MANCHESTER SWARM 74-84 teesside lions
(Q1: 13-23, Q2: 18-25, Q3: 19-12, Q4: 24-24)
TOP SCORERS:
- MANCHESTER SWARM: Louis Weaver/Elgin Govan (16 Pts); Joseph Swindells (12 Pts); Jayden Johnson/Ashley Havinden (9 Pts).
- TEESSIDE LIONS: Turner (22 Pts); Mitchell (19 Pts); Cousins (17 Pts).
Manchester Swarm bowed out of this season's edition of the National Cup at the 3rd round stage, coming up short against 2021/22 Division 3 Playoff champions Teesside Lions at NBPC Belle Vue. Having seen off local rivals Liverpool in a pulsating one-point game 2 weeks prior, the hosts entered the contest somewhat short-handed. Teesside arrived on the back of a tough victory over Sheffield Elite Academy.
Teesside came out of the gates quickly, asserting their size advantage over the Swarm, establishing 7-footer Theo Turner early on in the absense of Nathan Schall and Barry Webster. Manchester struggled to deal with the unique challenge of Turner in the first period, dealing with slight foul trouble in their front court as the Lions opened a 10-point cushion.
The second quarter saw a better offering from the Swarm, as they generated better offense. However a couple of defensive lapses allowed Teesside to creep out further in front ahead of the halftime break. The home side found themselves in the now all too familiar position of being down at the long break, and would be looking for a response to keep their cup run alive.
The third quarter saw Manchester crank up the intensity and begin to directly cahllenge the Teesside size on both ends, with Antonio Darkwa doing a sterling job of making Turner work on both ends of the court. Sparkplug guard Jayden Johnson played a big part in getting his squad moving in the right direction, pushing the tempo to chip away at the defict.
Stanza number four was a classic shootout, as both sides traded scores throughout the period. Elgin Govan scored all 16 of his points in the quarter as the spirited Manchester fightback ultimately fell short, and Teesside move on to face Myerscough Academy I in the 4th round.
Coach Mpofu said: "As far as our performance goes, this was a much better effort than the previous week. Credit to Teesside, they're a strong outfit. What I would like our guys to take away from this is the work we did in the second half, and how we can build on that. At the end of the day wew were ultimately too small today, but that's not gonna happen to often, and we know how to better deal with it. Now we can refocus on the league campaign and work to get back on the right track."
Manchester Swarm face Stockport Falcons on 29 October at the Stockport Sport for All Centre.
