Tigers off the mark

Current Trophy holders the Mersey Tigers revitalised themselves in a close 78-83 victory over local rivals the Cheshire Jets on Sunday night.

Cheshire Jet’s Matt Schneck led all scorers with a 22-point effort with support from team mate Adam Brown who collected 19.

The rampant Sheffield Sharks heavily beat the Tigers last week so a triumph over the Jets is just what the Merseysiders needed to get their campaign started.

The Tigers wasted no time in grabbing an early advantage with a 10-4 burst in the opening minutes. This helped them gain a comfortable lead of 22-14 at the end of the first period.

The Jets turned it around in the second quarter performing well at both ends of the court to go 36-29 in front. But the Tigers rallied, scoring five of the last seven points to trail by four at the break by 38-34.

The Jets came into the second half with all guns blazing, racing into a nine point advantage.  The two sides exchanged blows to keep the game close, but former Jet Calvin Davis nailed a three pointer to end the third quarter with the tigers leading by eight at 51-59.

Jets Captain Conor O’Reilly sunk a basket midway through the final stanza to keep the home side ahead with the score at 71-67.  With 1:24 on the clock ticking down, Myles Hesson scored a three to start an 11-3 run for the tigers that gained them a four point advantage at 74-78. Adam Brown brought the Jets back within two points but it was not enough, as the tigers held on for the all important W.

Meanwhile in Scotland, The Glasgow Rocks battled the Durham Wildcats to a narrow 75-70 victory. Mychal Green contributed 19 points to the Rocks impressive win, but it was the brilliant Ralph Bucci that led all scorers on the night with 24 points for the Wildcats.