National League 2^nd Division North

The Rhinos 2^nd team travelled to Rossett in Wrexham on Saturday looking to extend their seasons’ unbeaten start to six games.

They were playing the newly promoted Celtic Warriors who came into this game with one win and two losses so far in their campaign.

Rhinos were without Piers Baynton and long-term absentee Adam Crinage, but did have Head Coach Sinclair Thomas back from his international coaching commitments.

The Warriors were quickly out of the blocks and went 4 – 2 in front inside the first couple of minutes thanks to two baskets from Christine Doyle.

Kyle Marsh, a member of the Great Britain Development squad, then scored his second basket of the game to level the scores at 4 – 4.

This was the start of a blistering 18 – 0 run for the Rhinos as they stamped their mark on the game with baskets coming from all of the starting five, including one from the improving Amar Dehar who enjoyed a rare start.

Rhinos were putting pressure on the ball when they were defending and although the Warriors were picking well to release the pressure, they weren’t able to get high percentage shots off which the Rhinos took full advantage of leading 26 – 8 at the end of the 1^st quarter. Marsh scored ten points personal.

An early basket from Doyle at the start of the second period put the Warriors into double figures, but six unanswered baskets in four minutes gave Rhinos a twenty-eight point margin.

Marsh again scored ten points personal in the quarter, and even with the home team closing the gap slightly through able-bodied player Paddy Forbes scoring late on, the game was seemingly over as a contest at the half-way mark with Rhinos 42 – 16 up.

Both teams started the 3^rd quarter slowly with only five baskets being scored in the first six minutes but it did have a similar pattern to it as all five baskets were from the Rhinos.

With Coach Thomas using his bench, the Warriors decided to put on a full court press and managed to pick up a couple of turnovers and some cheap baskets.

Coach Thomas reacted to this by calling a time-out and putting his own full court press on for the final minute of the quarter.

Rhinos scored two baskets in this time to Warriors’ one, to win the quarter 20 – 10, for a lead of 62 – 26.

Rhinos’ own able-bodied player Tom Budd showing his potential with twelve points personal in the period.

Warriors scored first in the 4th quarter, before Rhinos hit them with seven points in two and a half minutes.

Both teams then exchanged baskets until with four and a half minutes left on the clock and the score at 71 – 30, Coach Thomas subbed on a less experienced line-up and challenged them to get to 80 points before the end of the game.

Two baskets apiece from Budd and 13 year old Fran Ray put Rhinos on 79 points with one minute left.

On their next offence Matt Walters managed to find space and some quick ball movement found him open for a lay-up which he scored to get Rhinos to the eighty point mark.

There was still time for Warriors to score again before the end of game but the result of 81 – 38 to Rhinos gave them the victory they deserved.

Scorers: Rhinos: Marsh 28, Budd 25, Docherty 10, Wager 6, Peasley 4, Ray 4, Walters 2, Dehar 2.

Warriors: Forbes 14, Doyle 8, Causton 4, Flanagan 4, Grime 4, Ballard-East 2, Allerston 2.

Rhinos’ next game is a top of the table clash away to Steelers in Sheffield on the 9^th December.