West Brom Basketball Club experienced mixed emotions after defeat to top of the table Birmingham Mets was followed up with a comfortable win away at West Midlands Police.
The surging Mets side had yet to lose a game all season when they travelled to the Black Country, and they weren’t to be turned over by Liam Sheridan’s side despite a valiant effort from the hosts.
After a solid start to the game, West Brom looked to pressure the visitors into mistakes, and with both sides trading baskets the game offered plenty of excitement.
The Birmingham based side took advantage of West Brom’s lack of size inside through the second quarter, but defensive intensity and some long-range shooting kept the hosts in touching distance heading past half-time.
The third period offered even more promise for the George Salter Academy side, as they took a slender lead, only to be pegged back early in the final quarter.
Despite a spirited response, West Brom simply didn’t have enough to halt a Mets side high on confidence, eventually losing out 82-73.
However, just a matter of days later, West Brom made the trip to Nechells to take on the bottom side in West Midlands Police, and there was no disappointment to be found against the strugglers with Ezran Little leading with 18 points in the win.
In a physical encounter, West Brom were buoyed by a balanced scoring display, with four of their seven players bagging double digit points in the contest to secure the win.
Player/Coach Liam Sheridan accepted that a result against Mets would’ve been hard to expect, but was proud of his side.
“It was a tough loss against a very good side. We tried to adjust our defence for the game which helped slow down their attack.” he said.
“It was a big improvement over our last meeting with them.
“We really needed to keep our energy levels and communication consistent throughout the game, but we didn’t shoot free throws too well and we handed over some unforced turnovers.
“As a team we’re learning and growing together every time we’re on-court. We just need to find a way to get five guys on the court being a consistent threat as we had some players scoring in bunches.”
West Brom now have a two week break before their next league clash, when they will host MLC.
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Luke Hatfield