Basketball: Troon Tornadoes title tilt in the balance

Oct 16 2009 by Mike Wilson

TROON Tornadoes senior men lost 84-79 away to Falkirk Fury and have now two wins and two losses in the league with all four games decided by six points or less.

Tornadoes led 24-19 going into the second quarter but a switch of defensive responsibilities allowed the Fury captain too much space and he rattled in 13 unanswered points.

Tornadoes went down by as many as 17 before they rallied and by half-time trailed 52-42. In the third quarter, Tornadoes applied a zone press and won the period 22-16. In the last quarter, Tornadoes again fell behind but Scott Frew made some key defensive plays.

With eight seconds to go, Tornadoes trailed 81-79 and had possession but a careless turnover meant they never got the opportunity to either tie or take the lead with a three point shot. Tornadoes had to foul to get possession and this gave Fury the opportunity to extend the lead and seal the win.

With the teams playing each other four times in the league, all is not lost and although Tornadoes have some talented players they will have to gel better in terms of team work.

Team: Scott Frew, Kareem Nassar, Ally Hornell, Ifadade Thomas, Fraser Smith, Stefan Loyen, Stefan Loyen (14 pts), Euan Campbell (capt), Andy Person (13 ptd), Jamie Frew, Ross Campbell, Dan Donnelly (16 pts).

On Friday, Tornadoes host Glasgow Storm at the Citadel (tip-off 8.15pm)

Tornadoes juniors are still looking for their first national league win after losing 75-73 to Glasgow Rens.

Tornadoes quickly trailed 4-0 but this proved to be a false dawn for Glasgow as Troon, playing some of their best basketball of the season, stormed 22-11 ahead, paced by seven points from Chris Savage.

In the second quarter, the more athletic Glasgow dominated the boards, pulling down rebounds at both ends and reduced the lead to 39-33 at the break.

In the second half, Tornadoes lost rhythm and Rens clawed back the deficit to 55-54, helped by the inability of the home team to keep control of the ball. The lead changed hands several times, before Troon hit foul trouble.

With 12 seconds left, Rens held a two point lead but Tornadoes ran an offence and got a good look at a three point shot which would have won the game but it hit the ring and Rens squeezed the win. Top scorers were Jordan McIlwraith (20), Robb Loughlan (12) and Josh McGillvary 10.

Tornadoes cadets got their season back on track with an 81-47 win over Glasgow Rens, racing 14-0 ahead before Glasgow called time out. Although Rens improved, Tornadoes still held a 19-10 lead into the second quarter.

Another good offensive quarter allowed Tornadoes to score 22 points thanks to strong inside play from captain Chris Savage and drives to the basket from Chris Miller. Defensive lapses in concentration and giving Rens too many offensive rebounds allowed them to score 18 points of their own but Tornadoes led 41-28 at the half.

Continually switching from man to man to zone defence stopped Rens getting into any offensive rhythm and limited them to only six third quarter points. Under 15 player Joshua McGilvery racked up 10 points and numerous rebounds as Tornadoes led 63-34 going into the final period.

Tornadoes were able to give extended court time to their under 15 players with excellent defence from twins Alan and Mark Gebbie and a solid offensive performance from Craig Moffat.

Team: Alan Gebbie (1 pt), Mark Gebbie (2 pts), Josh Hunter (4 pts, Hamish Forsythe (5 pts), Craig Moffat (2 pts), Gordon Hill, Chris Miller (28 pts), Daniel Forbes (7 pts, Ian Burns (2 pts), Chris Savage (captain 16 pts), Joshua McGilvery (14 pts).