Cup Basketball: York 1sts 100-40 Sunderland 2nds

York men’s basketball 1sts coasted through to the quarter-finals of the BUCS Northern Conference Cup, defeating Sunderland 2nds by 60 points.

Despite freezing temperatures in the tent, Sunderland found Paul Tobin, Colin Hill and Andreas Boedt too hot to handle as the trio amassed at least 15 points each for their team.

York were workmanlike during the first two quarters, establishing a 38-22 lead. They then turned on the style in the latter two quarters, in which Hill scored all of his points, as Sunderland’s defence was torn to shreds.

Northumbria 2nds await them in the quarter-finals after they beat Leeds Met 5ths 80-48 on Wednesday, but if York’s performance is replicated Northumbria will have cause for concern at the very least.

York started the first quarter brightly, moving the ball swiftly from side to side thanks to the sharp passing of Sam Bentley.

Boedt was also tenacious with his tracking back and regular interceptions, and he proved to be a real nuisance for Sunderland as York developed rapid attacks.

Time after time, York’s players were able to surge straight through the Sunderland defence and lay the ball up into the basket. By contrast, Sunderland struggled to penetrate and often resorted to speculative long-range shots. By the end of the first quarter, York led 20-7.

York then made three changes, throwing on Jassen Liu, Janis Zicans and Colin Hill. However, the second quarter was a more even affair as Sunderland were allowed more space on the counter-attack and York lost their discipline slightly, conceding several free throws.

Notable baskets included three-pointers for John Taptas, Dan Baark and Bentley as well as Liu’s lay-up after he received a pass from Rowlands lying on the ground.

In the third quarter, Sunderland went for all-out attack in an attempt to reduce the arrears from 38-22 down, but it proved to be a disastrously premature strategy.

Bentley and Baark scored early points, and Taptas intercepted an offensive pass and scored within a couple of seconds.

Then York profited from a bizarre basket. Dan Baark, on the left of the court, attempted a routine chest pass to the right, but the ball deflected off Sunderland player Calvin’s right arm to loop preposterously into the basket.

That made the score 48-25 and Sunderland seemed to feel the whole world was against them and complained about the cold conditions a whole lot more than the York players.

Centre Paul Tobin was beginning to enjoy himself, knocking in one basket which was on its way down from Lange’s initial shot.

Hill was also scoring for fun, receiving pass after pass from Janis Zicans and proving clinical at the basket. On one occasion, the American spun 180 degrees and slammed home all in one devastating move.

With the final quarter starting at 65-33 to York, it was simply a case of how many York wanted to score, and their positive attitude earned them a deserved century of points.

They were also helped by the tiring Sunderland players who were sluggish in attending their defensive duties, allowing the pace of Baark and Bentley in particular to add to their tallies.

And Boedt scored another memorable basket, producing a circus shot and fending off the attentions of two Sunderland players.

Bentley also showed his skill with a cheeky reverse pass which Lange dispatched, while George Rowland went on a late scoring spree as York searched for 100 points.

The milestone finally arrived within the last 20 seconds of play as Boedt produced a simply lay-up to cap a marvellous performance.

Afterwards, Sam Bentley said although there were a couple of outstanding individual displays, he was ‘thoroughly pleased that the whole team played well and gelled as a unit’ and that this ‘reflects well in the result.’

Vision MOTM: Colin Hill