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The match reports that are available for your selected season are below:
Cadets Vs Plymouth Raiders 10-10-2004 Passerelle Vs Brighton Vs Gloster 7-11-2004 Cadets Vs UWIC Stealers 6-11-2004 Passerelle Vs Reading Vs Soton 14-11-2004 Cadets Vs YMCA Torbay Tigers 13-11-2004 Cadets Vs Bristol Bombers 20-11-2004 Local League Report 28-11-2004 Cadets Vs Cardiff Clippers 04-12-2004 Cadets Vs Solent Stars 11-12-2004 Cadets Vs Tamar Valley Cannons 18-12-2004 Cadets Vs Plymouth Raiders 08-01-2005 Local League Report 26-01-2005 Cadets Vs UWIC Stealers 05-02-2005 Cadets Vs Torbay Tigers 12-02-2005 Cadets Vs Bristol Bombers 12-02-2005
Cadets Vs Plymouth Raiders 10-10-2004
A new look Cadet Mens team travelled to Plymouth where they knew a tough task would await them in their first game of the new season. The team is based around last season successful Passerelle team that came 3rd in the Southern Conference, over the summer however the team has lost several key players who have decided not to return. Other players have now been selected and a large improvement has been seen over the pre-season training period. Luke Miller and Sam Bowler are the only players with more than 2 years experience, with young and fresh faces being included in the travelling party. The team are expected to improve with every game that they play with results getting better throughout the season.
The first opponents of the year would be Plymouth, for a long time now a very successful junior programme has been run by the club from Devon. Out of the 10 players that were taken, 4 debutants were included (Jake Ketteridge, Michael Vigar, Oliver Robinson and Lawrence Lugtu). The first quarter saw a quick start from Plymouth, though after Storm timeout 4 quick points brought the game back to 8 6. Baskets where continually exchanged and a last second three pointer took the steam out of the Storm attack after a competitive first quarter.
The second quarter started in much the same way as the first and Plymouth scored 11 unanswered points. Louis Gibson and Laurence Yeats scored 7 points between them to calm the situation although the Plymouth lead had shot up to 22 by the end of the half. It would have been easy for the team to have given up at this stage but to their credit every player continued to play hard and especially offensively things got better throughout the game. The second half saw an increase in pace though Plymouth still had the upper hand in the 3rd quarter. In the forth Storm started strong and eventually went on to win the quarter scoring 26 points in the quarter.
The game was a pleasing start, with four players in double figures, and 9 players scoring meaning a good balance was seen offensively. However the team must play better defence if it wants to compete with the big guns in the league. The team needs to take the momentum from this game into the next match against Reading at the weekend.
Scores 1st 13 25 2nd 14 - 24 3rd 19 - 29 4th 26 - 25 Final 72 103
Scorers: *Miller 15, *Yeats 14, *Bowler 13, Gibson 12, Lugtu 5, *Morgan 4, *Vigar 4, Livesey 3, Ketteridge 2, Robinson.
Passerelle Vs Brighton Vs Gloster 07-11-2004
A completely changed Passerelle team traveled to Gloster for their first tournament of the new season, where they would meet two well established organizations in Team Gloster and Brighton Bears. From the successful team that came 3rd last season, only one player remained in captain Michael Livesey and only one other player, Oliver Robinson had ever played a national league game. Therefore 8 debutants (Sam Redfearn, Jamie Lines, James Crotty, Daniel Simpson, Stephen Hayward, Jamie Nicholson, Charlie Power and Guy Taylor) were included in the team. This also meant that included in the team were 3 players who have got at least two more years at this age group, which shows the strength of Storms younger teams.
The inexperience of the team showed early on as Brighton scored several unanswered points. On the offensive end it was Charlie Power who managed to score some points for Storm. The second of Storms 5s for the first half started strongly, they looked much more focused at the defensive end and held their opponents to just 8 points in the quarter. They also created scoring opportunities with some lovely passing and cutting. The third quarter in this first game was the best from the team on the day. They played hard defense and continued there eye-pleasing display of cutting and passing on offence eventually winning the quarter 9 - 8. The start of the forth quarter saw Brighton come out all guns blazing. A full court press was applied and this saw the opponents stretch the lead out to a much more comfortable margin as an inexperienced Storm team succumbed to the pressure of the defense. This larger gap enabled both teams to run out their benches for the remainder of the game.
The second game was against a strong Team Gloster side. Again the 2nd five played better that the first 5, mainly through playing tougher defense which created opportunities for them to score. Moving into the second half the effect of playing back to back games was obvious, but despite this the team fought on. 43 points in the half from Gloster meant Storm could never keep up with the pace of their opponents.
The team can be immensely pleased with their first performance as a team together. They have had very little training time and will without a doubt have learnt a lot from these two games. The teams played in the exact manner that the coaches wanted. From more practice their execution will improve seeing them score more points. There were particularly pleasing efforts from Jamie Nicholson who was all over the place (quite literally) on defense, Charlie Power who looked at home offensively and Sam Redfearn who looked very comfortable with the ball and made some quality passes throughout the game. Both experienced players, Oliver Robinson and Michael Livesey provided solid defensive games and took care of the ball on offence.
Scores Game 1 Vs Brighton Final 27 - 52 Scorers: *Power 14, *Livesey 7, *Redfearn 6, Lines 2, *Simpson 2, Hayward, Taylor, *Nicholson, Crotty, Robinson.
Scores Game 2 Vs Team Gloster Final 27 - 52 Scorers: *Livesey 6, *Simpson 4, Nicholson 4, *Robinson 4, Hayward 2, *Redfearn 1, *Lines, Power, Crotty, Taylor.
Cadets Vs UWIC Stealers 06-11-2004
This was only the second game for the Cadet Men, having been awarded their previous game against Reading 20 0 as Reading pulled out at 10.30pm the night before. A couple of changes were made to the team that played against Plymouth, Lawrence Lugtu and Jake Ketteridge did not travel and Steven Pritchard and Alistair Oloo were given their first outings of the season. The team was also missing starting forward Michael Vigar who has a broken wrist.
A long journey to Cardiff awaited the team though Storm looked ready to play. Unfortunately a slow start, more due to lack of concentration than anything else resulted in UWIC extending to a 17 2 lead in the opening 7 minutes. A lack of transition defence cost Storm early, but this was amended quickly as the introduction of Alistair Oloo, and Louis Gibson reduced the deficit to 10 by the end of the quarter.
The second quarter was a much better one from the point of the visiting team, as they managed to control the tempo resulting in them being able to execute better offensively. Slowly they crawled and scraped their way back into the game, they would still have a lot of work to do in the second half if they were going to put the result in doubt.
The third quarter saw Storm come fighting back, lead by Michael Livesey and Luke Miller. This continued throughout the fourth quarter, although 8 missed free throws, cost the team dearly if these were all converted then Storm would have won the quarter and only a few points would have split the teams.
On reflection the score was very promising when everything was taken into account including the slow start and some very aggressive defense by the home team, which on another day would have been deemed illegal resulting in Storm being granted more free throws. The team played well and apart from the first quarter, played defense at the level that is required to give themselves a chance of winning at National League. The team must remain focused and can be assured of some wins in the coming weeks if they continue to work hard in training, remembering that they will get out what they put in.
Scores 1st 10 - 20 2nd 14 - 15 3rd 18 - 14 4th 10 - 17 Final 52 - 66
Scorers: Livesey 16, *Miller 11, *Bowler 8, Gibson 5, *Yeats 4, Pritchard 3, Oloo 3, *Morgan 2, *Robinson.
Passerelle Vs Reading Rockets Vs Southampton Trailblazers 14-11-2004
This was the teams second set of games this season. The previous weekend had seen a whole host of players play for the first time, and the team put in two good performances against Gloster and Brighton. This week Sam Grant and Kieron James were two players making their National League debuts for the club.
The first game saw Storm taking on Reading Rockets, a team that had a lot of size and experience. Reading made a strong start but the game was pulled back especially in the second quarter as Storms defensive intensity really stepped up. All being said the score was still heavily weighted in favor of Reading as the second half started. The third quarter was probably the best from the team in their short time together as they put the visitors under pressure and went on to win the quarter convincingly. The fourth quarter was very even as both teams exchanged baskets. Although Storm still lost this was a very promising performance, apart from the first quarter the defensive intensity that the team played with, limited their opponents to a relatively small number of points.
The second game saw Storm host Southampton Trailblazers, in the past the 6 games played between the two teams Storm have the edge with 4 wins and 2 losses. Unfortunately this game was a completely one sided affair. Everything was against Storm, even before the tip off as a player did not turn up meaning they started points down. The team looked completely disjointed, and their confidence quickly drained away as nothing at all dropped for them. The problems were added too by their inability to play defense, continually the opposition had open lay-ups and uncontested shots. In fact at half time the game was completely over as a contest (the score was 2 33); the team battled on to their credit and restored their pride as they managed to find a way to the basket and slow down the opposition attack.
Again the team learnt a huge amount from these two games. As long as the team continue to fight on in the way that they have so far then they will reap the rewards in time. Hard work in practice, listening and learning from both the coaches and older players is key if the team wants to continue to grow and have success in the future.
Game 1 Vs Reading Rockets Dorset Storm (3, 8, 19) 33 Reading Rockets (21, 31, 40) 54
Game 2 Vs Southampton Trailblazers Dorset Storm (0, 2, 10) 13 Southampton Trailblazers (26, 33, 48) 63
Cadets Vs YMCA Torbay Tigers 13-11-2004
Storm were looking forward to their first home game for the season, coming in on the back of two promising results against UWIC and Plymouth. Three players were added with Jake Ketteridge and Lawrence Lugtu returning while Sam Redfearn who impressed while playing for the Passerelle team was also given a chance.
Storm, started well but seem to take their foot off of the gas toward the end of the first quarter. Lazy defense really cost them as fouls were picked up from this, which gave Torbay easy points from the free throw line.
The second quarter was played at a better tempo from Storms point of view, however defensively players continued to pick up fouls through lack of concentration and a poor attitude. Toward the end of the half, Storm had some serious foul trouble mounting up with several key players on 2 or 3 fouls. At half time, Storm faced a 10 point deficit which had resulted from a total lack of concentration on the job in hand.
The third quarter saw Storm make a mini response and forced Torbay into a time out, which did have some effect in halting the run from the home team. Storm continued on strong to win the quarter by 7, though a couple of players moved onto 4 fouls.
The fourth quarter saw Storm get right back into the game and take the lead four times. Entering the last two minutes of the game, the game was close but two silly fouls which resulted in two baskets and two free-throws for the opposition effectively ended the game. Storm managed to score one more basket, meaning that they were one down with two seconds remaining, but a long inbound pass and another foul saw the lead stretch out to three at the finish.
This was a very disappointing effort from most of the players on the Storm roster. A lack of focus resulting in basic mistakes at the defensive end resulted in this loss. On reflection it was a game that Storm should have won but they played well below par. The visitors played smarter basketball, and were just willing to put that little more effort in, which was the difference between the teams.
Scores 1st 10 17 2nd 18 21 3rd 18 11 4th 16 16 Final 62 65
Scorers: *Miller 16, Livesey 11, *Bowler 7, Gibson 6, Ketteridge 6, *Redfearn 5, *Yeats 4, *Morgan 3, Pritchard 2, Robinson 2, Lugtu, Oloo
Cadets Vs Bristol Bombers 20-11-2004
After a disappointing effort the week before, which resulted in a 3 point loss in a game that they should have won, the Cadets had a point to prove when they visited Monks Park School to play Bristol Bombers. All the team preparations were not rosy though as the team travelled with only 8 players, due to a player failing to turn up at the meeting point.
A lack of control and some early nerves where the cause of early problems for both teams as the game was scrappy and disjointed. A slow start again troubled Dorset as Bristol took an early lead. The visitors managed to pull it back, though a brace of threes in the final two minutes extended the deficit out to 8 at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter was much better; both teams exchanged early baskets until a large run by Bristol, resulted in a Storm timeout. The run continued after the timeout however and saw Bristol have a 30 9 advantage. However two free-throws by Michael Livesey ignited a 13 0 run in which he went on to score 7 of those points. This helped to close the gap to 8 at the half as a high scoring second quarter was tied 20 all.
The third quarter was going to be a key one if Storm were going to get themselves back into the game. A slow start in which neither team could buy a basket was soon ended and the baskets again started to flow. Jake Ketteridge scored 6 points in the quarter and Sam Bowler chipped in 4 but Bristol managed to limit the inroads that Storm could make into the lead. At the end of the third quarter Storm were still trailing 47 51.
The fourth quarter saw an increase in the defensive intensity, as Storm pilled on the pressure early in the form of a full court press. Luke Miller left the game early in the fourth and did not return, but Sam Bowler stepped up, along with Louis Gibson and Michael Livesey to continue the momentum. Storm took the lead just before the mid-way point in the quarter, and a timeout by Bristol could not stem the flow. Storm continued to pull away as the Bristol team lost their cool. Apollo Gayle scored 8 points for the home team which brought the game back to within one basket. A time out after his last basket and 3 seconds remaining was taken by Storm. Utter confusion then occurred as Storm ran a play to break the press, which lead to some confusion of both the opposition and the officials! Then several technical fouls were given out and then withdrawn as the officials eventually came to the right decision which saw the clock reset at 3 seconds and Storm in-bounding the ball under their own basket again. This time the ball was entered to Louis Gibson and an unnecessarily but somewhat predictable hard foul was committed in an attempt to stop the clock, he then went down the other end and sank all the free throws to wrap up the game.
On reflection it was a good game, despite a somewhat scrappy start. There were pleasing performance again offensively form several members of the team, while Laurence Yeats pulled down huge 18 rebounds, and Jake Ketteridge chipped in with 8 points and 6 boards off of the bench. A much better defensive effort in the second half was they key to this victory much of the defence sparked easy break opportunities.
The team have a weekend off before hosting Cardiff Clippers at Rossmore Leisure Centre on Saturday 4th December. Any support for the team would be appreciated by both players and coaches.
Scores 1st 4 - 12 2nd 20 - 20 3rd 23 - 19 4th 20 - 10 Final 67 - 61
Scorers: *Livesey 18, *Gibson 17, *Bowler 11, Ketteridge 8, Miller 8, *Yeats 5, *Morgan, Tite, Oloo DNP.
Sunday 28th November Local League Report
Both of Storms Under 14s and Under 16s teams were in action this weekend, as there were four games at Rossmore Leisure Centre. Nearly 40 players were in action for the club this week as Trailblazers and New Milton visited for the first action of the season.
The first game would see the Under 14s B play Trailblazers. Storm were fielding a very young and inexperienced team, with just two older players in there for extra support. Trailblazers fielded a big, strong team that have played together as a unit for a number of years, several of which at National League level. Despite this huge task the players performed admirably, and were not put off as the deficit escalated. Thomas Duffy performed exceptionally well scoring 11 points and grabbing a large number of boards on his return after missing a season. All the players on the team gave their all and can be very proud of the effort that they put in against a very good team.
In the second game Storms Under 16s B would also host Trailblazers. A strong start was weathered by the visitors, and the first quarter ended tied at 18 all. Storm had a disappointing second quarter in which they lost all their momentum and found themselves totally outplayed, loosing the quarter 3 23. However, they did recover and the remaining two quarters were once again equal. David Tite was the star performer, scoring 10 points and creating chances for his team mates both at the defensive and the offensive end, although it was Charlie Power with 11 points who top scored.
The next game saw a new visiting team in New Milton Blackhawks, this was their first season in the league. They could not field enough players to have a team so they played an over aged player so that the game could continue to go ahead. Storms Under 14s A started well, although New Milton did pull the game back. The game was won comfortably by Storm in the end by 20 points.
The final game of the day saw the Under 16s A against the second New Milton team of the day. This Storm team is made up mostly of underage players, with only 2 players actually in their correct age group. The team started strongly but actually found themselves down at the half way stage. A strong second half however saw Storm fight back, winning the third quarter by 9 points and the final quarter by 8 points. Michael Livesey provided the spark for this second half comeback scoring 12 points, while Alistair Oloo controlled the glass. The highly impressive thing about this performance was that every player scored at least two baskets, showing an impressive spread of scoring. In the end a comfortable win by 7 points was the end result.
Congratulations to all the players, coaches and officials who worked tirelessly all day. Particular thanks must go to Jill Jones, Marc Harris, Luke Jones, Steven Livesey, Louis Gibson and Michael Livesey who provided the officiating for all four games. A big thank you also to our Rookie coaches Alex Perry, Michael Brake and Steven Livesey, also to the parents that supported the players, and of course to the players who did themselves proud. Hopefully the experience was enjoyable and they can now look forward to playing again in the near future.
The final scores and players that represented the teams are below:
Under 14s 'B' Vs Trailblazers 1st Quarter 2 53 2nd Quarter 7 99 3rd Quarter 12 137 4th Quarter 18 163 Players: Lewis Clarke (captain), Richard Tite, Courtenay Dubois, Martyn Williams, James Smith, James Cheyne, Miles Croft, Thomas Duffy and coach Alex Perry.
Under 16s 'B' Vs Trailblazers 1st Quarter 18 18 2nd Quarter 21 - 41 3rd Quarter 38 61 4th Quarter 50 88 Players: David Tite (captain), Laurence Yeats, Thomas Harper, Liam Carter, Kieron James, Max McHugh, Alon Jacobs, Dominic Stuart, James Crotty, Charlie Power and coach Michael Brake.
Under 14s 'A' Vs New Milton 1st Quarter 25 - 1 2nd Quarter 32 - 11 3rd Quarter 37 17 4th Quarter 42 22 Players: James Hilton (captain), Jamie Lines, Rukan Taki, Jordan DuMaurier, Lewis Clarke, Bradley Kirby, Jacob Wilkinson, Ben Harris and coach Steven Livesey.
Under 16s 'A' Vs New Milton 1st Quarter 6 - 8 2nd Quarter 14 - 24 3rd Quarter 28 29 4th Quarter 50 43 Players: Michael Livesey (captain), Luke Miller, Sam Grant, Daniel Simpson, Jamie Nicholson, Sam Redfearn, Oliver Robinson, Alistair Oloo and coach Luke Jones.
Cadets Vs Cardiff Clippers 04-12-2004
Dorsets Cadet Men were to host Cardiff Clippers at Rossmore Leisure Centre, the Clippers are a much improved outfit from last year and are flying high at the top of the league they are unbeaten so far this year. Storm welcomed back Alistair Oloo, Sam Redfearn replaced Arran Morgan and Sam Grant got his first chance of the season after looking good in the recent Passerelle and Local League matches. The team was still without swingman Michael Vigar who was still recovering from a broken wrist.
The first quarter saw an early exchange of baskets, a mini run by Cardiff was halted by a Storm timeout. Storm scored the next two baskets but, another run by Cardiff during which Storm missed several free throws saw Cardiff extend to a 9 point lead at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter saw Storm pull the score back to with in 2 points by the third minute, unfortunately this was as close as the scores would get. Dorset then hit the self-destruct button, as they committed 5 fouls in 2 minutes, and turned the ball over gifting Cardiff easy points. Jake Ketteridge and Louis Gibson slowed the run with a brace of baskets for the home team but Cardiff soon got back on track as more turnovers, through simple mistakes made when under little pressure gave Cardiff more wide open looks. Silly fouls had also contributed to the teams downfall as several players had to sit after picking up needless fouls.
The third quarter would see Dorset again having to play catch-up if they wanted to play a part in the game. With players in foul trouble it was always going to be a juggling act and more silly fouls didnt help the cause. Sam Bowler picked up his 5 foul at the offensive end with 12 minutes left to play; he was then replaced by Michael Livesey who also had 4 fouls. Despite these setbacks, and mistake by the officials that saw Cardiff get a basket, when they should not have even of had the ball, Dorset managed to win the quarter 22 17.
The fourth quarter saw a dismal performance from the home team, in the last 5 minutes alone they gave away 17 free-throws. The team could only manage to score 6 points in the quarter, and conceded 18. This last quarter and the closing minutes in particular took the gloss of what had been a good effort throughout the first 3 quarters of the game.
The story of this game was simple, turnovers, missed free-throws, energy and silly fouls - Cardiff beat Storm in all of these areas, and in the end walked away with a comfortable win. Storm will be looking to improve upon this performance as they welcome Solent Stars on Saturday 11th December, who currently lie just one place beneath Storm in the league.
Scores 1st 12 - 21 2nd 15 - 30 3rd 22 - 17 4th 6 - 18 Final 55 - 86
Scorers: *Gibson 20, Ketteridge 8, *Livesey 7, *Oloo 7, Miller 6, *Yeats 4, *Bowler 3, Tite 2, Redfearn, Grant.
Cadets Vs Solent Stars 11-12-2004
The game began with another slow start by Storm, in which they found themselves trailing 14 4 after the opening seven minutes. Four minutes passed during which Storm did not score, a three pointer from Michael Livesey ignited a 10 2 run to close out the first quarter. This meant that the deficit was only two, and had been pulled back from some strong defence and looking after the ball offensively.
The second quarter started well, and back to back baskets saw Storm take the lead for the first time in the game. Solent responded, and so did Storm the first four minutes saw six lead changes as the game was tight. An error in tactics saw Solent have six players on court, after Storm turned down the offer of a technical foul, Solents coach protested over enthusiastically about the offer of a technical which resulted in him getting one! Storm then took control and rattled off six points courtesy of Louis Gibson. The two teams then exchanged baskets for the remainder of the half, and Storm had a slender five point lead at half time.
The third quarter saw Storm make an immediate impact, scoring the opening eight points and opening up a thirteen point lead. Solent countered with a six point run of their own, after which the teams exchanged baskets. Solent again made more inroads in to their deficit with an eight point run, closing the gap and then going on to tie the game at 55 55. Storm managed to score a couple of baskets in the closing minutes and they lead at the conclusion of the quarter by just four.
The fourth quarter again saw the teams exchange baskets early on but Solent clawed their way back, and another eight points without reply saw them take the lead for the first time since the second quarter. With just 1 minute and 10 seconds remaining Storm needed to regain their composure and coming out of the time out they got to the free throw line, converting three of four attempts. A time out by Solent trailing by one with just seconds left saw them foul sending Storm to the line where one of two was converted and a last second shot by Solent was long as the buzzer sounded.
This was Storms first ever win in the National Basketball League versus their closest rivals Solent Stars. Storm controlled the boards, mainly through Alistair Oloo who had his best game for the team. Although the team got to the line a lot, they missed twenty free-throws which if converted would have seen an easy win. There was a good defensive display especially from Michael Livesey, Lawrence Lugtu and David Tite who stuck to their task and considerably slowed down Solents back court throughout the game. The team need to carry their momentum forward into next weeks encounter with Tamar Valley and, hopefully can end the year with a win.
Scores 1st 14 - 16 2nd 24 - 17 3rd 24 - 25 4th 17 - 19 Final 79 - 77
Scorers: *Oloo 17, *Gibson 17, *Bowler 15, Miller 12, *Livesey 10, *Yeats 4, Morgan 4, Lugtu, Tite, Redfearn.
Cadets Vs Tamar Valley Cannons 18-12-2004
In the last game of 2004, Tamar were the visitors to Rossmore Leisure Center for a Cadet Men Western Conference clash. Both teams have had mixed fortunes so far, and the majority of the results indicated that this would be a game in which either side could come out on top. Storm kept the same team that last week stuck to their task well and defeated Solent Stars.
The first quarter saw a slow start as both teams found their feet and exchanged baskets, after some early shots went wildly astray. At the mid-point of the 1st quarter the game was tied at 5 5. Storm then moved out to a three point lead but six easy points in the closing minute resulted in Tamar taking the quarter 11 14.
The second quarter was again slow paced; another six point streak with all the points coming in transition resulted in a time-out. After the time out Storm came back and cut the deficit back, but an uncontested three and an open lay-up off an offensive rebound meant that Tamar again took the quarter by three, meaning that the score was 29 35.
In the third quarter Tamar took control of the game. Storm looked uninterested and gave away turnovers through bad passing, poor footwork and just about every other way possible. Several times Storms forwards were left to bring the ball up court as the guards disappeared down the other end.
The fourth quarter was a pride restoration job for the home team, and to their credit they played some of their best basketball of the season for the first 8 minutes, pulling the deficit back to just a few points. A lapse in concentration saw Tamar score five quick points, effectively ending any hope of a comeback. In the last minute and seventeen seconds Storm restored respectability to the score, going on a 9 1 run to end the game.
The home side never looked ready to play, mistakes and lack of effort was again a huge concern. In a game that could have swung either way motivation should not be a problem, in fact it should not be a problem in any game at this level of basketball. Alistair Oloo continued his good run of form; Michael Livesey also provided a consistent source of points during the game. Unless the team improves on their effort, and togetherness then the second half of the season could be a long one, the seeds are there, but without being watered they will not grow.
Scores 1st 11 - 14 2nd 18 - 21 3rd 10 - 21 4th 28 - 16 Final 67 - 72
Scorers: *Livesey 16, *Oloo 12, *Gibson 12, Miller 12, Morgan 6, *Bowler 6, *Yeats 5, Lugtu, Tite.
Cadets Vs Plymouth Raiders 08-01-2005
The New Year would see Plymouth Raiders visit Rossmore Leisure Centre, to try and maintain their unbeaten record at the top of the Cadet Mens National League. The two teams last met in the opening game of the season in which Plymouth came away victorious with a 72 103 point victory. Michael Vigar and Steven Pritchard returned to the team, the former making his first appearance since breaking his wrist shortly after the first game of the season. Lawrence Lugtu was making his last appearance for Dorset before moving away from the area.
Storm started strongly in the opening minutes and took an early 6 0 lead through good ball movement and offensive execution. The visitors slowly clawed their way back into the ball game and took the lead, mainly thanks to their captain Joe Francombe who scored 16 points in the quarter.
The second quarter again had a fast and frantic feel to it as teams exchanged baskets. Plymouth quickly got into a team foul situation and, Storm had the same problem shortly afterwards as nine fouls were committed in the open three minutes of the quarter. Both teams shot a lot of free throws, due to the high foul count and it was Plymouth who made them count as Storm missed ten in the quarter alone. Despite this the lead at the half had been reduced to four points.
Starting the second half Dorset knew that the problems were in the Plymouth camp and that they had to just make sure that they weathered any run that came from the visitors. They did that successfully and with the help of a timeout regained their composure to close the gap back to four points. The deficit could have been a lead for the home team as again they missed ten free throws in the quarter.
The fourth quarter started with both teams exchanging early baskets before a three minute lull in which neither team scored. When the seal on the basket was finally broken, baskets again flowed. Entering the closing two minutes there was still four points separating the teams, a basket and a split pair of free-throws saw the visitors take a seven point lead. A timeout by Storm resulted in a basket, but Storm then hit the self destruct button as two turnovers in their own back court during the final minute saw Plymouth extend their lead to 9 points.
This was a good start to 2005 for the Cadets, and they considerably improved on the previous result between the two sides. Lawrence Lugtu went out on a high as he scored a career best 12 points and added 2 assists and 2 steals. However, if Storm had converted just 50 % of their total free throws then the story of the game would have been different. That aside it was a much more promising display, the team needs to look to build upon this start to 2005 and continue to perform at this level, with consistency now the main aim.
Scores 1st 11 - 14 2nd 18 - 21 3rd 10 - 21 4th 28 - 16 Final 67 - 72
Scorers: Lugtu 12, *Gibson 12, *Livesey 12, Bowler 10, *Yeats 9, Miller 7, *Morgan 4, Vigar 2, *Oloo 2, Pritchard.
Once again, both of Storms Under 14s and Under 16s teams were in action this weekend, as there were games at Rossmore Leisure Centre. Nearly 40 players were in action for the club this week as the teams would compete against each other, in the Solent Youth League Western Division.
In the first game of the day Storms two Under 14s team would square up, in a game which saw several players making their debut appearance for the club. For the B team Jonathon Baker returned after missing the start of the season, he provided some solid ball handling and some scoring opportunities early on for his team mates as they pushed the visitors hard in the opening minutes. Peter Thompson, coming off the bench also made an immediate impact as the A team struggled to shake off their opponents. In fact, the difference in the score at the end of the 1st stanza was relatively small. The 2nd quarter saw the A team step up their game, some quality passing moves, between the big 3 Guy Taylor, Jamie Lines and James Hilton, saw them go on several large runs which required a lot of energy to be used by the B team as they tried to slow the opposition. During the 3rd and 4th quarters the gap slowly widened as the A team took advantage of their strength and stamina mainly due to their age advantage over their young opponents.
Both teams performed very well and the game was played in good spirit, and an enjoyable atmosphere was present throughout. Thomas Duffy again lead the B team with 10 points, Guy Taylor dominated for the A team with 26 points. Both players were helped along the way with a wide variety of contributions from other players.
The second game saw the two Under 16s teams play each other. Early on the A team put points on the board quickly and easily as Alistair Oloo, Michael Vigar, Louis Gibson and captain Michael Livesey all scored, causing an early time-out to be called by Storms B team. The timeout did little to stem the flow of runs, with David Tite providing the only resistance to the oncoming attack at both the defensive and offensive ends. The second quarter saw the B team pull back and the flow of points dried up for the A team as some respectability was restored in the score. The third quarter apart from couple of fluffed slam dunk attempts by a certain member of the A team saw the gap again widen as Louis Gibson lighted it up from behind the arc. The final quarter saw the teams exchange baskets; Charlie Braufman converted several strong drives to the basket for the B team, taking some of the scoring responsibility off David Tite.
The game gave the players in both teams a chance to get rid of any lingering holiday cobwebs. For the A team Louis Gibson was the outstanding player scoring 32 points including 4 triples. He was ably supported by Alistair Oloo, Michael Livesey and Michael Vigar who all scored in double figures. Other players supported them well, as the scoring was well spread. For the B team it was captain David Tite who scored 12 points, the sole player who made double figures. However nine players made it onto the score sheet, showing good teamwork and distribution of the basketball was also present by the B team. The game was full of high quality basketball and if both teams execute offensively and work together defensively then a play-off birth is possible for both teams.
The final scores and players that represented the teams are below:
Under 14s 'B' Vs Under 14s A
Final Score Storm B 21 82 Storm A
Players for Under 14s B: Richard Tite (captain), Martyn Williams, James Smith, Thomas Duffy, Jonathon Baker, Alex Lander, Billy Merrick and coach Jill Jones.
Players for Under 14s A: James Hilton (captain), Jamie Lines, Rukan Taki, Jordan DuMaurier, Jacob Wilkinson, Reece Barker, Guy Taylor and coach Steven Livesey.
Under 16s 'B' Vs Under 16s A
Final Score Storm B 43 89 Storm A
Players for Under 16s B: David Tite (captain), Liam Carter, Max McHugh, Alon Jacobs, Dominic Stuart, James Crotty, Charlie Braufman, Kieran James, Niall Adamson, Stephen Hayward, Charlie Power and coach Peter Livesey.
Players for Under 16s A: Michael Livesey (captain), Luke Miller, Sam Grant, Daniel Simpson, Jamie Nicholson, Sam Redfearn, Oliver Robinson, Michael Vigar, Alistair Oloo and coach Jill Jones.
Cadets Vs UWIC Stealers 05-02-2005
With the first month of the New Year out of the way, Storms Cadets were looking to gain their first win of the calendar year and their opponents would be UWIC Stealers. The teams last game was against league leaders Plymouth, and the team showed in that match just how much they have improved his season. The previous encounter between these two sides had been a physical one and saw the Welsh team coming out on top with a hard fought 14 point victory. This time round Storm wanted to put the record straight. Jake Ketteridge, David Tite, Aaron Devine, and Matthew Holmes all returned for Storm, the latter pair making their season debuts.
Storm started slowly in the opening quarter, quickly finding themselves 6 2 down. Laurence Yeats then scored a lay-up inside but UWIC ran the ball straight back, as Storm conceded another basket. A time-out in the sixth minute saw Storm score a basket through Alistair Oloo, but once again UWIC piled on the pressure, executing their fast break to perfection admittedly against some absent Storm defence. Before they knew it, the quarter buzzer sounded and the deficit was already 14 points. For UWIC, 23 of their 25 points had been scored by a combination of Wheeler and their captain Arnold.
The second quarter saw UWIC extend their lead further in the opening minute as a 3 was followed by another transition basket. After this, Storm managed to put a run of their own together, scoring nine points without reply. UWIC then responded to extend the lead back up to 16. In the closing minutes Storm did however manage to close the gap, and clawed their way back, with eight points separating the teams at the intermission.
Coming out in the second half, Storm had a renewed fight about them and pulled their way back into the game. A second run of nine points without reply in the game forced the UWIC coach to call a timeout as their nineteen point lead had been cut, in to a one point deficit! Storm continued to look like the better side; they had sorted out their transition defence and were now also controlling the boards. Alistair Oloo and Luke Miller helped the scoring, but it was eight points in the last 2 minutes from Louis Gibson that helped Storm take a ten point advantage into the final stanza.
A slow start to the final period saw UWIC close the lead back to just 6 points. Importantly Storm never lost their composure and managed to ride out the pressure. Another basket by Louis Gibson and a brace of baskets from Luke Miller saw the lead extend to 12. From this point on it never became any closer as Storm managed to continue playing and closed out the game comfortable winners by 15 points.
The margin of victory was not only pleasing it was also very important. Storm outscored UWIC 133 132 over the two games, meaning that if the two teams finish with identical records then Storm will move above UWIC in the table. This was a whole team performance arguably the best for the entire season, with every player doing their bit. Alistair Oloo was a dominant figure, but four players scored in double figures and three players grabbed over ten rebounds. A slow start could have cost the team, but they battled back well and managed to sort their problems out. The team travel to Torbay next week, and will be high in confidence as they look for their second win in 2005.
Scores 1st 11 25 2nd 20 - 14 3rd 31 - 13 4th 19 - 14 Final 81 - 66
Scorers: *Oloo 22, *Gibson 17, Miller 16, Holmes 13, *Livesey 9, *Yeats 3, Devine 1, *Morgan 1, Tite, Ketteridge, Bowler DNP.
Cadets Vs Torbay Tigers 12-02-2005
The Cadet team were high in confidence as they made the long trip along the coast to play Torbay. They travelled with the same team that had convincingly beaten UWIC the week before, when they played some of their best basketball of the season.
The game started with both teams exchanging baskets in the early minutes. The teams continued to exchange baskets for much of the first quarter. Both teams picked up some early fouls, and lots of foul shots were converted relatively well by both teams. The second quarter started with Torbay going on a 14 point run which neither a timeout or a change of personnel could stop. Michael Livesey eventually ended the 6 minute scoring drought Storm had endured, and went on to score 3 baskets as the quarter closed.
Storm started the second half believing they had a chance of getting back into the game. Unfortunately they never got going, partly due to missing easy chances and due to the fact that their opportunities from the line dried up Storm only got to the free throw line twice in the third quarter compared to their opponents who went 8 times in the quarter. In the final quarter the game remained physical at both ends of the court, with several off the ball incidents occurring, one of which resulted in a Torbay player fouling out as he picked up his fifth foul by means of a technical. Despite this Storm never managed to put a convincing run together to threaten the home sides lead.
This game will have provided a valuable learning experience to a relatively inexperienced team. Playing away from home, after a long journey, with a different court and a smaller group of supporters are all things that the players will have to get use to. But before they play away again, the team host Bristol at home next week, looking to reproduce some of the high quality basketball that they played against UWIC.
Scores 1st 17 - 20 2nd 11 - 18 3rd 17 - 16 4th 16 - 16 Final 61 - 70
Scorers: *Gibson 13, *Livesey 12, *Oloo 9, Miller 9, *Morgan 7, Ketteridge 4, Holmes 3, *Yeats 2, Devine 2, Tite.
Cadets Vs Bristol Bombers 12-02-2005
Storm hosted Bristol Bombers this week in a Cadet Mens Western Conference encounter. Guard Michael Livesey was missing along with Matthew Holmes, while Sam Bowler returned after a two game absence to supplement the team that had played together during the last two matches. The last time the two teams met, it was a close encounter with Storm edging out Bristol in the final minutes. The preparation to the game was a little different to normal with Bristol getting lost on their way and eventually turning up 40 minutes after the scheduled tip-off time, some neat negotiating by the Storm management team persuaded the leisure staff to allow the court to be made available for an additional half hour to ensure that a game could be played.
When the first quarter started, some 51 minutes late Storm wasted no time in rattling off some quick points but also played some effective defence holding Bristol scoreless for the opening four and a half minutes while scoring 10 points themselves. A timeout from Bristol saw them come out with a little more composure and they eventually found the basket shortly afterwards. Storm continued to play aggressively getting to the foul line and executing their free-throws, scoring 8 of 9 in the quarter. Storm managed to hold a comfortable lead closing the quarter 26 13 ahead.
The second quarter saw Luke Miller open with a triple, with a little help from every part of the ring! Apart from one other basket, Storm did not put a point on the board again until the fifth minute. This allowed Bristol back into the game and they closed the gap to 12 points, looking more comfortable now. Both teams had a few foul concerns as three Bristol players out of their six man team were on three fouls and Storm had Louis Gibson on 4.
The third quarter saw Storm start well as they managed to extend their lead easily in the opening four minutes. During this period they again managed to hold their visitors scoreless while piling on 12 points of their own to take a 50 31 advantage. Following this the home team went into another lull which has cost them previously, as they only scored one basket in the next 4 minutes. This gave Bristol the chance to get it going and they closed the gap to just 8 at the end of the third period.
The forth period saw both teams exchange baskets but it was without a doubt that Bristol were the team in control. The basket opened up for them and they went on a 9 0 run and by the sixth minute had amassed a 4 point lead. Sam Bowler then showed his experience as he calmed down his team mates, collected some crucial rebounds and controlled the tempo to help Storm regain the lead. In the last two minutes, Sam Bowler scored a basket along with Louis Gibson (6 points), Aaron Devine (6 points), and Arran Morgan (4 points) to close out the game as the frustration of the visitors showed as they ended up with just four players on the court during the closing stages.
Storm, once again played some top quality basketball in periods throughout the game, the team must now aim to play with the same quality throughout the 40 minutes to ensure that they do not let games slip away. Storm put last weeks out of character performance behind them and for the most part completed the job in hand well. In particular, David Tite did a fine job at the defensive end of the court limiting the effectiveness of Bristols two top scorers; he was helped by Aaron Devines best performance of the year and the experience of Sam Bowler in the closing minutes. Overall a good team display and they will be looking to win back to back games when they make the long trip to Cardiff next week.
Scores 1st 26 13 2nd 15 - 16 3rd 19 - 21 4th 26 - 19 Final 86 - 69
Scorers: Devine 20, *Gibson 17, *Oloo 14, *Miller 13, Bowler 8, *Morgan 6, *Tite 6, Ketteridge 2, Yeats 0.
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