Fury maul Bears for 3rd win in National League Division 4
The College of West Anglia Fury basketball side claimed another upset victory in the National Leagues on Saturday. Playing in front of their home crowd at Lynnsport the CWA side were widely expected to beaten by a Bromsgrove Bears side that handed them a 30 point drubbing earlier in the season. The odds were further stacked against the Fury side with the absence of young star Eivydas Aleksa on holiday In Lithuania, Ashley Manning through work commitments and Martynas Bagdonas with a knee injury. Coming on the back of the news that experienced guard Tom Allard had been ruled out for the season with a suspected ACL tear it was all hands on deck just to field a side.
The injuries meant a first start of the season for Daryl Watson who himself had been ruled out for much of the year with a knee issue and he seized the opportunity with an amazing performance which saw him score 14 of the Fury’s first 18 points on his way to a massive 22 point haul, including 6 three pointers. The explosive start was just what the Fury side needed as they looked confident throughout the first half with a 8 – 10 point cushion. Also benefitting from an opportunity to play more was 17 year old Jordan Roberts who showed glimpses of his potential with 8 points to his tally.
As the game wore on it became a heated affair as Bromsgrove had clearly shown a lack of respect for the understrength Fury side and they battled aggressively to get back in the game. The 3rd quarter was a real struggle for a seemingly fatigued Fury as their lead slipped to just 4 by the end of the period.
Refusing to give up and encouraged on by a small but boisterous home crowd, who were led by the Fury’s new cheerleading squad the EA earthquakes, every member of the side contributed to the effort as somehow Fury hung on to win 59 – 58.
Scorers; Watson 22, Lomsargis 13, Milbourne 11, Roberts 8, Klevinskis 5, Lloyd-Smeath, Gibbs, Bamfield.
CWA Fury Head Coach James Bamfield “This was a fantastic result for our side, I don’t think many people gave us a shot coming into the game, especially given the personnel we were missing. Full credit to those who stepped in to play more as they really produced a great game, I’m especially pleased for Daryl Watson (pictured with the development side number 9) who has been with the club since he was 11 and I know how hard he has worked to try and contribute to the side. I think it’s also helped him playing in our development side as the extra game time and responsibility has helped his confidence. Hopefully now Daryl and Jordan Roberts who also played well will seize the chance to establish themselves into the rotation and we’ll be much stronger as a team for it. I also want to highlight Diccon Lloyd-Smeath’s contribution to the win today although he struggled offensively he did so many things that helped us win the game that many people might not even recognise, but I’m delighted to have him as part of our side.”
Fury now travel to Derby Trailblazers on Sunday before returning home on March 2nd for their final home game of the season against Loughborough.
In other club news, the development squad had a pair of wins as they defeated Norfolk Vipers and Dereham Bucks to move to 3 and 1 for the season. Meanwhile the College of West Anglia sidewho are still undefeated in league play beat Milton Keynes