Wolves still in the hunt for league glory

Apr 14 2011 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

THE West Lothian Wolves are continuing to stalk the Division One league title despite their four-year hoodoo against the Edinburgh Kings continuing with a narrow defeat this week.

A final score of 52-50 in favour of the Kings means both sides share top-spot although the capital side have the advantage due to points difference.

Head coach Andy Smyth admits it will be hard for the Wolves to take the title but he believes it is to the side’s credit they are still in the hunt at this stage of the season.

He said: “For us to be in the fight with the Kings in the last quarter shows how much our team has developed over the season.

“We played well, but made a number of small mistakes that lead to them winning the game.

“I was very impressed with our composure and effort. We have to take care of our remaining three games and then see how the Kings fare in the remainder of their fixtures.

“A win would have put us in control, now we are reliant on other teams beating the Kings.”

On paper the Kings look to have the more difficult run in which they will have to square off against three teams in the top half of the table – including the Lions who have already beaten the Kings this season.

Meanwhile, the Wolves have two games against teams in the bottom half of the table, with their last game being against the other league contender Boroughmuir Blaze.

The county basketball side’s narrow defeat at the hands of the Kings means their four-year wait for a win over the capital side continues but this time the scoreline and the match was a far closer affair.

The game started off on a very even foot, with both teams trading baskets and not giving much up on defence.

At the other end of the court the Wolves were working well going forward and point guard Grant Dickson pestered and annoyed Kings guard Craig Reilly up and down the floor, limiting his effectiveness.

However the Wolves were dealt a major blow with a game and season ending rib injury to player coach Andy Smyth who was taken to hospital.

As play resumed the Kings took advantage a slightly flustered Wolves side and went into the first break with a 12-6 lead.

The second period remained as contested as the first with both teams making small runs, which kept the score roughly the same going into half-time.

The Wolves scored eight-points in the quarter to the Kings 10 points allowing the Kings to carry a 22-14 lead into the half-time break.

After the restart the Wolves upped the tempo and won the second-half of the contest by six points, but this was not enough to win the game.

The effort and determination of the county side was impressive as they did not stand down to the bullish Kings, who tend to intimidate teams through their physical play.

The Wolves were down by nine points with four and a half minutes to go in the fourth quarter before Smyth called a time out to rally the men.

Following this regrouping they came out and made a great run of both defensive and offensive plays to quickly pull the game back within reach.

However the Kings forward Tony Hogg found his shooting touch and scored a couple of baskets in a row to keep the kings ahead slightly.

The Wolves kept the pressure up and scored a number of three point baskets and were within two-points with 15 seconds to go. But the league leaders held on.