Sabres rocked by Glasgow side

Sabres knew they were going to have to pull out all the stops to get close to Rocks - a well-established Division One side, littered with National League talent as well as a player in the Scotland squad.

The visitors started the match well. Jordan Thomson and Sam Jack were aggressive on the offensive end of the floor, driving hard to the basket forcing Rocks to foul them and put them on the free-throw line. Sabres had a good spread of five different scorers during the period, scoring reasonably well in the half court but excelling in transition. Forward Craig Moffat led the Sabres scorers with seven personal, assisted by Thomson with six and Jack with five. Unfortunately Sabres defence was not at the desired level, allowing Rocks far too many easy scoring opportunities to lead the quarter by a score of 24-22.

A change of defence at the start of the second period saw Sabres get a lot more defensive stops which led to fast-break baskets on transition.

Sabres captain Robert Dorrian was able to profit from this space on the open floor, scoring eight points in succession to give Sabres the advantage midway through the quarter The Stevenston side finished the quarter in dramatic style, Sam Jack ran the clock down on the last possession of the half, made his move and threw up what could only be described as a circus shot from the perimeter which seen the ball gently nestle through the net on the buzzer to give Sabres a surprise 44-49 lead at the half.

Sabres half-time team talk consisted of playing to their strengths and as a team, but particularly to remain calm and composed as Rocks would be looking to come out strong to start the half.

Rocks did exactly that to kick proceedings off. Danger man Chris Barron scored a deep three with a Sabres hand in his face to close the Sabres lead to two points.

Rocks then deployed a full court 1-2-2 press which Sabres struggled to break.

Barron went on a scoring frenzy, racking up 11 of his game-high 36 points in the first minute of the half alone. Sabres were unable to stop Rocks putting the ball in the basket, meaning Rocks were pressing all over the away side leading to defensive stops and further baskets. Sabres, usually calm and assured on the ball struggled to cope with the Rocks defensive pressure throughout the period – Rocks racked up 38 points, as opposed to only nine from Sabres.

After a very competitive first half with Sabres giving themselves a real shot at the game, Rocks led 82-58 putting a victory out of sight for the away team.

Sabres performed better during the final stanza, limiting Rocks to only 18 points, however this was possibly down to the fact that the home team were not applying full court pressure, meaning they had less possessions to actually score.

Sabres were not able to get their heads in the game during the final period after the battering of the third, and only managed to put eight points on the board.

Rocks ran out as well-deserved winners by a scoreline of 100-66.

Sabres are looking to take the positives and the experience gained from the match as they go into another tough away match next week against Oatlands.

Team: Robert Dorrian (captain, 10 points), Kevin Paterson, Steven Farrer (4), Ian Burns (1), Sam Jack (17), William MacLaren, Craig Moffat (11), Jordan Thomson (17), Krzyzstof Szczygiel (6).

STEVENSTON Sabres faced arguably their toughest test of the season when they travelled to Langside College on Tuesday evening to face Glasgow Rocks.

Sabres knew they were going to have to pull out all the stops to get close to Rocks - a well-established Division One side, littered with National League talent as well as a player in the Scotland squad.

The visitors started the match well. Jordan Thomson and Sam Jack were aggressive on the offensive end of the floor, driving hard to the basket forcing Rocks to foul them and put them on the free-throw line. Sabres had a good spread of five different scorers during the period, scoring reasonably well in the half court but excelling in transition. Forward Craig Moffat led the Sabres scorers with seven personal, assisted by Thomson with six and Jack with five. Unfortunately Sabres defence was not at the desired level, allowing Rocks far too many easy scoring opportunities to lead the quarter by a score of 24-22.

A change of defence at the start of the second period saw Sabres get a lot more defensive stops which led to fast-break baskets on transition.

Sabres captain Robert Dorrian was able to profit from this space on the open floor, scoring eight points in succession to give Sabres the advantage midway through the quarter The Stevenston side finished the quarter in dramatic style, Sam Jack ran the clock down on the last possession of the half, made his move and threw up what could only be described as a circus shot from the perimeter which seen the ball gently nestle through the net on the buzzer to give Sabres a surprise 44-49 lead at the half.

Sabres half-time team talk consisted of playing to their strengths and as a team, but particularly to remain calm and composed as Rocks would be looking to come out strong to start the half.

Rocks did exactly that to kick proceedings off. Danger man Chris Barron scored a deep three with a Sabres hand in his face to close the Sabres lead to two points.

Rocks then deployed a full court 1-2-2 press which Sabres struggled to break.

Barron went on a scoring frenzy, racking up 11 of his game-high 36 points in the first minute of the half alone. Sabres were unable to stop Rocks putting the ball in the basket, meaning Rocks were pressing all over the away side leading to defensive stops and further baskets. Sabres, usually calm and assured on the ball struggled to cope with the Rocks defensive pressure throughout the period – Rocks racked up 38 points, as opposed to only nine from Sabres.

After a very competitive first half with Sabres giving themselves a real shot at the game, Rocks led 82-58 putting a victory out of sight for the away team.

Sabres performed better during the final stanza, limiting Rocks to only 18 points, however this was possibly down to the fact that the home team were not applying full court pressure, meaning they had less possessions to actually score.

Sabres were not able to get their heads in the game during the final period after the battering of the third, and only managed to put eight points on the board.

Rocks ran out as well-deserved winners by a scoreline of 100-66.

Sabres are looking to take the positives and the experience gained from the match as they go into another tough away match next week against Oatlands.

Team: Robert Dorrian (captain, 10 points), Kevin Paterson, Steven Farrer (4), Ian Burns (1), Sam Jack (17), William MacLaren, Craig Moffat (11), Jordan Thomson (17), Krzyzstof Szczygiel (6).