York men’s 1sts secured a well-earned four points in the basketball in front of a packed Lancaster Sports Centre after a thrilling victory against their Roses rivals.
Having suffered a 75-32 trouncing at home last year, the White Rose will have feared a similar fate after being behind at the end of each of the first three quarters.
The first ten minutes proved a frantic affair, with both sides looking to establish a foothold in the game. Lancaster fielded a number of smaller players from the start which enabled them to launch quick and aggressive offensives, one of which led to the first two points of the match.
But York more than held their own, defending admirably and netting a number of successful throws themselves. Even when Lancaster threatened to pull away at 9-6, a stunning three-pointer from captain Andreas Boedt levelled the scores. The “black and gold” eventually ended the first quarter 11-9 down, but only as a result of a number of missed free throws.
The game, however, threatened to slip away when Lancaster started the second quarter as they did the first, extending their lead to 18-13. It took another three-pointer to keep within touching distance, and as the game became more stretched, continuous end-to-end offensives led to a flurry of points and the scores at 29-25 to the hosts at the halfway mark.
Once again, Lancaster were quickest out of the blocks in the third quarter, but a York five-point salvo brought the game to 31-30. By this point, more and more supporters had begun filtering onto all four sides of the court to witness such a tight encounter. The match seemed to be taking a remarkable twist when York established a three point lead, before Lancaster replied with six consecutive points to make it 43-40 at the end of the quarter.
But the boys in black and gold would not have to wait long for a turn in fortunes. The visitors found an extra gear in the final quarter and ran the Lancaster team ragged, finding time and space to score point after point. With five minutes to go, York led 50-45, and despite Lancaster’s efforts to mount a comeback, cries of “Defence!!” from the York touchline were testament to an incredible show of discipline in the final moments.
With seconds left on the clock, York extended their lead to 57-50, winning a stunning final quarter 17-7.
Given Lancaster men’s higher BUCS ranking, victory will have felt all the more satisfying, particularly in front of a feisty (and eventually silenced) home crowd.
But the most incredible news came in the interviews which followed the game, when team members Andreas Boedt and Karolis Kinčius exclusively told Vision that the club had hired a manager as late as two weeks before the game, a man only referred to as “Pepe” by the team.
Boedt believes that the team “would not have won this game without the coach”, and that “we are really limited in what we can do” with current university funding, which is unable to cover the hiring of a permanent coach. Kinčius added that the university “don’t really focus on sport except for, like, rugby”.
Despite such stern calls for fresh funding, Kinčius was delighted with the “nice atmosphere” at the Sports Centre and considers Roses “the most important game” for York men’s basketball.