Fine wins for Encon Derbyshire Arrows

The Arrows U14s’ remarkable season reached new heights as they escaped from the Teesside Lion’s den with an incredible and season defining victory by 65 – 59.

It had taken overtime a month ago for the Arrows to win at home by a point but this time in front of an aggressive home crowd they pulled off a truly remarkable victory.

The game went down to the final minute with the Arrows leading by a single point and they emerged for the sixth consecutive time this season in a tight finish losing none of them.

The first quarter saw the young Encon Arrows embrace the challenge and through hard work and determination chiselled out a narrow 15 – 12 advantage against all the odds in a very hostile environment. Baskets from Lloyd Askwith, Barnaby Smith and Amir Khan were the highlights.

The Arrows were playing with great discipline and listening hard to their coach.

The game remained tight throughout the second quarter as the Arrows proudly battled for every point against the older and physically bigger Lions outfit. The Lions took the lead briefly at 25 – 23 but baskets by Barnaby Smith put the Arrows ahead again. The Arrows showed the grit and determination that has typified their season as they continued to lead 34 – 30 at the break.

The third quarter is always tough away from home with the young Arrows showing signs of fatigue. Teesside’s strength was beginning to tell and this saw the Arrows finally trail 49 – 48 with a quarter to go. Baskets by Kyle Edwards and Chris Ampon were key for the Arrows along with the work of Kareem Luqmaan.

The fourth quarter favoured the Lions, however it was the Encon Arrows who responded to the inspirational coaching of James Kelly. They performed with exceptional skill, both defensively in holding the Lions to just 10 points and offensively in scoring 17 to silence the home support and win yet again by 65 – 59. The Arrows led by a single point with two minutes to go but they maintained their discipline to bring home the win.

Arrows Scorers; Kyle Edwards 18, Chris Ampon 13, Barnaby Smith 12, Lloyd Askwith 8, Amir Khan 6, Saleh Ahmed 1

This is very much a learning experience for this very young Arrows group in which 5 of the 8 players on show in this game will be eligible again in the same competition next year.

Coach Kelly was proud of his team, saying: “We battled throughout this game in remarkable fashion as we have done in every game this year. We played with discipline and belief and trod proudly the pressured path of a nailbiting finish as we have done many times already this season.

“This is a great team not only now but particularly in the future this result supports our long-term development goals”

Arrows U16s won 46-32 at Hatfield Flyers.

The win moved them to a 10 – 1 record at the business end of the season as they push for the title they won as a cohort two years ago as U14s.

The first quarter showed that the teams are very evenly matched, particularly in Doncaster, and the teams exchanged baskets but it was the Arrows who took a slender lead 15 – 14.

The attritional nature of the contest continued in the second quarter with the Arrows defence refusing to give the home side any second chance opportunities with the Arrows extending their lead at the half at 26 – 17 restricting the Flyers to just three points.

The third quarter was going to be important as both coaches made adjustments taking into account the nature of the contest. The Arrows continued to grind it out not at their fluent best by any means but showed great concentration and composure to build slowly on their advantage to lead 39 – 23 with a quarter to go.

The fourth quarter would see both teams going all out for the decisive victory that would see one of these teams continue to press their championship credentials.

The Flyers resorted to some physical play in an effort to get back into the contest. The Arrows proved up to the task as they concentrated defensively to hold on for a win by 46 – 32.

Coach Jonny Kelly was pleased, saying: “This was a very physical encounter and the boys had to battle for the win. They gave everything over the last two away games and will be pleased to be at home next Saturday even though it will be another local derby this time against the Junior Sharks.”