West Lothian Wolves slam dunking their way on in the cup

Feb 25 2010 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

THE West Lothian Wolves cadet side had their hands burned by the Boroughmuir Blaze recently as their hopes of a win went up in smoke.

The young Wolves started out well however and went up 18-10 after the first period.

But the West Lothian lads couldn’t keep their early form going with the Blaze side winning each quarter and going on to win the game by 20 points, with a final score of 77-57.

The top performers for the Wolves were sharp shooter Duncan McPherson with 21 points and Ewan Prentice with 12 points.

Scott Thompson continued his recent form with eight points and 11 rebounds.

However, there was better news for the Junior division of the Wolves who successfully doused the Junior Blaze in a match up of their own.

Their cause was aided by them romping in the first quarter into a 23-6 lead

The Wolves showed right from the tip off their intentions by playing aggressive defence and turning this into fast break opportunities.

Daniel Brazil’s return to the squad meant the Wolves were back to full strength and he showed his importance to the team with an impressive five rebounds, three steals and 23 points.

However, the Wolves picked up an early blow in the game first quarter, with their big man Liam Marshall getting three quick fouls and having to sit out the game until late into the third quarter.

The Wolves finished the first period up 23-6 and went into the half up 34-16.

It looked as if the Wolves had run out of steam in the second quarter, only winning it by one point.

However the third quarter saw the Wolves play their brand of basketball with big man Ross Paterson leading the pack.

Ross crashed the offensive boards, getting some steals and a couple of blocks in defence.

The young Wolf ended up the games second top scorer with 16 points.

The visitors were able to field the bench by half way through the third quarter and they ran out 84-42 winners.

Elsewhere, the Senior men were up against the league leading Basketeers in Lothian Cup action.

Going into the match the Wolves boasted this season’s last standing undefeated streak which they extended for another week with an impressive win.

The opening quarter proved to be very tight with the Wolves down by one point.

However, as the game went on the Wolves improved their defence and made it tougher for the Basketeers to get open shots and drives.

And in a superb turnaround they took a four point lead into the halftime break.

This proved to be a lead they would not relinquish as they clocked up a second win in just a matter of weeks over the league leaders.

The Wolves will now face off against either the Central Jaguars or the Boroghmuir Blaze in the quarter finals, which has to be played by the end of March.

The games top performers were Andy Smyth with 17 points and 14 rebounds, Owen Cook and Marc Dickson who both had 15 points and 6 rebounds and Andy Sturrock with 11 big rebounds.

Last Sunday, the Cadets and Juniors were back on court as they squared off against Glasgow City.

The Cadets had a great game, but unfortunately lost by two points to the Glasgow side.

The Wolves did have the opportunity to win the game on a last second shot but it wasn’t to be.

Top performers for the Wolves were Ross Kohler who had 17 points, Ewan Prentice 16 points, Duncan McPherson 13 points and Matthew Kean, who finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

The Juniors were up next and earned a second win in as many matches.

However, boss Andy Smyth felt their execution and attention to detail was not evident.

Ross Paterson had a great all round game for the Wolves finishing the match with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Ross also finished a fast break with a thunderous dunk, which sent the crowd into hysterics and showed the athleticism of the young forward.

Frazer Morrison backed up Ross' great all round play with a 21 point performance, however his biggest impact on the game was his defence.

Glasgow City were relying heavily on their guard McGregor with the young Glasgow guard single handedly keeping the city side in the game in the first half.

Frazer was then instructed to shut down the Glasgow guard in the second which he did.

McGregor had 21 points in the first half and only scored nine in the second half.

This was definitely the difference in the game and allowed the Wolves to run out winners 69-62.