Jets on the up after win over Lions

Cheshire Jets claimed a well deserved 85-76 win in the BBL Championship at home against Milton Keynes Lions, holding on and closing out in the final quarter, what has been a weak point for them throughout the season.

New signing Milan Psaltou, who touched down in Chester just today was in the crowd watching on to see the Jets’ second win on the bounce.

Howard Crawford for the Lions helped his team take the initial spoils in the first quarter, with a lead of six points midway through, but Jets’ Bill Cole was on hand to steer the home side back on course tying the scores at 15-15 late on, with Adam Brown and Matt Schneck putting them ahead by four going into the break.

The second quarter was key for Cheshire as they sought to stamp their authority on court and on the scoreboard.

It was alien for some of the fans to see captain Colin O’Reilly work inside and make the points, but there was no stopping him as his baskets, alongside Brown’s, pushed Cheshire out to a six point lead until Demarius Bolds hit the first three pointer of the night.

However, it was not to muster much of a response from Lions as Cheshire made the ball do the work for them. An 11-2 run for the home team and a great sense of camaraderie and togetherness was clear for all to see. It was just the dream quarter the Jets could have had to take them into the locker room, with O’Reilly finishing off to put the scores 42-30.

MK Lions had it all to do if they were to pull it back, but early in the third stanza it seemed they were up for a challenge.

Brown got an early two points for the Jets, before Crawford and Bolds brought the score to within eight points. However a 9-2 run by the Jets, which saw O’Reilly bag his and his team’s first from outside the arc, restored the lead. Crawford’s four points in response seemed futile as another two three pointers from O’Reilly and Keith Page took the lead to 17. The response from Lions was immediate, as an 8-2 run of their own meant the quarter finished with them having taken the deficit down to 11. A small start for what was about to be a big finale.

Almost within a few seconds of the restart, sub Nathan Schall for Cheshire stole the ball and made an emphatic dunk which shook the Northgate, soon followed by another basket from Cole. It was even more misery piled on to the Lions’ shoulders as Cheshire further extended the lead to 18 points.

However, they were not to be beaten down and with Bolds seeming to make things work on court for the Lions, Pedroso and Youngblood were on hand to make the shots count with a 10-2 run. Despite this, both teams were in foul trouble, Matt Schneck for Cheshire was the first to remain seated for the night, before the talismanic Bolds was to suffer the same fate.

This all but put paid to the charge by the visitors, but Stefan Gill and Youngblood brought the game to within just 7 points before Brown, who claimed a double-double of 31pts and 10 rebounds, rounded off the game with two late free throws to win 85-76.

After the game Cheshire’s coach John Lavery seemed positive after seeing his side’s second successive victory: “Any win is a good win; we’ll take anything we can at the moment. Obviously we need to move up that table as quick as possible.

“There was some good basketball out there, at times I thought we were a bit lacklustre, we didn’t come out with a lot of energy but I think we did enough to get that win, so the guys are pleased and I’m pleased.”

In terms of how well his side coped collectively: “We held it together, the guys that came off the bench did a really good job for us, when people were getting fouls, and they came on and did a few minutes here and there, everybody worked as a team. There are no individuals that are going to win you a game, it’s a team game and a team effort and I think we did a good performance tonight.”

With only the third home win this season, and considering their position in the league table, Lavery isn’t getting too excited, but is taking every game as an opportunity to stake a claim in the playoffs: “Any win can boost your confidence when you come into a locker room when you get a loss it’s basically really quiet like a morgue, but after a W all the guys are upbeat, full of energy, so that’s going to help us, but it doesn’t matter if it’s a team like tonight, Durham Wildcats or whoever; as long as you get that W that’s the main thing.”

Speaking about his new signing Milan Psaltou, unveiled to the fans at half-time, he commented: “He’s a great scorer, he plays defence, he’s very athletic, and so with our rotation I think he’s going to do a really good job for us. We’ve got to get him into the sets and team structure, once we do that I think we’ll be strong and hopefully we can have a good run and make the playoff spot.”

Jets: Brown (31), O’Reilly (24) Cole/Schneck (10)
Lions:  Bolds (21) Crawford (20), Youngblood (16)
Cheshire Jets: 19, 42, 61, 85
MK Lions: 15, 30, 50, 76