- Teams
Premier team lose at Solihull
15th November 2008
Solent L82-88 Six Form College Solihull
Prior to the start of the game there were concerns over the lack of run off on the court with just 12 inches space on one end. Apparently England Basketball had approved the facilities so the game had to go on. Fortunately there were no injuries; hopefully Solihull can end the season that way.
Kestrels were always playing catch up closing the gap, only to see Solihull pull away again. Having lost the 1st quarter by 2 points 27 – 25, Kestrels won the second by a single point to close out the half down 1 at 45 – 44.
The 3rd quarter was lost by a single point giving Solihull a 2 point lead at 61 – 59, still easily within Kestrels grasp. The final period ran the same course as the previous 3. There were occasional sparks of fight, however overall the team, mentally, were unable to sustain their drive to close out the game in front. The game finished with Kestrels down by 6 at 88 – 82.
Solihull and Kestrels meet twice more this season, both games at home with a cup tie next Sunday and a return league game in February. Hopefully with the fantastic home support the inspiration to play to their full potential will see a different result.
Stats for the week gave 46 rebounds higher than any previous game. Tom Woods recorded his 5th double double with 14 points and 12 rebounds and also kept alive 6 offensive rebounds of which 4 were converted to points on the board for Kestrels. Louie Kirkman top scored with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Pape added 9 rebounds and 18 points respectively. . Coach Chris Mayes comments following the game. “It was disappointing to see the team not perform to the level I and they know they are capable of”
Scores with rebounds in brackets: Louie Over, Louie Kirkman 25(10), Andy Salmon 3(4), Jack O’Keeffe , Chris Evans 8(3), Tom Woods 14 (12), Josh Pape 18(9), Sam Dye, Spencer Wells 12(6), Evan Brookes, Lewis Hendon-John 3(2).
Kestrels too good for Celts
8th November 2008
Solent W106-27 Cardiff Celts
Kestrel's forth league game of the season, home to Cardiff Celts.
The game began with trepidation, both teams struggling to find the basket. In fact 2 minutes had passed before Cardiff opened the scoring; it was their only time in front. The scores were levelled by Louie Kirkman but it wasn't until half way through the quarter that Kestrels established a lead with a free throw by Louie Kirkman followed by a quick steal from Andy Salmon converted to bring the score to 5 - 2. The final 2 minutes of the quarter saw Kestrels begin to establish themselves with nice hook shots following post moves from Tom Woods and Spencer Wells. The quarter closed with a Kestrels lead of 7 at 13 - 6.
The second period opened with a more focused display from the Kestrels team. Chris Evans and Josh Pape combined for the same move as last week with the return from the 3 man to the guard cutting through, when it works so well it looks easy. Kestrels began to show their dominance of the boards with Tom Woods and Spencer Wells both seeming to reel in the rebounds with ease. Josh Pape's persistent attempts at steals paid off with a clear break and with the new rules on un-sportsmanlike fouls had a clear lay up. This was followed by Evan Brookes fine rebound and fade away jump shot. Tom Woods, ever active round the boards, saw a Cardiff player collect a defensive rebound and appeared to punch it out of their hands, for it to loop straight in to the basket. Sam Dye has obviously been studying the offence, using the screen to good effect off the baseline cut to have an open shot from about 12 feet drop through the hoop. The second quarter closed with Kestrels lead increased to 26 at 41 - 15.
The second half opened with Kestrels in top form, Spencer Wells spotted the lane and made the most of the drive through for another score. Andy Salmon and Louie Kirkman also converted hard earned steals for points with clear lanes. Jack O'Keeffe's hard work on defence created a number of Cardiff turn-overs and Louie Over's persistance paid off with a nice shot from just inside the 3 point line. Louie Kirkman played with determination spotting Spencer Wells unmarked under the basket then retrieving the re-bound for another 2 points. Again Louie Over's defensive effort in the centre of the key forced another steal and spotted Jack O'Keeffe on the breakaway for another confident score. Chris Evans showed his confidence in the revised baseline inbound play waiting for the right option to give the best scoring chance. The 3rd period closed with Kestrels lead extended to 58 at 79 - 21.
There was to be no letup for Cardiff as the final quarter opened, Louie Over hit a three from the far baseline and then spotted Spencer Wells making another cut to the basket for his third assist. Evan Brooke's hard defence paid off with a breakaway steal to finish with a dunk - unfortunately the cheer from the bench was awarded with a technical foul giving Cardiff an extra 2 points. Chris Evans took a fine steal and assist with a pass to Spencer Wells to add to his score tally, Spencer then went on to bring up the 100 points with another demonstration of the effectiveness of the baseline inbound play. Chris Evans forced another steal and assist, this time to Louie Over with 2 minutes remaining. Sam Dye closed the game with the final 2 scores to put Kestrels lead at 79 with a result of 106 - 27.
Stats for the week gave 35 rebounds (21 defence and 14 offence) 28 assists with Andy Salmon, Chris Evans and Josh Pape having 7, 6 and 5 respectively. The steals record was the same as last week at 23 with Josh Pape leading with 5 followed closely by Louie Kirkman on 4. Spencer Wells lead the scoring charge with 24 points with 3 other players in double figures and Tom Woods got back to his old ways recording his 4th double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Every player got on the stats sheet with both points and rebounds.
Coach Chris Mayes comments following the game. "It was fantastic to reach a goal set at the start of the season to score more than 100 points. It was also good to see the whole team playing 40 minutes of defence with no let up. I'm happy for once for one solid team performance"
Scores with rebounds in brackets: Louie Over 7(1), Louie Kirkman 18(4), Andy Salmon 6(1), Jack O'Keeffe 2(2), Chris Evans 4(2), Tom Woods 16(10), Josh Pape 12(3), Sam Dye 8 (1), Spencer Wells 24(3), Evan Brookes 6(4), Lewis Hendon-John 3(4).
Kestrels tame Tigers
2nd November 2008
Solent W84-33 Taunton (CUP)
Kestrel's forth game of the season, round 1 of the Sureshot cup against Taunton, the 1st of 3 games against the West Country team.
The game started for Kestrels with a sideline ball straight in to the shuffle offence with a score from the first cut, an ominous sign of things to come? Court vision could not have been better demonstrated than with Andy Salmon reading a base-line cut by Chris Evans; excellent pass - fine score. Short while later, Louie Kirkman managed to hold on to a hard pass from Josh Pape and put away another fine score. After 2 and half minutes, Taunton had yet to score and Kestrels were on 8. Even with a zone defence, Kestrels were able to exploit all the gaps. The quarter was epitomised by a steal from Andy Salmon and fast break with Tom Woods to his left and Louie Kirkman on the right it was a classic 3 on 1 play with Andy opting for the easier right hand lay up to Louie. The quarter finished with Solent leading 15 - 2. Holding any team to 2 points in 10 minutes of play is a fine achievement that the whole team should be proud of.
The 2nd quarter opened with pace and again fine examples of team play. Evan Brookes worked hard to rescue a side-line ball to Lewis Hendon-John who then went all the way to add another 2 to the tally. Louie Kirkman's hard work on defence brought a steal (one of 4 during the game) that quickly went to Sam Dye then to Josh Pape for a lay-up without the ball touching the floor. The quarter closed with Kestrels up by 30 at 42 - 12.
Following the half-time break Taunton came out with renewed enthusiasm but Kestrels were not to be out-done. Tom Woods' persistence round the offensive ring gave him the opportunity to show his control with a gentle tip back for another score. Jack O'Keeffe had a fine game taking a hard charge on the defensive end that was disallowed (looked good to me but then what would I know?) and seemed to be inspired spotting Lewis Hendon-John for a power move score and then getting a steal on Taunton's next offence and going all the way for a comfortable lay up. Other high-lights included Sam Dye's persistent defence getting the 5 second call and two sweet free-throws from Spencer Wells that I swear did not touch the sides, this was followed by the next 3 scores adding 8 points in quick succession. The quarter closed out 64 - 30 to Kestrels a lead of 34.
The final period followed the theme of the first with Kestrels adding 20 points to Taunton's 3, a memorable moment was a well executed give and go, returned for an easy score by Chris Evans. The final score being 84 - 33 to Kestrels
Stats for the week gave 33 rebounds (20 defence and 13 offence) 22 assists with 4 players recording 3 or more and 23 steals again with 4 players recording 3 or more.
Coach Chris Mayes was pleased with another great display on defence and was encouraged by the high scoring level from the bench players totalling 35 with Spencer Wells top scoring with 16. Another 2 tough training sessions to come this week and a home game against Cardiff to come next week
Scores with rebounds in brackets: Louie Over (2), Louie Kirkman 15(6), Andy Salmon 14(3), Jack O'Keeffe 6(2), Chris Evans 4(2), Tom Woods 8(5), Josh Pape 8(3), Sam Dye 2, Spencer Wells 16(2), Evan Brookes 5(5), Lewis Hendon John 6(3)
Kestrels win on the Road
1st November 2008
Solent W47-43 Severn Blazers
Solent Kestrels II 47 Severn Blazers 43
In a spirited and tough match up the Solent Kestrels Conference under
18 team won a close fought game against The Severn Blazers.
The match started well for Kestrels as Charles Stiles put back a
rebound for the first two points of the game. However Blazers tight
zone defence restricted Kestrels scoring and it was only in the last 3
minutes of the quarter that the Kestrels came back, leveling the first
quarter at 9 apiece.
The second period saw some flashes of brilliance from the Kestrels on
offence, with Ryan Verrall taking advantage and scoring 6 of his ten
points in the period. Severn refused to go away however, and although
Kestrels defence was suffocating at times the Blazers matched their
intensity on the defensive end of the court. A quarter ruled by
defence did nothing to help the score, and carelessness in the last 5
seconds of the half cost Kestrels the lead as Severn tied the score at
22 going into half time.
Kestrels came out of the half ready and fired up, and this time the
first quarter play was reversed as Severn scored the first basket, but
the blazers jumped out onto a big run led by their half court defence.
Chris Ratcliffe came of the bench to ignite the Kestrels on offence,
scoring seven points and the first of his two three pointers in the
period. Meanwhile the scrambling defence of the Kestrels caused mayhem
and helped the Kestrels stretch the lead out to ten points. A late
push from Severn pulled the game back into their grasp however as the
Kestrels team simply went to sleep in the last 2 minutes of the
period, giving up 6 points and allowing the Blazers to within 4 points
at the end of the third.
The final period was a tense see saw affair. Two pull up jump shots
from forward Tom Bower kept the away team in the lead, but Severn
raised their intensity dramatically in the fourth and the Kestrels
responded by giving their opposition easy break opportunities and
plenty of foul shots, leading to the Blazers taking the lead with only
2 and a half minutes left to play, 42 - 41!
Kestrels however were not to be denied, Chris Ratcliffe knocking down
his second three of the game to take back the lead, and Ryan Verral
completing his scoring with a tough layup to put the away side back up
by 3. With the home team now pressuring all over the court the
Kestrels team did a great job of moving the ball and keeping it away
from the Blazers as they desperately tried to foul and stop the clock.
Tom Bower would make the final point of the game and put it beyond
the home teams reach with 4 seconds left to play.
Special mention should go to both Charles Stiles and Sam Chadwick, the
former controlling the boards throughout the game, and the latter
sacrificing his shots throughout the second half to make sure that the
team ran effectively.
Scorers: Chris Ratcliffe(12), Ryan Verral(10), Tom Bower(7), Charles
Stiles(5), Giacomo Bendoni(4) Adam Barton(3), Matt Hoare(3)
Kestrels repel Raiders
25th October 2008
Solent W91-39 Plymouth Raiders
Kestrel's third game of the campaign and their first at home gave a welcome relief from the travelling.
The opening score came from Tom Woods following a confident series of passes patiently waiting for the right option. The shuffle offence was working to good effect with both Louie Kirkman and Josh Pape proving how effective the 4 man cut to the elbow was with uncontested shots.
Josh Pape clearly enjoyed his dunk following a steal from Andy Salmon and half court pass. Chris Evans recognised and exploited the gaps in the centre of the zone for a fine shot from about 7 feet without the ball touching the sides. Spencer Wells also spotted the openings creating some fine moves. From previous games, this was a complete turn around; the turn-over rate was so low that the first 9 minutes showed a clean sheet. The quarter closed showing a clearly dominant Solent team up 28 - 12.
Q2 started in the same manner with no forced shots and the whole team waiting patiently for the best option. On defence there was equal composure, the occasional attempt at a fast break from Plymouth being picked up and checked like an excellent in-flight interception from Lewis Hendon-John that was returned up court for an impressive score from Tom Woods. Plymouth decided to change their approach employing a full court press, this was easily managed by the Solent team to the extent that Plymouth didn't use it again. The quarter ended with Solent extending their lead 49 - 20.
The 3rd quarter opened with confidence, the whole team working well at both ends of the court, this time it took the visitors 4 minutes to record a score. Jack O'Keeffe made the most of the back door play with a floating shot well executed. The rest of the quarter play was difficult to record without repetition of previous comments, save to say that often the team overlooked the easy option not expecting so many openings. The quarter closed out with Solent up 76 - 24, holding Plymouth to 4 points in the quarter whilst increasing their own by 27.
Coach Chris was clearly able to rotate the bench giving everyone the opportunity to enter the score sheet whilst maintaining the on-court pressure.
Quarter 4 was a more relaxed outing for Solent; the only real early feature was a fine reverse lay up from Evan Brookes. Plymouth were allowed a 10 - 2 point run in a 4 minute period resulting in a score of 84 - 39 with 2 minutes remaining. Coach Chris called a time out and brought a change of emphasis, Plymouth did not trouble the scorer again with Solent putting an extra 7 points up giving a final score of 91 - 39.
Stats for the week gave an impressive 42 rebounds (28 defence and 14 offence) 25 assists and 21 steals with Chris Evans recording 7. Tom Woods recorded his 3rd consecutive double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds setting the standard for the rest of the team.
Coach Chris Mayes said overall he was happy with today's performance. Keeping Plymouth below 40 points was a pre-match team goal that was achieved. The team need to work on being consistent and dedicated to the program
Scorers (rebounds): Louie Over 2(2), Louie Kirkman 28 (3), Andy Salmon 9 (2), Jack O'Keeffe 2, Chris Evans 4 (4), Tom Woods 20 (14), Josh Pape 12 (4), Sam Dye (1), Spencer Wells 6(6), Evan Brookes 4(5), Lewis Hendon-John 4(2).
Kestrels beat Flyers with second half clampdown
18th October 2008
Solent W86-66 Bristol Academy
Kestrels second game of the campaign began with a fraught cross country journey avoiding accidents and road closures so well done to Chris Evans(snr) for getting the team there on time. The game opened with a period of careful and concise passing from the Kestrels with the opening basket from Josh Pape followed fairly quickly by some great team play with a good cut from Louie Kirkman spotted for an easy pass by Tom Woods followed by a feed from the 3 spot to guard Chris Evans from Louie Kirkman for another easy 2 points. However, Bristol were allowed to keep pace with Kestrels and it was only a fine 3 from Sam Dye with 10 seconds left in the quarter and a 2 from Louie Kirkman on the buzzer that gave Kestrels a 4 point lead at 23 - 19. Tom Woods opened the 2nd quarter with a nice hook shot, but with Louie Kirkman in foul trouble and sitting out Bristol were given too much leeway and wiped out their 1st period deficit. An excellent half court pass from Andy Salmon to Josh Pape for a 2 pointer near the buzzer, resulted in the half time score only 1 point down at 42 - 43. Q3 started with a good steal from Spencer Wells, exemplifying a changed team attitude, whatever Coach Chris said seemed to have worked. The team showed a more positive outlook, working well together and defending like they know they should. With Louie Kirkman back on the floor and in unstoppable form the Kestrels started to pull away ,Andy Salmon almost clinched a ¾ court shot to close out the 3rd quarter with a more respectful 8 point lead at 63 - 55 holding Bristol to 12 points.The 4th quarter opened in a similar vein with a more confident and patient approach from the Solent team. With 7 minutes remaining and a Kestrels lead of 11, Bristol called a timeout that resulted in an even more focused Kestrels team. Everyone knew their purpose and the lead extended further. 2 minutes later, with the lead now 16, Bristol called another timeout, allowing Kestrels focus to be further developed. From here on the result seemed inevitable with Kestrels closing the game with a 20 point margin 86 - 66.Compared to the previous week the game finished with more impressive figures showing a gain in confidence, last weeks scoring was 37%, this week 46% with Louie Kirkman making a personal 70% with 12 from 17 from the floor. Assists up from 16 last week to 23 this week with 7 from Andy Salmon. Tom Woods made his 2nd consecutive double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds (14 and 10 last week). The only stat to reduce was steals probably reflecting Bristol's skill level.The whole squad delivered in the second half with good defence from Louie Over (added another 3 pointer to last weeks), Jack O'Keeffe, Evan Brookes (4 points and 3 rebounds) and Lewis Hendon-John all adding to a very creditable win. Coach Chris Mayes comments came from two distinct perspectives. The 1st half he said murder wasn't too far from his mind. None of the team were working towards the goals the team had agreed on the minibus on the journey. The second half was completely different said Chris, good habits started to come out with "off & to the ball" defence making increasing appearances as the game developed. "It was really impressive holding a good team like Bristol to 23 second half points and the pressure offence worked as planned
Scorers (rebounds): Louie Over 3(1), Louie Kirkman 27 (8), Andy Salmon 10 (2), Jack O'Keeffe, Chris Evans 8 (2), Tom Woods 13 (14), Josh Pape 10 (4), Sam Dye 3, Spencer Wells 8(2),Evan Brookes 4(3), Lewis Hendon-John.
Kestrels tame the Titans
18th October 2008
Solent W66 - 47 Bath Titans
Score Kestrels 66 - Bath Titans 47
Kestrels U18 Conference team played their first game of the season away to Bath, with many new players making their first debut game for the Kestrels. With a disciplined approach they finally started to push the ball up the court and score off of the fast break. A good performance from Ryan Verrall and newcomer Giocomo Bendoni both with 18 points. Matt Watson did a great job on the boards and came away with 7 points and 7 boards whilst guard Stefan Greer worked tirelessly at both ends of the court. This team however will have to work hard and to put away easy shots in order to get to the level they are so capable of playing at.
Scorers : Verrall 18, Bendoni 18, Greer 11, Watson 7, Bower 4, Thorn 4, Stiles 2, Hoare, Barton, Chadwick, Grossett.
Kestrels prevail in humdinger derby
12th October 2008
Solent W77-73 Southampton Trailblazers
Trailblazers V Kestrels fixtures have always proved to be tough games with no one wanting to give up and this game was no exception.
Trailblazers began at a frenetic pace and built an enviable lead in the first 2 minutes but with two 3 pointers by Chris Evans the lead was with the Kestrels 14 - 12 half way through the first period. All the team wanted to prove themselves and this was typified by Sam Dye who having been over come by Trailblazers defence at one end of the court raced back down the court to take the steal on defence at the other end , such tenacity was in evidence right through the team. With a fast paced but fairly balanced final 5 minutes, the first quarter ended with Trailblazers up by 1 at 19 - 18, their tall centre, Van Nes making the most of his height rebounding and putting a useful hook shot to good effect.
Tom Woods began the second quarter with a great offensive rebound and put back return to take the lead. Chris Evans again proved his worth with a fine hustle play chasing a loose ball to win possession. Tom and Josh Pape gave a great demonstration in team play with 7 assists between them. With 6 minutes of the second quarter played Kestrels evened the score at 30 all and then held Trailblazers to 2 points whilst putting in 10 for themselves including a single handed put back from Josh to close out the quarter 32 - 40.
The 3rd quarter saw a determined Trailblazers squad fighting back to close the gap, their adoption of a zone defence and a number of Kestrels shots defying gravity to enter then leave the basket in the opposite direction saw the score 54 - 56 in Kestrels favour, helped by a 3 from Louie Kirkman. The 4th quarter continued the vein of the previous period with Trailblazers keeping their attack and Kestrels managing to maintain a thin gap until a fine score from Louie Kirkman with 2 minutes to go began to put light between the teams. With 1 minute remaining a crucial 3 from Louie Over followed by a Trailblazers turn-over converted by Chris Evans seem to put the game beyond reach with Kestrels up by 7. Trailblazers tried to regain possession by forcing Kestrels to the free throw but their low foul count through the 4th period enabled Kestrels to run time off the clock. Trailblazers closed the game with the final basket but it wasn't enough; Kestrels held on to win by 4 at 73 - 77.Solid performances from Andy Salmon with 10 points and 5 steals and 3 assists; Lewis Hendon-John with 8 points and 5 steals; Evan Brookes boxed out well for 5 rebounds; Jack O'Keeffe made a valuable contribution with 2 points and an assist and a steal. Coach, Chris Mayes end of game comments would suggest that the team has more work ahead of them:-"A very sporadic performance, they did things well only for short periods, then slipped back to bad habits. As the guys know, this is a learning curve; a better performance than at the Manchester pre-season tournament. It was good to see the team come together to close out the game"
Match Report by Steve Pape
Scorers (rebounds) : Louie Over 4, Louie Kirkman 13 (8), Andy Salmon 6 (4), Jack O'Keeffe 2, Chris Evans 12 (4), Tom Woods 14 (10), Josh Pape 18 (2), Sam Dye, Evan Brookes (5), Lewis Hendon-John 8 (2).
Kestrels beat the fatigue and take tournament
20th September 2008
Solent W81-77 Northants
n
L.Kirkman 28,L.Dismore 11,E.Brookes 8,Sam Dye 8,L.Over 7,J.Pape 6,L.Hendon John 5,J.O'Keefe 3,C.Evans 2
Kestrels defeat Magic
20th September 2008
Solent W62-53 Manchester
to follow
L.Kirkman 19,T.Woods 12,C.Evans 10,A.Salmon 9,J.Pape 6,L.Hendon John 6
Kestrels start tournament with a win
20th September 2008
Solent W55-44 Manchester 2
n
L.Kirkman 17,T.Woods 15,J Pape 11,E.Brookes 2,C.Evans 2,L.Hendon John 2,J O'Keefe 2,A.Salmon 2