25.10.2008 Shropshire Warriors U18 (Away) v Mansfield Giants U18 (Home) 73 : 78

Shropshire travelled to Mansfield with a strong squad but didnt know what to expect out of a Mansfield team that we were facing for the first time this season.

In the first half it became clear that the Giants boy's were a very well trained squad and were going to give the Warriors a stern test. Although the Giants did not shoot the ball very well Shropshire's inability to box out gave the Giants numerous second chance baskets. In the first half alone the Giants had 12 offensive rebounds that resulted in 14 points proving that doing the simple things is what counts. Shropshires other main problem in the game was turnovers. 3 of Shropshires starting line-up had 16 turnovers between them in the first half. With some of our main guys not looking after the ball the Warriors were making things very hard for themselves. Shropshire however got some good scoring from Jacob Swain (8 for 8 on free throws)  and we stayed in touch of the Giants.

The warriors went into the half trailing by 10 points, 42-32. Shropshire knew that defensive rebounding and looking after the ball is what they needed to do in the second half.

Shropshire came out in the 3rd quarter red hot. Robbie smith hit 4 straight 3 pointers along with 2 from point guard Ben parry to bring us up to level pegging the the Giants. We eventually started to rebound the ball with Jacob and Kenny controlling the boards (8 rebounds each) and we got back into the game. Shaun Skelly showed what a defensive force he could become in this quarter with 7 blocks (10 for the game) detering any of Mansfields drives to the basket. Ben parry (9 assists) also showed some good passing in the second half.

With the game on the line tho Shropshire couldn't get enough defensive stops to compliment their good offensive performance and Mansfield deservingly pulled away to a 78-73 victory.

MVP goes to Jacob for a complete performance. Although Robbie, Shaun and Ben all had impressive parts to this game Jacob played an all round great match.


Stats.

Ben Parry- 23 points, 9 assists, 3 steals, 9 turnovers, 1 charge drawn
Robbie Smith- 15 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 8 turnovers
Jack Whitehead- 3 points, 2 steals, 1 turnover
Jacob Swaine (MVP)- 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 8/8 free-throw (100%).... ballin
Kenny Jones- 9 points, 1 assist, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 7 turnovers, 0/1 free throws (0%)
Shaun Skelly- 8 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 10 blocks!!
Sam Taffinder- 1 steal
Sam Richardson- DNP
Zach Barnes- DNP
Phil Crum- 2 steals