Thunder To Storm Into Manchester Saturday
 The
top two in Division One go head-to-head in Manchester on Saturday
when Magic host Worthing Thunder. Both sides go into the game
with 12 victories, but Magic have only one loss to Worthing’s
two.
While Thunder have lost against Derby Trailblazers and Sheffield
Arrows in the league, Magic’s only league defeat came
when they travelled to the south coast shortly before Christmas
and went down 93-84.
That game ebbed to and fro until eight straight points by
Cleve Woodfork early in the second quarter gave the home side
a 34-29 lead. Worthing maintained an advantage for the rest
of the half despite Magic’s Andrew MacKay’s three
treys.
The second half began with Adu and Steven Gayle finding gaps
in the Thunder defence to again tie it up at 45. Magic then
had their best spell in the game as threes from MacKay and
Gayle gave them their biggest lead just before the final break
at 62-56.
Mooney’s fifth triple gave Thunder a double digit lead
entering the final minute and the home side secured the victory.
Scott led all scorers with 35 points, to which he added 10
rebounds and 4 steals. Mooney added 22, with Woodfork hitting
19 and Bates finishing with a double-double of 10 points and
12 rebounds. Gayle led Manchester with 26, while Duncan Ogilvie
also had a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Magic coach Jeff Jones is in no doubt about the importance
of the game to the Manchester club:
"We’re expecting a sell-out and a great atmosphere.
It’s one of the most important games we’ve ever
had as a club. We want to build on the National Cup successes
and the club further."
With Thunder playing the National Trophy final against Reading
at the Amaechi Centre last week, Jones was able to get a good
look at both of his club’s title rivals:
"We got a first hand look at both Worthing and Reading
at the Trophy final last week, so that’s a good thing.
I thought Reading had a really good game-plan, and I imagine
they’ll expect us to do a similar thing.
"We need to make sure at least one, and preferably two,
of Scott, Woodfork and Mooney are under par, and ensure that
we’re not hurt by someone else.
"Reading showed their weaknesses, and we certainly need
to stop Scott penetrating and make it hard for him to get
the ball back when he passes it. He’s the catalyst and
he make good things happen. We also need to limit Mooney’s
jump-shot and make him work so we tire him and he’s
then less of a threat late in the game.”
While his team have only two games this season, Jones is still
looking for an improvement on Saturday:
"We need to improve our interior defence, we need to
box out well on Woodfork and Bates and not let anyone else
pick up the garbage. We can’t have a shooting night
like we did against Derby, because we were unbelievably bad
offensively last week. We need to show the same intensity
that Reading did, and try to disrupt them."
Magic will welcome back former Thunder guard Steven Gayle
after a two-game suspension following his ejection in the
Trophy semi-final loss at Worthing:
"I hope he’s learned his lesson," said Jones.
"If he’s got a point to prove against his previous
employer he needs to do it by winning the game. We didn’t
miss him against Leopards because we finished so strongly,
but he would have been a help against Derby last week as he
would have found a way to score."
The meeting in the Trophy semi-final proved to be an explosive
affair as Worthing made it six straight EBL finals with a
96-88 victory.
Thunder came storming out of the blocks, and despite five
early points from their former guard Gayle, they found themselves
16-7 up midway through the first quarter. With Magic in the
penalty early in the quarter, Thunder capitalised, scoring
11 of their 23 first quarter points from the foul line.
A Ryan Marrast three followed by two free-throws from Demetrius
Scott saw Thunder 28-13 up early in the second period.
Worthing maintained the double-digit lead throughout the second
quarter as the team worked well and kept finding the open
man. Magic were being led by Duncan Ogilvie, who continued
to trouble Worthing throughout and had 14 points at half-time
as the home side went in 49-38 up.
Magic chipped away at the lead in the third, but were unable
to make serious inroads and a Thunder 6-1 run to close the
period had them 69-57 up going into the fourth quarter. James
Mooney's basket midway through the period gave Thunder an
83-70 advantage, but any thoughts that the game was over were
ended as a Manchester 10-2 run brought the gap down to five
at 85-80. The run was marred by an incident between Marrast
and Gayle that saw both players ejected and sent to the locker
rooms.
With the game back on, Stefan Gill found his shooting range,
scoring seven quick points as the game came to an exciting
climax. Thunder held their nerve however, and an emphatic
Cleve Woodfork dunk (his fourth of the game) followed by two
free throws from hometown hero Pat Bates ensured the victory.
Scott led Thunder with 21, while Mooney added 17 and Bates
14. Ogilvie’s 26 led all scorers, with Gayle chipping
in with 22 and Gill adding 13.
The teams have also met in the last two National Cup finals
– with Magic winning on each occasion – and last
season’s playoff final, which saw Thunder complete a
league and championship double with a 102-94 success.
An awesome performance from Duncan Ogilvie led Manchester
Magic to a second straight National Cup final victory in January
as the north west side won 104-89.
Former England international Ogilvie finished with 28 points,
17 rebounds, two assists and as many steals as Jeff Jones’
team repeated last season’s victory. Patrick Dwyer added
21 points for the Magic, with his fellow American Jamal Hilliard
chipping in with 18. Worthing were led by Clevel Woodfork’s
26 points and ten rebounds, while Pat Bates also collected
a double-double of 18 points and 11 boards.
In the 2007 Cup final, Jeff Jones’ Magic side lifted
their first piece of senior silverware in their history when
they won 85-80 in Birmingham last season.
A storming fourth period saw them outscore Thunder 26-12 to
lift English basketball's oldest piece of silverware. Magic's
American guard Matt Miller collected the MVP trophy after
scoring 20 points, along with three rebounds, three steals
and five assists, while former Worthing guard Steven Gayle
(now a Magic player) led all scorers with 21 points.
The teams met again at the same venue in April’s Championship
playoff final, but this time it was Worthing who were left
celebrating following a 102-94 success.
Worthing's Alfredo Ott was named Most Valuable Player with
a highly impressive 31 point haul for the winners. Andy Thompson
and Miller led the Magic scoring with 20 points each. Thunder
led 75-65 going into the final break, but Manchester began
the fourth strongly and got to within three points (92-89)
following a Thomson basket with less than two minutes remaining.
However, just as it appeared that Magic would repeat their
National Cup final victory against the south coast side, Worthing
stepped up and they sealed the victory from the foul line.
Image - Dave Wagstaff
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