Nailsea Closes out Tough Road Game to Stay Atop League Standings

February 14, 2007 on 6:38 pm | In General

On February 7th 2007, Nailsea’s last away game of the regular season was played out against a hungry Trowbridge side, looking for an upset win over the league leaders.

Playing without defensive mainstays Brian Gleeson and Nick Oldfield the remaining Nailsea players would have to step up defensively to ensure the victory.

From the tip off Nailsea looked a step slow, applying little defensive pressure and being beaten on the boards by the energetic Trowbridge team. Offensively forward Jon Moore carried the load, taking advantage of the smaller home team to score inside baskets, Moore finished as top scorer with sixteen points. With the clock winding down on the first quarter Nailsea were down, 14-17, but were granted a reprieve as point guard Marcus Driver was fouled on his buzzer beating three point attempt. All three foul shots were converted and the first period ended with the score tied at seventeen.

Trowbridge looked to capitalise on their promising start, continuing to exploit Nailsea’s defensive weakness and lacklustre rebounding to score baskets in the paint. Despite switching from a zone defense to a man to man approach Nailsea found themselves unable to stem the tide of the Trowbridge offense. Guard Driver was unable to maintain his first quarter form and found himself stripped of the ball by the opposing point guard on three separate occasions; each leading to a fast break bucket for the home team. A disappointing first half saw Nailsea six points down at the half.

Following a short break Nailsea took the floor to begin the second half with coach/captain Jason Boulton on the court for the first time in the game in the hope of bolstering the team at both ends of the floor. Things would get worse before they got better however, Nailsea sinking to a ten point deficit during the third. Eventually the team rallied behind Boulton to reduce Trowbridge’s lead to three before the final quarter. Nailsea’s defense began to look more solid and produced a number of fast break scoring opportunities; guard Jake Watkins converting on a number of drives to the basket.

With only the final quarter remaining and still trailing by three points Nailsea had work to do to come away with the win. The home side seemed tired and demoralised by Nailsea’s come back, but knew that there was everything to play for. Nailsea continued to work hard on the defensive end, forcing turnovers and capitalising on missed shots by the home team. For much of the fourth quarter the teams were within one or two points of each other and the pressure of each possession saw mistakes being made by both teams. With four minutes left in the game Nailsea took the lead for good, this seemed to act as a breaking point for Trowbridge, who quickly found themselves eight points behind. The final score stood at 62-54. The second half efforts of captain Jason Boulton earned him MVP honours for the game, scoring eleven points but also anchoring the defense and providing more structure to the offense.

Nailsea now has just two regular season games remaining, both at home. Winning both would secure the top slot in the league and give the team the best possible chance in the playoff rounds.