Mansfield Giants men's team were jumping for joy on Sunday as they beat league leaders Derby Trailblazers 77-73 in Derby.
The Giants got off to a flying start against a Derby team that boasts several Division One, ex-professional and junior England players.
With Paul Kelly and Matt Shaw taking strong drives to basket and Mike Elland finishing well on the break, the G
iants were up 29-19 after the first quarter.
Derby stepped up defensively and started to claw back the points but players’ coach Danny Richards replied with a long three point shot and an and 1 play.
The Trailblazers’ experience began to show as they chipped away at a 16 point Giants lead to claw it back to just one point at 41-40 at the half.
Giants re-grouped and came out firing, scoring 11 unanswered points, before local Mansfield lad Tom Pereira hit a three pointer for Derby.
Ben Coy started to dominate hitting a jump shot, then a buzzer beating three pointer, and Giants took a 64-51 point lead going into the final period.
The Trailblazers would not lie down and die, with England U18 point guard Mikey Manghum showing his class and spearheading a Derby comeback.
With pinpoint shooting from Derby, they closed a 17 point Giants lead to go up by a point, but a Richards three pointer tied the game.
Then Mark Boot hit a massive three pointer to give the Giants a three point lead with three minutes remaining.
With great determination and outstanding team defence the Giants held on for an emphatic win.
Top scorers: D Richards 26, B Coy 13, P Kelly 12, M Elland 12, M Shaw 11
Giants’ two junior boys teams were also in action at the weekend.
The U18s beat Lincoln Comets 83-65. Trailing 18-14 in the first quarter they battled back to take a 35-26 point lead at the end of the first half.
By the end of the third quarter they extended this lead by an extra two points to lead 57-46 and ended the game winning 83-56 to consolidate their second place in the league table.
l Giants U13 Boys were also in action, in a triangular tournament against Sheffield Junior Sharks and Notts Nova.
Giants started off the three way tournament against the strong Sharks and lost 85-2.
While the second game against Nova brought huge improvement Giants narrowly lost 38-33.
l Mansfield Giants Basketball Club are holding four basketball games this coming weekend. The U16 girls play City of Birmingham at noon, while the U18 boys take on Leicester at 2pm.
Giants Senior Women are back in action at 4pm facing Bury Blue Devils, and Giants men play Manchester Magic in a game not to be missed in the National Shield at 6pm for a spot in the quarter finals. Admission is Adults £4, Child U16 £2.
l WNC Mansfield Giants made it four wins from five games with an impressive 83-65 triumph over Lynx Lincoln Cougars.
Despite getting off to their poorest start this season, the Giants improved as the game progressed and it ended being a comfortable win. After the first quarter Lynx held an 18-14 advantage as WNC failed to find their rhythm.
The full article contains 556 words and appears in Ashfield Chad newspaper.
