By Ryan Gillham
Durham Wildcats were defeated 96-91 in their final home game of the season by a well organised MK Lions side.
The Wildcats put up a brave fight but couldn’t end their inaugural BBL season with a fourth victory in front of their home supporters.
Head coach Dave Elderkin was happy with his side’s performance despite the defeat and was satisfied with the team’s first season
“I was pleased with the performance and the energy the team put in tonight,” he said.
“Maybe we could have put in a better performance on defence and unfortunately our big men got into foul trouble early on but Daniel Northern was really tough to stop tonight, he was really outstanding.
“I believe we have finished on a positive note tonight on our home court and I am really pleased with our improvement and development over our first season in the BBL.”
The Lions started off the stronger of the two sides in the opening two minutes as they powered on with a 7-2 run. But it was short lived as the Wildcats battled back and took the lead through some quick transition offence and some big shots from downtown by Mike Capocci and Ralph Bucci to give them the lead at 14-13.
The burst by the Wildcats soon got better when Ralph Bucci was fouled from behind the three point line after making his shot and he also converted from the free throw line to give the Wildcats a four point lead.
Durham really found their range and pushed on to extend their lead when Mark Elderkin drained two shots from behind the arc to end the first quarter 32-25 in the Wildcats favour.
Once again the MK Lions started the second quarter with a high intensity bringing the score back to 34-32 before they tied the game up at 36-36 early on. The Lions then took the lead as Durham struggled to hit their shots and they took advantage of the situation taking a five point lead at 44-49.
The Wildcats finally got back into their rhythm when Capocci hit a three, point guard DJ Glavan made 2/2 from the free throw line and scored in the pain with a teardrop to end the quarter on 53-54 to the visitors.
MK Lions took an early stretch in the third, once again creating a five point gap before both teams started trading three’s making it a tight ball game at 57-61.
But the Lions soon made another run, extending their lead by 10 points. Durham tried to close the gap but could only get within seven points as the score stood at 68-75 at the end of the third quarter.
The final quarter saw the Wildcats make a powerful start when DJ Glavan and Chris Pearce both scored from three and with a Bucci and one, brought the game to within three at 85-88 to the Lions.
With two minutes and 30 seconds on the clock the pressure started to take its toll on the Wildcats as the Lions pushed on creating a six point lead at 88-94.
Durham valiantly pushed on to try and claim the win but after sudden burst the Wildcats couldn’t finish off the job and the Lions experience saw them win the game as the final score showed 91-96.
M.V.P – Ralph Bucci, 25pts and 10 Rebounds.
Before the game, the fans voted who they thought deserved player of the year which was awarded after the game to DJ Glavan who won by only 1% of the vote, with Mario Flaherty claiming second place.
■ The half-time entertainment was performed by local dance school KDANZ putting on a fantastic show for the fans. KDANZ use all different types of dance from breaking dancing to cheerleading. Anyone interested in joining KDANZ contact Kay on 07900365892.