Findlay & Beadle Provide Late Inspiration For Win (From The Northern Echo)

Findlay & Beadle Provide Late Inspiration For Win

10:15am Monday 24th November 2008 in

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National Basketball in association with Game Time

Gateshead was the destination for the Lions Junior stars this week, fresh on the bounce of a thrilling win at home to North Shields Storm. Lions travelled with a strong squad and for the first time were entering a game where Lions were the slight favourites, as the Hawks remain rooted to the bottom of the league with no wins. Despite this, Lions coach; James Thomson knew nothing can be taken for granted at National level and Hawks would be looking at this game as an opportunity to gain 3pts.

Lions started the better side as they piled early pressure onto the Hawks and picked off the lose balls. Patrick O'Connor drew first blood with an impressive crossover followed by a sweet jump shot. Philip Findlay followed suit as he drove to the basket but was restricted by a foul from Hawks' captain Jack Tellyn. Findlay would miss both free throws but the momentum was with Lions and O'Connor drove again to create space for another jumper which sailed into the net for a 0-4 lead. After being fouled by Dan Sleightholm, Dan Brown hit both free throws with the Hawks yet to mark the score sheet.

Adam Blake broke the spell for Hawks as he grabbed a huge rebound and put back the shot. Blake would finish the game with a superb tally of 20 rebounds, beaten only by Lions Shane Beadle who pulled down an incredible 32. The significant numbers of rebounds told a story of poor shooting and this was the case for both sides at times. Lions O'Connor added another 5pts but Hawks were beginning to compose themselves and their rebounding, at 21-17 was slightly better than the Lions in this quarter which provided second and third chance shots. A good chapter from Gateshead star Blake would provide the hosts with a 1pt lead at the end of the first period, 12-11.

The second quarter was a good display from the home team, extending their lead to 5pts at the mid way point with only Daniel Chirnside and Dan Brown finding the net for Lions. Missed shots and poor rebounding was becoming contagious in the Lions camp and even the consistent performers in O'Connor and Brown were experiencing difficulty in finding the target. In the sixth minute Chirnside and Beadle combined well to bring Lions within 2pts, 22-20 but a 10-1 run from Gateshead dealt a severe blow to Lions as they entered half time. O'Connor by his usual high standards had a poor shooting quarter and there was little in support leaving the Lions 9pts behind, 30-21.

Lions fortunes would turn from bad to worse at the start of the third quarter as two successive fouls from James Parkin restricted the Middlesbrough forward's involvement in the game and placed Ryan Heslop and Tom Minto to the line, hitting 1of2 and 2of 2 respectively. Another basket from Minto took Lions to 21-35 and the visitors hopes of a comeback were fading fast. Lions were struggling with their shots and by the mid way point of the third, had managed only one shot through a lovely effort from Chris Chapman.

In the ninth minute Lions called a timeout and switched from a man, to a 2-3 zone with Philip Findlay playing at the back with Chirnside and Beadle in the centre. Findlay seemed to lift the spirits of the Lions as he not only commanded rebounds but inspired Beadle and Chirnside resulting in a strong finish as Beadle, O'Connor and Findlay added points to reduce the deficit to 9pts, 46-37.

The Lions entered the final quarter with a renewed determination, having just been questioned on how they would like to leave this game; as winners or losers. Coach Thomson went on to add "we talked about the joy of winning our previous match and that we had 10 minutes to turn the game." The impact was tremendous as Lions produced an 8-0 run instigated by Chirnside who collected a missed shot and powered his way to the basket. This strong move epitomised the following 10 minutes of Lions play as all players on court gave their all and fought for every lose ball. Gateshead were shocked to the core and struggled to collect themselves. In the third minute Coach Ripley called a Hawks timeout but this brought little effect and by the sixth minute Lions were within 1pt, 46-45. Blake would finally score for the Hawks and it was a great move from a great pass but Lions fired back with Findlay shooting off the dribble from a baseline cut. Minto was then fouled by O'Connor and went to the line hitting 1of2. Dan Brown then stole the ball and found O'Connor who drove to the hoop with a lovely left handed lay up to tie the game 49-49 to the rapturous applause of the away supporters.

With two minutes remaining, Findlay fouled Blake who went to the line and converted only 1 attempt. On the missed attempt, Shane Beadle grabbed the rebound like a man possessed. His final quarter performance was astounding and would continue to hit the next two baskets to afford Middlesbrough a 1pt lead with less than 20 seconds remaining. In the dying seconds, Lions had control of the ball with O'Connor when Blake committed an unsportsmanlike foul on the Lions guard. This resulted in two free throws and possession of which he converted 1 attempt to ensure Lions won the game with a 2pt cushion.

Patrick O'Connor top scored with 20pts and although his shot selection was poor in the second quarter, his commitment and ability throughout was excellent. O'Connor was voted the MVP with 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists but it was the inspirational fourth quarter performance from Findlay and Beadle that won the game for Lions. Findlay in particular showed heart and passion that brought the best out of those around him and for the second game running led Middlesbrough to victory. Beadle was at times sluggish through the first three quarters and although he didn't play badly, he was a fraction of a second behind play too many times. However in the fourth quarter he provided an All Star performance, displaying a real desire to win, with superb rebounding at both ends of the court. Beadle would actually demand 14 of his 32 rebounds in the final quarter. For the Hawks Adam Blake impressed with 19pts, 20 rebounds & 4 assists.

Every game has a story and every story has two sides. In this game, an enormous collection of rebounds were available with Hawks collecting a massive 58 and Lions securing an unthinkable 78 boards with two players in Beadle and Blake managing 32 & 20 respectively. Although these numbers are impressive and almost surreal, the other side of the story shows how poor the shooting from both sided really was and this is something both sets of coaching staff will take away and work on in training.