Wheatcroft performance inspires Arrows to win

Arrows 59 Rotherham Hawks 54

Rory Wheatcroft’s performance at both ends of the court with 15 rebounds and 17 points was enough to carry an experimental Arrows U18’s squad to a pre season victory over the Rotherham Hawks by 59 – 54. There were a number of promising performances as the Arrows began the first of a number of matches that will bring them up to speed for the new season.

The Arrows with Will Hopper installed as point guard began the game well as baskets from Wheatcroft and Dennison broke the deadlock, however by the end of the quarter the teams could not be separated at 10 – 10. James Wilson brought some urgency to the proceedings and was rewarded with a smart basket.

In the second quarter the Arrows performed with a little more flow with “3 pointers” from Wheatcroft and Oakey plus a debut basket from Mutrimiri helping the Arrows to a 28 – 19 interval advantage. Callam Newsham made a solid defensive effort during this period negating the dangerous Kemp.

Nelson Mario and Rory Wheatcroft dominated the scoring for the Arrows in the third quarter as Will Hopper again ran the point to great effect however it was Rotherham who took the quarter and the Arrows lead was cut to 40 – 34.

The fourth quarter ebbed and flowed with the Hawks taking the lead at 52 – 48 on the back of consecutive “3 pointers”, however with only 4 minutes to go the Arrows summoned up an   11 – 0 run of scoring; two baskets from Matt Oakey with a smart finnish from Mitchell Dennison plus a “clutch” “3 pointer from Will Hopper and a pair of free throws from Rory Wheatcroft took the Arrows to victory which they closed out 59 – 54.

Scorers; Wheatcroft 17, Mario 12, Hopper 9, Oakey 7, Wilson 6, Dennison 6, Mutimri 2

There will be much for Arrows Coach Jonathan Kelly to ponder from this game; he should be pleased by the commitment and spirit shown by his team under pressure. Defensively they showed a great appetite to deny their opponents time and space however he will be concerned with the low scoring overall.