Blackstone second string tame the Tigers

Blackstone set the pace in the opening quarter taking the lead by six points only to be pulled back.

Gavin Gillan was hard to handle under the basket for Andersonstown. The power forward shot 8 points for the Blackstone taking rebounds and making moves to give his team the lead.

The second quarter opened badly for the Blackstone as the Tigers caught the home defence on the back foot for six points.

Craig shot two points from the free throw line and Hayes set in on the break but these were rare scores from a Blackstone offence out of rhythm.

Blackstone managed to score only 13 points to Andersonstown's 23 in this phase as a result of poor shot selection and some sloppy defence as the Tigers closed the half in the lead 30–38.

The third quarter saw the Blackstone put some good scoring opportunities together, mainly through their fast break as Aaron Brown put up eight points on the scoreboard assisted by Hillis and Cassley.

Brown was the major threat for the Blackstone as the others struggled to find any accuracy from long range. He top scored in the game with 23 points mainly through getting in for fast scores on the break.

The final quarter saw the Blackstone young guns trying to close the gap with a man to man full court press and this created a good tempo for the home team. The pressure in the front court was effective as the swarming Blackstone defence caused a series of turnovers that were dispatched by Brown and Hillis to quickly close the gap.

In the closing minutes Kieran Cassley was to steal on the half and set in the lay up. He crowned his equalising lay up with a welcomed three pointer that put the Blackstone ahead by three 75 -72 as the final seconds ticked down. Tigers were not to give up so easily and Bautete tied the game with a long range effort.

In the over time it was all Blackstone as they persisted with their pressure. Hillis, Brown and Lyness all made scores to seal a comfortable 9 point victory.

ULSTER PREMIER LEAGUE

Star 64, Blackstone 53: Blackstone had no joy on the road last week against Belfast Star when they blew out of the game in the final quarter.

Aaron Brown shot from three point range to open the scoring then the Blackstone guards found Peter McNicholl under the basket on three occasions to give him good scoring opportunities. McNicholl used his power to draw the fouls that sent him to the free throw line for 4 scores.

McNicholl was up for the contest and shot two more from the perimeter before Brown got in for a breaking score and was fouled to go to line giving the Blackstone a one point deficit at 16–15. Three scores for Star again left the gap at seven but McNicholl brought up 19 points with his shooting on the perimeter.

The second quarter opened brightly for the Blackstone took as Adam Hillis and Peter McNicholl shot two three pointers to give the visitors the lead which they maintained until the half, while McDonald and Hillis again score from three point range to bring up a 26–30 lead and the half was secured as the Gillan brothers made six points in the key going strong to the hoop.

The third and fourth quarter saw the Blackstone struggle to hit the target as they lost control of their offence not through pressure from Belfast Star but as a result of squandered chances and lack of discipline in their offensive shapes.

In the third they played solid enough in defence restricting Star to 12 points but they could only manage 8 points in offence.

McNichol and Hillis who had set the pace in the opening encounters were missing from the score sheet in the second half and this hurt the visitors.

In the fourth quarter the Blackstone defence crumbled letting Star in for 8 points without reply from scores inside the key.