Club

A small team of seven Blues players made the trip to face Nottingham’s 1st team. A lack of height was visible early on as the Blues were out-rebounded on both the offensive and defensive ends. The much improved Nottingham team held a solid lead at the half. Despite an attempt to regain momentum, the Nottingham defence proved formidable.

After a disappointing showing, the Blues lost, 60-84.

The Blues took to the court in Oxford with an air of seriousness. A win would mean that the league championship was still under contention; a loss would place the Blues in the middle of their division. In the first three minutes of the game, Oxford Brookes’ team demonstrated its strengths. A fast-paced offense as well as sharp outside shooting left the Blues with a 6 point deficit. Brookes’ lead extended to ten after the first quarter, reached 16 in the second and finally settled at 13 at the half.

Despite the early disappointment, the Blues mounted a ferocious comeback. Leopold Parts battled on the inside outscoring and outrebounding both of Oxford’s centres. Nikos Bamiedakis and Atticus Honore pounded the Oxford defence, repeatedly penetrating to its core and scoring. Richard Martin, who also runs for Cambridge University athletics, outpaced his defender and caught several fast-break passes to contribute easy buckets. Post play by Hugo Halferty Drochon, Evan Hall and Damjan Pfajfar also lifted the Blues to a new level of play.

At the end of the third quarter, the Blues were within two points of the now tottering Brookes squad. Sensing their opponents fear, the truculent Cambridge side continued to increase the pressure. Sunith DeFonseka and Chris Bohn spearheaded a zone defence which left Oxford with few scoring opportunities. With one minute in regular play, the score was tied. A foul call against the Blues gave the Brookes two free shots, and a steal rewarded the opponents with another two points.

The final score was Blues 74, Brookes 78.

Travelling to East Anglia, the Blues needed to regain their momentum after a disappointing loss to Oxford earlier in the week. A slow start, however, gave UEA a ten point lead after the first quarter. Coach Angelo Favia devised a switching defence in the huddle, but a tremor interrupted the meeting as player Damjan Pfajfar fell to the ground in a seizure.

Fortunately, medical attention was on hand, but the former Blues’ president was rushed to the hospital. Left with eight players, the Blues began their shooting spree: Atticus Honore stroked some jumpers from the perimeter; Hugo Halferty Drochon performed post moves that can only be described by the phrase “c’est magnifique”; Richard Martin sliced to the offensive rim for some acrobatic conversions. With seconds left in regulation, a drive by Honore evened the score and the game was pushed into overtime.

As the Blues gained a thundering rhythm, foul trouble began to arise. Fouls at the beginning of overtime meant that only five players were still eligible to play. The mayhem mounted as subsequent calls left the Cambridge squad with only four. Playing a 2-2 zone against a UEA side of 5, the Blues continued to outpace their opponents. A last second “Hail Mary” shot by Leopold Parts took the game into a second overtime. Foul calls continued, however, and soon there were only three Blues left. Coach Favia instructed his remaining three players to drop back into a 1-2 zone. A technical foul against Atticus Honore for his behaviour on the bench was accompanied with yet another player foul. Richard Martin did his best to defend against three UEA offensive players while Hugo Halferty Drochon picked up the remaining two.

Despite every effort, the match-up between 2 Blues players and 5 UEA players ended unsurprisingly in UEA’s favour, 75-78.