Apr 05: Westside win Middlesex Cup but lose in playoffs

It was a weekend of mixed fortunes as Westside were in action on Saturday in the Middlesex Cup final and on Sunday in the EBL playoff quarterfinals. The opposition in Saturdays final were the league leading Roccos Raiders and with both teams having beaten each other by 5 points, this was going to be a competitive encounter. In the first quarter, it was Westside who came out stronger, establishing their defensive intensity from the beginning to open up a ten point lead. In the second quarter it was more of the same until foul trouble began to hinder the team from Shepherds Bush and the Raiders began to claw their way back into the game from the foul line as the first half finished 29 - 26.

At the start of the third, the Raiders came out strong with a 9 point run to take the lead but Westside steadied themselves and once again drew back the deficit to go into the last quarter with the game still in the balance. In the fourth, Westside struck first as the opened up a double digit lead but the Raiders refused to quit and managed to close within 4 points with 3 minutes remaining. Fouls were now starting to play an important part of the game and the momentum swung to the Raiders as Daniel Worku and Patrick Omigie fouled out. Both teams continued to trade baskets for the next two minutes and with 10 seconds left, Westside led by 3. Raiders drove the ball looking for a tying score and the Westside defence rotated and covered the first options but they managed to find an open man who drilled a three pointer with time expiring to send the game into overtime tied at 75.

In overtime, Westside started sluggishly and were down by 5 points but once again came back to establish a narrow one point lead with 1 minutes remaining. Their defence just took over in the last minute and after scoring inside, they forced a vital turnover with 12 seconds remaining and the Raiders were forced to foul as Westside ended the game with free throws to win 86 - 82. Coach Frank Lamptey commented "It was a hard fought game with neither teams conceding much but we never quit even when were down and deserved to win. This victory gives us our first silverware of the season and hopefully, we'll be able to add a few more by the end of the season".

On Sunday, Westside travelled to Birmingham to face Aston Athletics in the quarterfinals of the EBL Division 3 playoffs as they looked to build on their previous days success and their runners-up position in the league. After trading baskets in the first few minutes, the home team scored 7 consecutive points to open up a 7 point lead midway through the first quarter and despite Coach Lampteys timeout, this continued as the score at the end of the first quarter was 24 - 13. At the beginning of the second, the lead grew to 15 points before four three pointers brought Westside back into contention as the first half finished 36 - 29.

At halftime, Coach Lamptey gave his team a stern talking to and this seemed to kickstart them into action as they scored the first seven points of the quarter to tie the score forcing Aston to call timeout. Aston scored on the next possession to regain the lead but with the momentum with Westside, they outscored 10 - 2 to lead by 6 points. Aston called time again but this time came back with a 7 point run of their own to lead by 1 going into the final quarter. At the start of the fourth, Westside started well to lead by 4 but Aston came back to tie the score and both teams contined to trade baskets. The score was tied at 58 with 2 minutes remaining and Westside ball but a controversial travelling call from the referee gave Aston the ball. On the next possession, they score a threepointer and then made a layup to lead by 5 with forty seconds left. Westside scored quickly to reduce the lead to 3 and then fouled quickly. Aston made 1 of 2 from the line but another Westside score made it 64 - 62 with 12 seconds left. Another quick foul sent Aston to the line and once again, they made 1 of 2 from the line. With 8 seconds left and no timeouts Westside had to look for a opening and managed to get off a three pointer which didn't drop for a final score of 65 - 62.

Westside Coach commented "We missed an opportunity to progress today with our poor start to the game but we fought back and deserved to win. The officials played their part as there was a big discrepancy in the fouls called on both teams (24 - 14). However, we have nothing to be ashamed for as we have shown that we are definitely one of the top teams in the division and still may be promoted to Divison 2 if we are able to attract local sponsorship for the team".

<Back