Wolves back on the prowl

Apr 7 2011 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

IT was raining hoops and slam dunks again this week as the West Lothian Primary School Basketball league returned to action.

The first match pitted the Wolves against Toronto and it was an encounter in which the lead was shared several times.

Eventually Toronto took control of the match in the third quarter and it proved to be a lead the Wolves couldn’t quite claw back as they went down 11-10.

Next up for the Wolves was a very competitive Williamston side but after some quiet words of advice from Wolves coach Grant Dickson they picked up a 16-11 win.

The third game of the day for the Wolves was against Livingston Village who boasted a number of very competent players and they kept it close.

This was one of the highest-scoring games of the afternoon, with a final scoreline of 19-16 to the Wolves.

Their final game of the day was against second-placed Bankton in what was tipped, and turned out to be, a match of the day contender.

Neither team controlled the game, with baskets going back and forth throughout the contest.

Bankton relied on long-range shooting to keep them in the game and both teams will be glad to leave with a 16-16 draw.

At the top of the pile Riverside Primary continued their impressive unbeaten streak winning against Bankton, Toronto and Williamston.

However Livingston Village were not prepared to simply give Riverside a win and took them all the way.

In a strange sequence in the second quarter Livi Village had two baskets disallowed due to incorrect restarting of the game off an inbounds pass.

The final score would have looked much different if these baskets had been allowed. The final score in this game was 10-10, therefore ending the Riverside 100 per cent winning streak.

It is all to play for ahead of the fourth and final day of the league which each team set for their final four fixtures on Friday, May 6.

For any further information on the West Lothian Wolves visit the club website on www.westlothianwolves.org.uk or phone Andrew Smyth on 01506 774745 or e-mail andrew.smyth@westlothian.gov.uk

Meanwhile, the West Lothian Wolves senior men’s side continued their league title drive with a superb slaying of Spartans.

The Wolves are now tucked in behind leaders the Edinburgh Kings and Boroughmuir Blaze in second place with the county side just a point behind the pair.

It has been a tremendous season for the Wolves who have won 13 matches and only lost twice as the season enters the final four fixtures – two of which are against their title rivals.

Wins for the Wolves would put them in the box-seat for the championship run-in and forward Owen Cook sees no reason why they can’t do it especially after a recent run in which they boast an average winning margin of 27 points over the last three games.

He said: “Our success this season has been due to our great effort on defence.

“I believe our team defence in the best in the league. The biggest factor is that we are all really enjoying playing together. I have not been part of such a close team in all my days playing basketball.

“We all get on really well and enjoying playing basketball together. This means we put in more effort so that we don’t let each other down.”

The latest Wolves win saw them run out 80-59 winners over Spartans but for long spells it wasn’t as easy a match as the final score suggests.

At half-time the Wolves held a narrow five-point lead at 39-34 but the final play of the half was spectacular.

Frazer Morrison was inbounding the ball from his own half and with just 1.8 seconds left on the clock Frazer passed the ball three quarters the length of the court to a wide open Andy Smyth who quickly turned and shot a three-point shot which dropped through the net just as the half time buzzer sounded.

The first half showed the contrasting styles of the two teams as the Wolves showcased balanced attack, with everyone getting on the floor scoring at least a basket.

The Spartans however ran all their offence through their young point guard Jamie Reilly who had 21 of the Spartans’ 34 points.

This was playing right into the Wolves hands as it would be very tough for Jamie to continue this strong scoring game into the third and fourth quarters and the rest of the Spartans were not getting enough of the ball to settle into the game and be effective.

The third quarter started with a strong run from the Spartans who went up by five-points. This was quickly answered by the Wolves who put on an impressive run led by their strong defence and consistent scoring from Owen Cook, who took the game over for a small period of time.

During this run the Wolves had their two youngest players on the floor getting some very valuable experience. Frazer Morrison and Ross Imrie played very well throughout the period and helped the Wolves re-establish themselves in the game.

The third quarter finished with the Wolves up 61-48 and in the fourth they continued to dominate in defence and used steals and quick outlet passes to push the ball up the floor for easy baskets. The Wolves stretched their lead and ran out victors with a final score of 80-59.

Head coach Andy Smyth said: “Basketball is a game of runs. The secret to the game is maintaining a steady emotional level within the game, not getting to cocky during good periods and not worrying and getting stressed during bad periods.

“Our men showed great character and togetherness.

“Instead of getting annoyed and blaming each other for letting the Spartans retake the lead they came together as a group, trusted each other and put on a strong run themselves.”