Taunton Tigers gave a stirring performance in this tense National Cup 2nd round game at Wellsprings on Sunday. Unfortunately, though, they fell just short of knocking out opponents from a higher division.
Check out the second half videoof the game or watch it on Vimeo. The match report continues below.
The new–look Tigers are still gelling as a unit, and they took some time to find their rhythm against a well–drilled Marjon side. In the first half the visitors were able to make scores both inside and from distance, while Taunton struggled to find fluency on offense.
A deficit, which stood at 3 points at the end of the first quarter, opened up alarmingly in the second and they trailed 29 – 41 going into the locker room.
The two teams traded baskets after the break. Points from Kev Anderson and Adam Rickwood kept Tigers just in touch, but they couldn't make any inroads into the Plymouth lead. That was, until new Head Coach, Gary Carter, called a time–out with the score at 39 – 51 with just under 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Immediately after the re–start they burst back into the game behind baskets from Scott Speed, Mark Schroeder and Dan Howe.
Then, as time in the quarter ran down, there was a huge shift in momentum. Schroeder came up with a massive block just as Plymouth looked like picking up 2 easy points, and Joe Saunders followed up with a huge 3–pointer. That capped an 11 – 2 run which had brought the home side right back into the match. They were just 51 – 53 down going into the final period.
Tigers kept the pressure up in the 4th quarter. Mike Sebire, who was having an inspirational match at both ends of the court, tied the game at 55 – 55. Then, with just 3 minutes to go, two 3–point shots from Alastair Bird gave Taunton the lead (61 – 59) for the first time since the opening minutes. The lead then exchanged hands several times but it was Marjon who delivered the final blow, when they sank a 3–pointer with just 30 seconds to go.
After the game Carter reflected on a tough two days
“That's been a difficult, emotional weekend against possibly the toughest opponents we'll face all year. But we clearly showed that we're developing well as a team”