Arrows almost shoot down the Eagles in Thriller up north

Derbyshire Arrows 63 Newcastle Eagles 74

The Arrows U14s almost provided the biggest shock of recent times as they almost came out of Newcastle with a victory. The Newcastle Eagles had been unbeaten in the league last year winning all 16 of their games and the Arrows came close to becoming their first ever league loss.

The Arrows youngsters travelled up to Newcastle knowing that they were up against the defending champions with only 6 players. Although upbeat about the last victory against Leeds Tigers, the Arrows were aware of Newcastles record so far. The game started tight with scores from Dennison, Walcott and Hicken scores to keep it 12-8 after 7 minutes, but the Eagles put a run together and finished the quarter ahead 25-10.

The second quarter showed the Arrows come out of their shell and started to score freely with James Bennett getting on the score sheet along with Dennison who scored heavily. However the tide was not turned completely as the Eagles were also able to score and win the quarter leaving the half time score 29-49 in the Eagles favor.

Coach Jonathan Kelly called for aggresive play and no fear for the second half and the Arrows responded in style. Tough defense, rebounding and attacking the basket brought success as Hicken, Walcott and Dennison caught fire. The Arrows started the 3rd quarter with a 18-3 run to bring the game down to 5 points, before the Eagles rallied with a 6-2 run to end the quarter. The Arrows won the quarter 20-9 with a reamarkable effort.

With one quarter to go the Arrows believed the unlikely was possible, and trading baskets at the start of the quarter kept the game in the balance. Ellis Salim was then fouled out after a fine performance and the Arrows 6th player and only player, young Wadha Hassan made an impact. The 12 year old scored two baskets for the Arrows to keep the game tight at 7 points. Unfortunately for the brave Arrows, the Eagles slowed their offense down and time ran out wit the Eagles being victorious 74-63.

The young Arrows team will be optimistic in winning the second half by 9 points and with 3 of the 6 players only appearing in their second ever game, there is room to improve and a succesful season could be on the cards.

Arrows Scorers; Dennison 29, Walcott 21, Hicken 12 Hassan 4, Bennett 2