In their first of two meetings in just three weeks, Congleton hosted Manchester Kings, looking to bounce back from defeat against Preston in their last NBL fixture.
The Kings came into the game with 8 wins and only 2 defeats in their 10 games this season and immediately showed their quality in the first quarter, racing into a strong lead, dominating the play and scoring heavily whilst giving nothing away in defence, ending the period 1-27 up, giving the Grizzlies a mountain to climb.
The break gave Congleton a chance to regroup and switch up tactics, and it paid off in the second quarter with captain Ryan Simethy and Alex Kyrmalis amongst the scorers as the Grizzlies forced themselves into the game, ending the half with a score of 13-43.
Two quick-fire 3-point shots from Lennon Gardner and some good free-throws to take advantage of a string of fouls saw the third period start well for the Grizzlies and they were able to add a further 17pts onto their tally, playing their best basketball of the game as a team. However, the Kings were proving difficult to stop at the other end, scoring a further 27pts themselves and the 3rd quarter ended 39-70.
The 4th quarter was very even, seeing some neat baskets from Rohan Bradley and a classy 3-pointer from Kyrmalis, but there wasn’t to be a late comeback and the game finished 42-83 to the Kings.
Coach Ryan Anderson said; “We went into the game knowing it would be a physical battle - and they hit us hard in the first quarter and we just didn’t match them. We did get better as the game progressed, and once we began backing ourselves on shots, being more vocal as a team and closed the gaps defensively we did get some joy, so we need to bank that and take it forwards.”
MVP: Max McCleave & Lennon Gardner
MVP was awarded jointly to Max McCleave & Lennon Gardner.
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