Improved York succumb to a superb undefeated Sheffield Hallam 50 -78

In a game that had a similar score line to last week’s game ,York’s first team improved substantially in their teamwork, undaunted by the challenge posed to them. Showing some vital individual player progress, the first team gave a much better performance, something that is not reflected in the score line.

Watching Hallam warm up, with three players practicing their dunks and the rest draining shots from behind the three point line with depressing regularity, the York team looked to have lost the game before it had even begun. What then surprised those watching was the aggression and energy that York started with once the game was underway. Making his first start at home for a while Deniz Ekren put pressure on his opponents straight away, whilst Ben Barrett began his game with a massive block on Hallam, denying them an easy layup and flooring both the opponent and himself. Following Barrett’s lead David Nalton began his own block party, denying Hallam another basket late in the quarter. York came out strong in the first, keeping their opponents in check, even forcing an eight second violation, and maintained a four point deficit throughout the quarter which ended with Hallam in front 15 – 19.

A promising first half performance that [...] could mean wins against our remaining opponents
Captain Dane Vishnubala

The second quarter began as the first quarter had ended, with Hallam still controlling the game, but then York had a seven point run. This was mainly due to Brendan Moran’s offensive rebounding and generally strong presence under the basket, even though he was still plagued by foul trouble which has always denied him a clean sheet this season. There was a brief scare midway through the quarter as Barrett appeared to have injured his wrist, but he came back on to compliment his defensive partner, Nalton, in their new offensive aggression, something they have both shown potential for in the past and finally realised during the game. Nalton began driving to the basket and drawing fouls, whilst Barrett continued to attack Hallam through his jump shot and powerful layups, to which he also added another huge block to his collection for the game. However, despite all of this renewed effort from York, demonstrating some of the best team play seen this season, the game began to slip out of their grasp. Hallam took a few easy baskets on fast breaks, methodically increased their lead on offence, and held York to only ten points during the quarter, which finished 25 – 37 in Hallam’s favour.

The second half started with a full court press from York, a tactic not previously used by the team so early in the game, but one that they had copied from their previous opponents this term who have used it to great affect against the team. The press worked well, causing Hallam to momentarily lose their focus, but it did not culminate in a change in the lead. Once again, York brought the difference back down to a couple of baskets but failed to fully capitalise on the opportunity they created. Nalton continued to play aggressively on both sides of the ball whilst Ekren scored his second well earned basket of the afternoon in his effort to keep York in contention, but still the third quarter finished ominously as Hallam’s point guard hit a buzzer beating three to increase their lead to 37 – 55.

The final quarter signified York’s realisation they could no longer win the game. Although they began the quarter with as much effort and aggression as they started the first they continuously misfired on offence, missing opportunities and having trouble building a consistent attack. Aaron Lake did manage to flatten Hallam’s testosterone fuelled centre midway through the quarter, much to Nalton’s approval, and Samuel Bentley escaped his recent scoring blip with two perfectly executed three pointers, but aside from these two developments there wasn’t anything new to take from the fourth quarter which was positive for York. A relatively quiet Marcus Johansson just managed to get his points tally into double figures, whilst captain Dane Vishnubala, along with Lake, finished the game without a basket. York’s other point guard, Jassen Lui, did show consistent play throughout the game on offence but his most remarkable feat was to take five steals, as many as the rest of the team managed, which helped York to stay in contention as long as they did. However, all their achievements were eclipsed by two of their team mates.

The two stars of the match for York were the ever consistent Barret and Nalton, a defensive double-act which have played well on defensive in every home game this season, and one that showed its true potential in their hardest game of the season so far. Nalton and Barret both displayed a sudden confidence in their offensive abilities, sharing the offensive burden that has largely been carried by Johansson so far this year. Playing hard until the final whistle, both players delivered brilliant performances and changed what was once feared to be a single dimension team, one of strong defence but poor offence, into a team which has the potential to see off all comers this year. Captain Dane Vishnubala was impressed with how the team “played well in the first half and [how] the intensity was high” and believes that a “promising first half performance that, if carried through the game, could mean wins against our remaining opponents”. Thus, the more players that bring their ‘A game’ to the team, playing above the basic required of them, the better for this team as at this moment in time they are having to fight hard for every basket, making a 50 – 78 loss still a good achievement against a superior team.

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