BASKETBALL: Titans Purple secure their first win

Northamptonshire Titans Purple picked up a long-awaited first win of the season as they beat City of Birmingham Rockets II 90-70 in the U16 Boys Midlands West Conference.
Emma Wickham battles for possession during Titans win over Leicester Warriors in the U16 Girls North ConferenceEmma Wickham battles for possession during Titans win over Leicester Warriors in the U16 Girls North Conference
Emma Wickham battles for possession during Titans win over Leicester Warriors in the U16 Girls North Conference

The team, newly-formed for this current campaign, opened with an 11-0 run thanks to Isaac Round, Ben Hooper and Deimantas Cebatoriunas and they went on to lead 24-7 after the first quarter.

A change in tactics from Titans’ coach going into the second half set the quarter off in good terms as Round pulled the trigger for a three-pointer which landed and was quickly followed by another two from Cebatoriunas.

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Yet another scoring run from Titans of 13-0 ensued and they went into the final period with a healthy 82-49 advantage.

Confidence was high for the fourth quarter and, although it was their worst of the game, Titans completed the win.

They will now hope to make it two in a row when they host Team Birmingham Elite at Weavers this weekend.

Titans top scorers: Round 33, Dinari Williams-Brown 26, Hooper 15.

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City of Birmingham Rockets II were also the opponents for Titans in the U14 Boys Midlands West Conference and the county team maintained their push for a play-off place with a big 120-35 success.

It took the young Rockets until the seventh minute to put some points on the board by which time Titans had scored 20.

With the scoreline at 68-12 at half-time, Titans could afford to take their foot off the gas but they still managed to cruise their way to their biggest total of the season.

Six of the Titans reached double figures with Benji Leesing leading the way with 27 points.

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The other players with double-digit contributions were Isaac Round (21), Sean Rawlins (20), Lorenzo Williams (13), Harry Mitchell (11) and Ben Hooper (10).

With four league games remaining, Titans only need two wins to guarantee their place in the play-offs.

Titans’ dominance in the U16 Girls North Conference continued with a 94-56 win at Leicester Warriors as Lauren Dabbs top-scored with an impressive 44 points.

Titans continued their winning run in the U16 Boys North Premier with a 110-60 victory over Newcastle Eagles.

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Titans were in control from the start and led 30-13 after the first quarter with Jude Carmichael being allowed to score freely.

Titans were able to take their foot off the offensive gas in the third but Sam Grant finished the quarter with a three-point buzzer beater and Titans moved through the final quarter to seal a clear win with five players on double figures.

Titans top scorers: Carmichael 29, Grant 20, Diarra Layne 12, Ben Nailer 11, Jacob Cirtautas 10.

With several players unavailable, Northamptonshire Titans travelled to take on South Bucks Comets in the U12 Boys Bucks League with just six players.

But that didn’t stop them from recording another win.

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The lack of players meant they started the game 10-0 down but at the end of the first quarter the gap had been closed to just six points as they trailed 14-8.

However, Comets were prevented from scoring in the second and Titans went into the mid-game break 20-14 ahead.

Titans continued to play well as a team at both ends of the court through the second half and thoroughly deserved their 49-17 victory.

Highlights included Dimitris Makrakis’ buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter, William Baker’s rebounding and Ethan Round’s six out of six from the free-throw line.