Southampton Trailblazers Basketball news.....

Match Report. Saturday 29nd November

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:25:19 +0000

National League Division 3 South
Despite a bright start from the Blazers to start the game, some sharp 3 point shooting from the Home side led to the Blazers trailing by 10 at the end of the first quarter.
The Southampton Trailblazers met Oxford Brookes on Saturday at the St Mary’s Leisure Centre. Liam Mitchell hit a three to start the game but despite some good offence form the Home team Blazers trailed by 6 after the high scoring first quarter, the visitors hit four threes and were lead by A.Robinson who had 11 points in the quarter.
1st 21 – 27

However the Home Team didn’t panic and slowly chipped away at the lead with some hard fought rebound and threes from Peel & Jackson. Mitchell hit a tough shot on the Buzzer to bring Blazers within 2.
Half 43 – 45

Blazers deep squad proved the difference in the 3rd quarter as Blazers managed to limit the tiring visitors to just three baskets in open play. Blazers took the lead during a 14 -2 scoring run. Thompson and Wilkins both managed tough baskets against Oxford solid zone defence while Jackson found his shooting range and would finish the game with 5 threes.

Liam Kelly came off the bench and showed his versatility hitting a three and scoring a tough inside basket in just a couple of minutes of play.

Robinson, who had been the visitor’s main offensive threat, scoring 20 points in the first half, was limited to just 9 in the second half. Blazers continuously switched defenders on him and his frustration showed as he was called for a flagrant foul.

Blazers were guilty of some poor defence in the closing minutes, Mitchell, Peel & Gaye all made and missed a free throw to give the visitors one last chance to send the game into overtime. However they missed on the buzzer, Blazers won 74 – 71.

Jackson 22, Mitchell 13, Gaye 9, Wilkins 6, Thompson 6, Kelly 5, Peel 4, Marsh 3, Mikamona 2, Darios 2, Van Nes 2

Next week Blazers have an away double header, as they travel to play Portsmouth and Brixton in the same weekend. Blazers are hoping the Blazers fans will make the short trip to the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth and cheer on their home team for this match up.

Match Report. Saturday 22nd November

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:26:48 +0000

National League Division 3 South
Despite a bright start from the Blazers to start the game, some sharp 3 point shooting from the Home side led to the Blazers trailing by 10 at the end of the first quarter.
1st 15 – 25
Undeterred blazers battled back with Jackson, Darios and Peel all hitting three in the 2nd quarter, cutting the deficit to just 4 points by the half.
Half 40 - 36
Blazers quickly took the lead in the second half not least due to the long awaiting return of Kareem Gaye, who has been out with injury since the season began. Kareem scored 8 of his 14 points in the third quarter and helped Blazers gain a three point lead. Blazers defence managed to keep their opponents to just 10 points in the quarter.
3rd 50 – 53
Mark Jackson, who had sat out much of the game on four fouls, hit back to back baskets only to collide with his Eastside defender resulting in a severe head wound, which would require 13 stitches and him leaving the game.

Eastside kept themseleves in the game behind more three point shooting but late in the game after Cory Thompson made a tough lay up to put the visitors up by 4 Eastside’s frustration boiled over as they were called for a double technical giving away 4 free throws and procession at a crucial point in the game. Peel converted all four free shots forcing Eastside to foul and stop the clock. Blazers held their nerve at the line and made enough free throws in the dying minute. Blazers win 65 – 76

Mitchell 14, Gaye 14, Peel 11, Jackson, 9, Thompson 9, Wilkins 6,Darios 5, Van Nes 4, Mikamona 4,

With this win over the Top of League Eastside, Blazers now jump to 5th in the table. On Saturday the 29th of November at 7.15pm, St Mary’s Leisure Centre Blazers take on Oxford Brookes and look to further extend their winning streak.

Blazers
4 threes
24 of 30 Free throws (15 of 20 in the 4th)
We were never in the penalty

Eastside
7 three’s
6 of 16 Free throws

Match Report. Saturday 15th November

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:21:24 +0000

Southampton Trailblazers v Guilford Heat II

Blazers jumped to an early lead in their match-up against Guilford Heat II on Saturday evening at Fleming Park. Liam Mitchell led the pack scoring 12 points in just 6 minutes of play. Blazers defence completely overwhelmed their opponents in the opening quarter and didn’t allow the visitors to score their first basket till the 7th minute of play, by which time the home team had jumped to an 18 point lead.

The only offence Guilford could muster came from centre Peter Knight who had 6 points in the quarter. Knight was making something of a homecoming as he played for the Blazers Junior programme nearly ten years ago. Despite his efforts Blazers lead 30 – 9 after just one quarter.

Guilford mustered some better offence in the second, giving the ball to their big men who managed some tough baskets inside, however they still had no answer for the blazers offence, which was able to move the ball at will and able to pick and choose their shots. By the end of the game all 12 Blazer players would make it on to the score sheet

Some slick passing from Wilkins found fellow big man Van Nes underneath the basket for two handed dunk, this was followed by a steal from Mitchell who ran the court to end the half with impressive dunk.
Half 50 – 25

Determined to put on a show for the Home fans Blazers kept up the pressure in the second half and pressed Guilford into countless turnovers. The pressure defence was so good that for a three minutes spell the away team didn’t manage to get ball out of their own half.

Blazers dominated the game from start to finish only allowing only two Guilford players to score more than 5 points.

Final Score 94 – 53

Mitchell 22, Thompson 16, Van Nes 13, Darios 9, Peel 9, Lawal 6, Marsh 5, Mikamona 5, Wilkins 4, Warwick 2, Kelly 2, Jackson 2,

Trailblazer’s next home match will be a much sterner test when they play Oxford Brookes on Saturday the 29th at Fleming Park, tip off at the earlier time of 7.15pm.

Match Report. Saturday 8th November

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:19:44 +0000

Trail Blazers’ offence was firing on all cylinders at the start of their match up away to London Westside. Blazers worked the ball well inside and out with Wilkins and Thompson scoring inside while Mitchell, Peel and Jackson all hit threes in the first quarter. Blazers 1st quarter defence rattled the Home team and limited them to just 17.
17 – 23

Going into the second Blazers offence didn’t let up. Youngster Vince Van Nes checked into the game and provided back to back baskets with a seemingly impossible tipped basket followed by emphatic two handed dunk on the Westside centre. Blazers were guilty of some needless fouls, which would become costly latter in the game with 6 blazers player finishing with 4 or more fouls.

Leading by 6 with 2 seconds remaining in the half Blazers gave up a needless foul and gave Westside two points at the free throw line, however captain Mark Jackson threw up a prayer from his own free throw line and banked in three points on the buzzer. Blazers lead by 7.
39 – 46

Despite three’s from Mitchell and Darios the third quarter was Blazers poorest offensive effort, mustering only 12 points. Westside guard O.Odigan managed 12 by himself in the quarter and dragged him team back in the game, Westside lead by 1 going into the fourth.
59 – 58

Determined to disrupt Westside offence Blazers repeatedly switch their defence in the fourth and the tactic worked as Blazers created some easy baskets for themselves, with Mitchell securing a dunk on the break. Peel found Kelly for an open three which was followed by two more from Jackson. Thompson’s relentless work on the boards earned him three put-back baskets and Blazers ball movement found Wilkins open under the basket for a two handed stuff. In the final minutes as Westside were forced to foul Blazers were guilty of some missed free throws, missing 7 in the last quarter but they held on for the victory 77 – 83

This weekend Blazers look to further climb the table when on Saturday the 15th they play Guilford at Home, Tip 8pm Fleming Park.

Thompson 19, Mitchell 19, Jackson 14,

Match Report. Saturday 18th Oct 2008

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:02:02 +0100

Playing without a long list of injured player, Blazers took the court at Fleming Park against Westminster Warriors. All 10 starting player scored in the opening quarter and the home team trailed by only 3 after some sharp shooting from the Warriors captain.
1st 12-15

That lead was slowly extended as the away team were sent to the line an incredible 10 times in the second quarter alone.

Half way through the quarter after scoring two basket back to back Liam Mitchell was called for a highly questionable offensive foul and minutes later was called for his forth foul immediately followed by an equally questionable technical foul, ending his game. This unfortunately marked the beginning of a run by the visiting team who scored the last 10 points of the half.
Half 26-42

Eager to avoid a blow out on their home court Trailblazers started the quarter with vigor and the lead was immediately cut into with Marsh hitting a three and Warwick working inside for a tough basket. It was the home teams turn at the free throw line as they were sent to the line 10 times during the third helping to score an amazing 27 points in that quarter alone and reduce the visitors lead to only 5 going in to the forth.

But the Blazers weren’t done there with the home crowd behind them Lawal, Nur and Warwick all scored in the opening minutes of the Fourth followed by a 3 from Peel that tied the game at 66. However this was as close as the Blazers would get to winning as Westminster went on an 11 point run forcing Blazers to foul in the closing minutes.
Final score 79 – 88

Jackson 20, Nur 19, Warwick 10, Peel 9, Mitchell 6, Marsh 9, Lawal 6.

Trailblazers are eagerly awaiting the return of the injured Kareem Gaye, Liam Kelly, Cory Thompson & Vince Van Nes.

Programme for Sunday September 28th 2008

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:42:05 +0100

Download it here: Blazers28Sept08.pdf

Home win for the Blazers!

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:03:21 +0100

A crowd of over 300 hundred watched the Senior Men’s Trail Blazer side take to the court for the first time this season against newly promoted Wellingborough Phoenix and the home team didn’t disappoint. Blazers without key player Kareem Gaye who injured his wrist in Thursday’s practice, forced Coach Asher to change her match strategy. (Head Coach Sylvain Donneaud was unable to coach due to attending a best friend’s wedding in France).

Blazers jumped out to an early lead as Captain Mark Jackson found Ollie Marsh with three quick fast breaks to begin the game and give the team their first baskets of a new season. Matt Warwick battled hard on the boards in the first quarter but pick up three fouls and had to sit down. There was much anticipation to see Norman Bilal, Blazers new signing from Uganda, in action but fans had to wait until the 2nd quarter as he arrived late. Blazers were leading by 5 going in the second where Bilal’s presence and phenomenal baseline drives demolished Wellingborough’s zone defence.

Liam Mitchell’s and England youth player Vince Van Nes worked industriously inside and unselfish play helped to secure open shots. 6’ 10” Van Nes made 2 spectacular blocks, sending the ball flying out of bounds, delighting the ‘roaring’ crowd! Duke, Peel & Darios came off the bench in the second and third quarters and continued the team’s tough defence and move movement. The home side lead by 7 at the half and extended that to 20 by the end of the third with their faced paced style of play.

Going into the forth Blazers were hoping to build on their 20 point lead but Wellingborough, forced to change defence slowly chipped away at the lead. Amazingly Blazers didn’t score their first points of the forth until 7 minutes had passed, by which time their lead was only 5, the visiting side taking advantage of some poor passes and a tired Blazer defence. A time out was requested by Coach Asher with 5 minutes remaining – she insisted that players removed any doubt as to who would win the game and that excellent defence was required until the final whistle! The players returned to the court in true Blazer style, outstanding ball movement and some tough half court defence led to some easy baskets for the Trailblazers. The final score 75-67.

Jackson 23, Mitchell 13, Bilal 12, Marsh 12, Van Nes 10, Darios 5

Match Sponsors Radcliffe & Co are delighted to support the Blazers and welcomed the win!

Blazers next fixture is in the National Cup competition v Brighton Cougars, on Sunday the 28th of September at St Mary’s Leisure Centre, tip off 1.20pm.

Programme for Saturday September 20th 2008

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:46:55 +0100

Download it here:

Blazers20Sept08.pdf

Get the trials info here...

Tue, 13 May 2008 19:30:47 +0100

Click here to download the trials info....
TrialsA3.pdf

A great bit of news that I totally forgot to post (Sorry! - Webmaster)

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:08:42 +0100

Southampton Trailblazers U16s are through to the England Basketball National Championship Final Fours for the 3rd time in 4 years beating Milton Keynes Lions 114 – 96! And Preston Pride 111 – 63!

V Milton Keynes
In the first quarter both teams sank four 3 pointers ending the quarter 16-12 to the Blazers! George Radford for the Blazers hit 3! This was a very intense and exciting game for the crowd, ‘end to end basketball’, as the Blazers took the lead to 24pts. The gutsy Lions were relentless, using their excellent skills and speed to get back in the game. 6’ 10” Vince Van Nes’ outstanding control of the boards was never an easy task, even at this height, the Lyons challenged him every time. England players Jack Kendall & James Blandford thrilled the crowd with a display of sublime shooting from all angles of the court! David Gardner’s awesome defence led to more points for him and his team mates.    As Lyon’s head coach Chris Smith expressed, “the harder the Lions guarded the perimeter, so a little more space became available for the jolly green giant and his mate to crash the opposition boards. We found their inside presence too much to handle and their experience at Premiership level meant we turned the ball over too much. These stats come back to haunt you and Southampton deserved their victory, but there’s no doubt that this 'David' will want to come back and fight goliath on another day”.

Blazers scores: Jack Kendall 32, James Blandford 26, David Gardner 16, Vince Van Nes 16, George Radford 14, Nat Hutchinson 6, Nathan Holland 5, Jon Pickering, Richard Mann & Owen Smith.

V Preston Pride
Blazers Overpowered visitors Preston Pride in the National Quarterfinals on Sunday at Mountbatten School, Romsey.

Preston who won the North West Conference to reach the last eight of the competition took a 3 – 2 lead at the start of the game but within a minute Southampton had the lead and with 3 minutes still to play in the first quarter led 23- 5. The visitors never gave up but it was clearly a matter of damage limitation’ with Southampton totally dominant in every department.
Southampton’s two England “big men” Vince Van Nes & Jack Kendall dominated under the basket at both ends of the floor whilst James Blandford produced another electrifying display; his finish to the end of the 3rd quarter consisted of two thrilling dunks, followed by a stunning three-pointer from near the halfway line as time ran down. All season long, the team has urged the mighty Van Nes to pull off one of his awesome dunks and in this, the last home match he did! Once again, David Gardner managed to score 3’s, rebound, hustle on ‘d’, and give ‘pin point’ passes to team mates.

Nathan Holland, Jon Pickering, Nat Hutchinson, Richard Mann and Owen Smith stepped onto the court to give the packed crowd a fine display of offence and defence, stealing the ball and making excellent moves to the basket.

Coach Asher comments, “This team is very special! Each player has been blessed with talents and gifts beyond their imagination! They consistently play as a team, there are no individuals, and they are selfless, committed and dedicated to each other and the sport! I feel honoured to work with such individuals.

James Blandford 28, Jack Kendall 22, Vince Van Nes 15, David Gardner 15, Nathaniel Hutchinson 12, Nathan Holland 8, George Radford 5, Jon Pickering 4, Richard Mann 2