however, the Buck’s did not have an answer, and the Wizards finished them off 73-53.

Scorers: Ged Luksas 28, Perran Hutton 13, Adam 'Spike' Jenkins 10, Mike Sampson 8, Dave Clarke 6, Matt Symmonds 4, Julian Prieto 2, Dave Ridge 2.

Wizards lose unbeaten start in Southampton.

The Wizards beat themselves away to the Southampton Ravens in Solent league division 3. They didn’t seem to take their fired up opponents seriously enough making uncharacteristic errors and missing 25 of their 38 free throws. The Wizards eventually went down 74-68.

Scorers: Mike Sampson 22, Dave Clarke 15, Perran Hutton 11, Adam Jenkins 7, Elvijs Ungurs 4, Sam James 3, Dave Ridge 2, Jules Prieto 2, Grant Smith 2, also played Matt Symmonds & Rob Deyzel.

Wizards sink the Sharks

The Winchester Wizards overcame the Southampton University Sharks B 70-66 with another powerful performance from the Wizards big men.

The Sharks started the top of the table clash in superb running form scoring their first 6 points from fast breaks. They remained on top throughout the first quarter, thanks partly to 2 lucky 3 point shots. It took a nice spin and layup from 6-7’ big man Mike Sampson to pull the deficit back to 13-16 at the end of the first quarter.

The Wizards were sluggish to start the 2^nd, allowing their more athletic opponents too open up a 7 point lead that they maintained for the first 6 minutes of the quarter. A 10-2 Wizards run over the next 2 minutes, including some good guard play from Adam Jenkins, forced the Sharks into a time out with the Wizards up 30-29. The Sharks outscored the Wizards 4-2, after the timeout, to take a 32-33 lead into half time.

With Adey Rochester and Mike Sampson dominating near the basket at both ends of the court the Wizards had a superb start to the 3^rd quarter outscoring the Sharks 14-4 over the first 6 minutes to open up their biggest lead of the game at 46-37. The Sharks however managed to pull the deficit back to 52-49 to end the 3^rd quarter thanks to outstanding shooting from their guard Balbonis who scored 10 of their last 12 in the quarter.

The teams traded baskets for the first 6 minutes of the 4^th quarter until Balbonis hit 2 straight 3 pointers to open up a 62-64 Sharks lead. Stand in Wizards coach Styants called a time out with just over 1 minute remaining in the game and emphasised playing to the Wizards strengths. The Wizards went straight to Sampson on the next play producing a basket and a technical foul against the Sharks coach. Sampson hit 1 of 2 free throws and then Adam Jenkins hit a jump shot off the next possession to open up a 67-64 Wizards lead.

Inside the final 30 seconds the Sharks scored a nice inside basket to close to 66-67. By this time the Sharks had gone to a full court man to man defence to try and pressure the Wizards into mistakes, however, Dave Ridge drew an unsportsmanlike foul giving him 2 shots and possession. Ridge hit 1 of 2 from the foul line with 7 seconds remaining.

The Sharks were determined not to let Jenkins get the ball from the inbounds, chasing him down with 3 players which left Elvijs Ungurs wide open for the pass and a lane to the basket to put the game out of the Sharks reach.

Scorers: Adey Rochester 23, Mike Sampson 22, Adam Jenkins 8, Dave Clarke 4, Elvijs Ungurs 4, Dave Ridge 3, Sam James 2, Jules Prieto 2, Rob Deyzel 2, Matt Symmonds & Jeff Fabrigaras also played.

Wizards beat the Bucks

The Wizards held on to win 63-66 away to the Waterside Bucks.

Scorers: Perran Hutton 17, Adey Rochester 12, Mike Sampson 11, Adam Jenkins 7, Dave Ridge 6, Jeff Fabrigaras 5, Jules Preto 4, Sam James 2, Dave Clarke 2, Also played Elvijs Ungurs & Dave Cooley.

Wizards shoot down the Cowboys

The Winchester Wizards used an 21-6 run that spanned the 1st and 2nd quarters to pull clear of the Weymouth Cowboys in this Solent league division 3 match and they never looked back.

The Cowboys managed to stay with the Wizards in the early going due to their 3 point shooting, their first 3 baskets were all 3s. The Cowboys lead 13-12 6 minutes into the game After an inside move by Adey Rochester the Cowboys big man Legg pulled them level hitting 1/2 from the line. The Wizards then moved into a higher gear as they outscored the Cowboys 12-2 in the final 2 minutes of the quarter to end the period 26-16 in front.

The Wizards kept the momentum going to start the 2nd quarter as Dave Clarke scored 7 of the wizards points in a 9-4 run to put the home team 35-20 in front 3 minutes into the 2nd quarter. The Wizards still held a 44-31 lead at the half.

Matt Duke, who was having easily his best game of the season, landed awkwardly, twisting his knee, while going after a rebound just 1 minute into the 2nd half. He was in some pain as had to be helped from the court, ending his game on 8 points. The Wizards soon regrouped and pulled away to 61-42 after 3 quarters.

With the game already won, the Wizards intensity noticably dropped in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter as they let Weymouth come back from 69-46 to finish the game with their own 11-2 run making the final score Wizards 71-57 Cowboys.

The Wizards have already won more games this season than they did the whole of last season. The Wizards next game is Tuesday 8th November away to the only other unbeaten team in the division, the Waterside Bucks at Applemore Leisure Centre.

Scorers: Perran Hutton 17, Adey Rochester 16, Mike Sampson 13, Matt Duke 8, Dave Clarke 7, Elvijs Ungurs 4, Jeff Fabrigaras 4, Sam James 2. Matt Symmonds, Dave Ridge & Jules Prieto also played. Free Throws 18/35 - Hutton 7/14, Sampson 3/5, James 2/2, Duke 2/3, Rochester 2/4, Fabrigaras 2/5, Ungurs 0/1.

Wizards last second magic leaves the Sharks in a spin.

The Wizards and Southampton Uni Sharks B always produce classic games and this one was no different as the Wizards fought back from an improbable position to defeat the Sharks in Over time.

The Sharks came out firing on all cylinders, dominating early offensively and defensively to quickly go up 14-4. Sensing that a change was needed , coach David Senart called a timeout and changed to a man defence as the Sharks where shooting over the top of the zone at will. The changed worked, and the Wizards fought back into the game to finish the first quarter down by only 1 point 16-15.

The second quarter mimicked the first, with the home side Sharks again taking a comfortable lead, forcing the Wizard to fight back, with inside power plays by Adey Rochester and Elvijs Ungurs, bringing the Winchester side back into the game yet again down by 1 point at half time 29-28 to the Sharks.

The 3^rd quarter followed the same theme as both teams made runs, with the Sharks going up forcing the Wizards to fight back into the game. The Wizards never managed to forge ahead, as each time they got back to tie the game, the Sharks would turn up the pressure and put another run together. The Wizards guards Adam Jenkins and Sam James started to work the ball inside to big man Mike Sampson. Sampson standing at 6'7" was just too much to take, and overpowered the smaller defenders and finally as the quarter ended, Winchester had the lead 49-47.

Both teams picked up the intensity for the final 10 minutes. Winchester started to pull away to finish the game, but the home side showed true determination to come back and take a 1 point lead with under 3 minutes to play. Frustration set in for the Wizard, causing an uncharacteristic mistake that nearly gave the game away with only 1 minute 45 seconds to go in the game, when point guard Jeff Fabrigaras argued a call with the ref causing him to get a double technical foul, ejecting him from the game, and giving the Shark 4 free throws and the ball back.

When all was said and done the score stood at 70-64 for the Sharks. The outlook was grim for the Wizard, but they showed their heart and didn't give up on the game. Still down by 6 points with less than 24 seconds to go in the game the Sharks fouled Adam Jenkins, giving 2 shots to the Wizards. Spike missed the first attempt, and knowing his team needed points, purposely missed the second shot in an attempt to get the ball back. This worked brilliantly as Mike Sampson grabbed the rebound and scored to bring the score to 70-66. Shark coach Ben Stanley didn't agree with something on the court, and argue with the ref, who in turn gave him a technical foul, giving the Wizards 2 free throws and the ball back. Mike Sampson hit both from the line making the score 70-68 with 8.4 seconds on the clock.

Coach Senart called a timeout to discuss the options. As play resumed the Wizards tried to get the ball back inside to Sampson who already had 23 points in the game, however the Sharks knew where the ball was going and they triple teamed Sampson as guard Sam James attempted to force the ball into him. The pass was deflected up and over Sampson and the 3 defenders and came down right at the feet of Adey Rochester, who was in the right place at the right time to gather the ball right under the basket and score the easy lay up to tie the game at 70 with under 2 seconds on the clock.

The game went into overtime and the Wizards used the momentum they gained at the end of normal time to dominate the extra period, outscoring the Sharks 10-3 for the victory 80-73. The Winchester Wizards move to the top of the Solent League Div 3 with 2 wins and 0 losses.

Scorers: Mike Sampson 27, Adey Rochester 22, Elvijs Ungurs 15, Jeff Fabrigaras 4, Dave Clarke 3, Matt Duke 3, Jules Prieto 3, Adam Jenkins 2, Sam James 1, Dave Ridge, Matt Symmonds & Kev Chase.

Wizards defense is mystifying…

The Winchester Wizards started league play in Solent Div 3 against a young Team Solent side. The Wizards looking to improve from the previous weeks friendly, did just that, exorcising their offensive demons, putting up 62 points in a blow out victory 62-36.

Team Solent started strong, with youth, athleticism, and speed allowing them to take an early lead 10-9, but that is the last time the Wizard team would be down in the game. Winchester went big with Dave Clarke, Elvijs Ungurs, and Mike Sampson on the court, and the young Solent side had no answer, allowing 14 unanswered points in the final 3 minutes of the first quarter including 6 straight points from Latvian Powerhouse Elvjs. The first quarter ended 23-10 for the home team.

The 2^nd quarter saw the Wizard starting to rotate more of the bench players into the game, and the hard work at training paid off as the bench players where still able to outscore Team Solent 16-12 in the 2^nd period to build a 39-22 lead half time.

The second half Team Solent came out showing their fitness levels as they where able to keep pace with the Wizards nearly matching them point for point, however they where unable to dig themselves out of the hole they where in and ended the 3rd 48-30 down.

Team Solent’s frustration began to rise in the 4th as they continued to be overpowered by the Wizards big men and outsmarted by the Wizards guards. In the end it was too much for the Team Solent Coach, Sylvann Donneaud, who received two quick technical fouls for arguing with one of the referees, and was ejected from the game.

The Wizards where able to win every quarter thanks to a much improved offensive effort, and a smothering defense that left the opposition spellbound.

The Wizard will now look to carry on their winning ways as they travel to Southampton Uni Team B Sharks on Tuesday the 18^th.

Scorers (points, rebounds & assists): Mike Sampson 15, 8 & 4, Dave Clarke 13, 4 and 2, Elvijs Ungus 12, 5rbs, Jeff Fabrigaras 11, 2 & 3, Matt Duke 6, 5 & 2, Rob Deyzel 2, 4 & 1, Matt Symmonds 2 & 1rb, Dave Ridge 1, 4 & 1, Steve Vaughan 1rb & 3ast, Kev Chase 1rb 3ast. Wizards Free Throws 12/25. Team Solent Free Throws 1/4.

Final Solent League division 2 table 2010/11

Team	Won	Lost	Ave. F	Ave. A	+/-	Pts
Isle of Wight	13	1	73.1	54.8	256	40
Navy	12	2	74.1	58.8	215	38
Bournemouth Razors	10	4	64.3	58.0	88	34
Dorset Storm Cavs	8	6	66.7	55.2	161	30
Salisbury Suns	6	8	60.8	63.9	-43	26
Southsiders	4	10	66.4	75.3	-124	22
Wizards	2	12	53.9	76.0	-310	18*
Soton Uni B	1	13	56.4	73.7	-243	16

2010/11 Game Reports

Wizards so close to big win but in the end they foul up!

The Winchester Wizards, despite being without their coach Kev Chase, played their best game of the season at home to, already promoted, Portsmouth Command Navy. The Wizards, who will be relegated to division 3 of the Solent league next season, were in front for long spells of the 4th quarter before their poor free throw shooting finally proved to be their undoing. The Wizards were 8/23 from the foul line for the match as they lost 77-79.

If the Wizards can take this form into their Solent Plate semi final on 3 May against the Dorset Barracudas they will surely make the Final.

Scorers: Craig Sharland 28, Adam Gillies 22, Isaac Paddington 12, Tom Smith 8, Guy Wilcox 7, Thom Attwood.

The Wizards picked up their first win of 2011 with a 62-69 win away to the Petersfield Rockets in the Solent Intermediate Plate. This puts them through to the Plate semi finals. Scorers: Thom Attwood 19, Craig Sharland 18, Stu Ralph 11, Adam Gillies 11, Guy Wilcox 6, Sam James 4