And club pull off clean sweep over Paisley
Stirling Knights recorded a clean sweep over Basketball Paisley, including a firstever win over league leaders St Mirren.
On Friday at The Peak, the senior men came back twice from double-digit deficits to rally in the final quarter and defeat the Paisley side 97-86.
Coach Cory McCabe singled out Shaun Craig, Ruari Doherty and Louis Sullivan for their energy, saying: “The older guys put this all down to those three boys for their grit and determination. It was a stunning win.”
Sixteeen-year-old Doherty hit 16 points, showing why he is one of Scotland’s top young players, while veterans Daniel Chok and Matt Dick combined for 49 points with captain Chok leading at both ends of the floor and adding seven assists to his seven steals.
In the Scottish Cup quarter-final the U14 boys beat their Paisley counterparts 52-40 on the road in what coach Andy Flett described as a “complete team performance”.
Twenty-four hours later the Knights were in Grangemouth for another triple-header against the Saints.
First up were Les McGlasson’s U16s ,who put in a galvanised performance behind Rory Silcock’s selfless play to win 72-67.
McGlasson said: “Rory was everywhere today. He allowed the team to kick on and push offensively.
“We got into some unnecessary foul trouble but the entire team stepped up and contributed.”
Knights are now three games clear at the top of the U16 National League.
The U16 girls left it late, having controlled the majority of the play, to win 53-50 in the last minute over St Mirren.
Penelope Kidd was singled out for her tireless energy by coach Alex Smith-Taylor, who said: “Sometimes it is about just grinding out the result. These girls did that today. Fantastic result, couldn’t be happier for them.”
Cory McCabe’s U18 men rounded off the clean sweep over as his side ran out 93-77 victors.
Cory said: “We carried on with a lot of momentum from Friday night in the senior men’s game. Some of the team play was some of the best I’ve ever seen in all my years coaching.”
Head of Knights basketball Pete Duncan said: “This is testament to the hard work of our dedicated coaching team.
“The players have been pushed and tested all year and when you see these results you know that all their hard work and effort in training is paying off.”
Next up for Knights is a trip to Grangemouth to face Falkirk Fury.