Blazers dealt a double blow
IT was a bad weekend for Derby Trailblazers as they blew a chance to reach the National Cup semifinals after suffering their heaviest NBL Division One defeat of the season.
They went down 100-82 at home to Bradford Dragons in the league on Saturday night but looked set to make up for that when they led by double figures midway through the third quarter of their cup match away to Loughborough Riders the following day only to lose 83-77.
Derby were ahead by 14 points in the third and were still leading by a point with just over two minutes to go but they failed to score again as the Riders poured in 11 unanswered points.
It was a harsh outcome for the Blazers, who had produced the response they needed following the heavy defeat to Bradford but their inability to execute down the stretch cost them the chance to reach the last four.
“I was really pleased with the performance and effort the guys showed, particularly after such a difficult night against Bradford,” said head coach Matt Shaw.
“I thought we battled really hard and found a way to put ourselves into a great position going into the final few minutes.
“However, the last three minutes were tough. We had some very costly turnovers which truly hurt. We also had some good looks at the basket which we just couldn’t connect on.
“It’s a tough result to take. The guys are gutted because they gave it everything they had.
“Naturally, it would have been great to be in the semi-finals but it wasn’t to be and now we must concentrate on improving our standing in the league.”
That league standing took a blow when, despite starting with 10 unanswered points, they put in what turned out to be their worst performance of the season so far.
To make matters worse, it coincided with what Bradford coach Chris Mellor described as the Dragons’ best performance of the season. “It was a bad night for us,” added Shaw.
“We never really got into any rhythm despite starting well.”
Bradford did a good job on influential forward Malcolm Smith, holding him to 11 points. Oli Stanley led the Blazers with 15 points.
Smith was back to his best against the Riders with 24 points, eight rebounds and a block. Sergio Gomez hit 16 points and added six assists, while Stanley had 14 points, six rebounds and blocked three shots.
Derby are back at the Clarence Wiggins Sports Centre on Saturday for their final game before the break, taking on Westminster Warriors (7.15pm).