Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
This article was written by Ronan Joyce
With St John’s Women’s 1sts having already beaten York’s women basketballers in a fixture played last week, it was important that York’s men started brightly, and they did, rushing to an eight point lead.
Captain Conor Douglas controlled the offence, with Joyce running the fast breaks and Cheng settling York in the half court. St Johns, on the other hand, were reliant on their outside shooting, and poor accuracy, alongside determined rebounding by Edwards and Grant, saw York assert their dominance. A six-point burst by Johansson, coming from the bench, saw York end the quarter with a comfortable lead, 21-4.
The second quarter saw a sturdier effort from St John, as they found joy with an inside game. York, however, maintained their intensity, and with Cheng finding his shooting hand, scoring 8 points in quick succession, the home team were ahead by 20 at the interval.
The third quarter started with real intensity form York’s opponents, as they sought not to let the game slip away. Craig finally found some accuracy form 3-point territory, and Winstanley was effective in transition. St John won the quarter 20-15, making hopes of a comeback plausible.
The final period, though, saw York’s quality shine through. Fang asserted his presence at point guard, handling the ball excellently under pressure and hustling on defence. He combined well with Cheng, and by the time the latter connected from 3-point territory, any hopes the Saints had of a comeback were crushed.
Captain Douglas was pleased with the win, but conceded that his team had room for improvement: ‘We worked hard, but St John’s intensity in the third quarter is what we need to bring’.
With the integrity of the Varsity competition constantly questioned, Douglas stressed its significance: ‘These games after the BUSA season has finished are important as they mean something to the University, and also because of rivalries. We don’t want to get it in the ear form these guys all year. We may play them in BUSA next year so it sets the tone, and also it’s a good warm up for Roses.’
We don’t want to get it in the ear form these guys all year
And after a satisfactory Varsity win, victory in Roses is something York’s Basketball Club will be eagerly working towards.
Scorers: Sam Cheng 24, Conor Douglas 8, Ronan Joyce 6, Rob Edwards 6, Stephen Grant 6, Marcus Johansson 6, Robert Kazimierowicz 4, Garrick Fang 3, Jean Paul 2
You're gonna run out of puns for headlines pretty quickly at this rate! :p
Michael "The journalistic messiah" Sneddon dazzles with another exceptional piece of insightful commentary. With a main of witty, light hearted humour, and a side order of cold hard facts, this sportsfan is certainly one satisfied diner! Congrats to Mr Joyce aswel, another plummeting relegation the only downside to another "slam-dunkin" season!
I've heard that there is a promising young fresher in Goodricke, goes by the name Lebron Holdsworth, hotly tipped to take University basketball by storm!
Sneddon for AU president!
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