BASKETBALL: Matt's finishing sees Thunder get back to winning ways

Northants Thunder men got back to winning ways as they saw off Southwark Pride 72-60 in the Men's National League Division Three.

The win consolidates Thunder’s fourth place in the South Conference, and came despite going scoreless for almost eight minutes over two periods of the game, and missing an alarming 15 free throws.

Thunder’s scoring was led by Matt Yates with 23 points, while the ever consistent Jacob Holt contributed 16 and Johnny Yates 13.

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Thunder’s next game is against unbeaten joint top of the table Solent Kestrels.

Under 16 National Cup

Northants Thunder 73 City of Birmingham 82

THUNDER Under-16s National Cup adventure ended on Sunday at the Northants Basketball Centre as Premier League outfit City of Birmingham secured the victory.

Despite the loss, Thunder can be proud of their efforts and they actually led the West Midlanders 47-44 at half-time before falling away.

Josh Lloyd top scored for Thunder with a 29-point haul which included seven three pointers. There was excellent support from Ed Wallhead who scored 22 points.

Junior Men’s Midland Conference

Northants Thunder 51 Sporting Albion 53

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NOT for the first time this season, the Thunder juniors were left to contemplate defeat from a game they could have won.

A key regret will be the appalling statistics of just 16 shots made from 33 attempts from the free throw line, with five of those misses coming in the closing minutes of the game.

David Nieva and Shekina Ntumba top scored for Thunder with 14 and 12 points respectively, with Jaz Campbell, Ayo Oluyede and Ed Taylan adding good support.

Under 14 Boys East Midlands II Conference

Northants Thunder 84 Shropshire Warriors 32

THE Thunder boys put on a dominant performance against a young but enthusiastic Shropshire Warriors.

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The Thunder scoring was led in scoring by Ashley Kitchen with 34 points, and he was well supported by Jonathan Ntumba and Patrick Adedeji scoring 16 and 11 points respectfully.

Next up for Thunder is a clash with local rivals NEBC Titans, with Thunder looking for revenge after their narrow early season defeat.

Northants Hoopsterz Under 15 Boys Central Venue League

Northants Thunder 33 Milton Keynes Speeders 24

Northants Thunder 30 NEBC Titans 23

(Both aggregate scores)

Thunder came away with victory in the latest Hoopsterz tournament at Northampton School for Boys after two hard-fought wins against Northamptonshire Titans and Milton Keynes Speeders.

The format of the competition required each team to play each other twice, with the scores added to determine an aggregate winner of each pairing.

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Thunder opened with a 6-14 loss to a very big MK Speeders side, struggling to execute the passing game necessary to overcome the opposition’s height advantage.

A narrow 8-9 loss to Titans followed, despite improvements in defence.

Thunder therefore found themselves behind after the first pair of games, but the reverse fixtures were to prove decisive.

Thunder’s passing game clicked against MK, with Roman O’Hara and Tom Heron a constant threat, and Thunder ran out 27-10 winners for an overall 33-24 aggregate.

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A strong defensive display from Tom McCloud and Jacob Barlow-Huurdeman then contributed to a shut-out of Titans for the first five minutes of their second meeting. A tiring Titans were not able to contain Thunder in the last four minutes, and Thunder won the second leg 22-14, clinching aggregate victory by 30-23.

Fixtures

Saturday, November 26

9.30-11am: Junior Ballers Session

11.30am: Under 14 Boys versus NEBC Titans; Under 14 Girls versus Ipswich Bobcats

These games will be played at the Basketball Centre which is situated at Northampton School for Girls I Spinney Hill Road, Northampton

Senior Men travel to Solent Kestrels II

Junior Men travel to Nottingham Hoods

Cadet Men travel to Leicester Dynamite

TITANS ROUND-UP

Tegan’s effort not enough for Titans

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Titans were edged out by a point as they slipped a 61-60 NBL Under 14 Girls East Conference League defeat to Oakland Wolves.

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Tegan Opongntim-Millar with 24 points and Emma Wickham who scored 17.

NBL Under 16 Boys Northern Premier

Sheffield Junior Sharks 85 Northamptonshire Titans 72

NEBC Titans Under 16 travelled to Sheffield to take on Sharks, and they started well.

Sheffield managed to get their noses in front by half-time, and maintained their advantage.

Taiwo Hamilton reeled off 26 points, and he was well supprted by Sam Grant who scored 17 and skipper Zach Frost (15).

NBL Under 14 Boys Midlands II Conference

Northamptonshire Titans 55 Team Birmingham Elite 79

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Titans started well, but as the game wore on Elite’s strength told as they pulled away for a victory.

NBL Under 16 Girls Northern Premier

Leeds Force 38 Northamptonshire Titans 65

NEBC Titans were too good for basement team Leeds Force, who haven’t won a game all season.

Molly O’Leary and Kenny both top scored for Titans with 12 points, while Hannah Bird managed 11.

NBL Under 18 Men Midlands Conference

Titans 60 Ilkeston Outlaws 52

TITANS flew out of the blocks and led this game from start to finish, although they had to withstand a late Outlaws fightback.

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Hayden Alcindor top-scored with 19 points while Keenan Salmon netted 14.

Titans are back in action again at Weavers on Saturday when Coventry Tornadoes are the visitors.

NBL Division Two Women

Barrow Thorns 56 Northamptonshire Titans 61

TITANS made the long trip to Barrow Thorns and returned with a hard-fought win.

Sascha Thompson was the star of the show with 28 points, with Hannah Bird contributing 10.