If Lancashire plays like the team that garnered tremendous pre-season expectations then they are hard to stop – it just happens too inconsistently.
But it does happen against the Derby Trailblazers.
And it needs to happen Saturday night on the road if Lancashire wants to prolong its chase up the standings with just six games left.
The Spinners are 2-0 versus the second-placed team in the Division One standings and the wins, both at Castle Leisure Centre, have looked comprehensive. Even late in the game when Lancashire trailed 87-86 with 1:56 remaining, the league’s highest scoring offence – 86.2 points per contest – found another gear.
In five of eight losses in league play, the Spinners failed to score above their season average and were outscored by a 5.2 margin in the second half and by six points in the fourth quarter.
“When we play with confidence, we’re a different team,” said guard Cian Hickey, who has started 12 of the last 13 games, averaging 2.4 assists.
Mike Bernard scored 24 on 11-of-15 shooting on Dec. 12 against Derby and Steven Vaughan had 15 points and five rebounds, including 3 offensive), whilst finishing 7-of-10 in the National Trophy in September.
That dominance inside will be key to a securing a marquee victory deep into the regular season with the Spinners (21-10, 12-8 NBL1), who have shot 57 percent inside the arc against Derby (23-5, 17-5), still hoping to improve their playoff position.
“We’re going to try and ride our front court because it has been successful previously and they’ll obviously game plan for that,” said Lancashire coach Neal Hopkins. “But Mike and Steve’s presence is something that’s really important to what we do.”
Lancashire evaded a three-game league losing streak when it defeated Bradford on Saturday behind 28 points from Steven Gayle, climbing into seventh place in the process.
Derby, meanwhile, has won two-straight and are led by the division’s third leading scorer David Watts, who is averaging 20 points.
Hopkins finished, “You can’t ignore the fact that they’re second in the league. It’s going to be a tough place to go and win.”
NOTES
Gayle is averaging 23.3 points on 45.8 percent shooting over his last four games. … He’s also 87.9 from the free throw line (29 of 33) and contributing 4.3 assists. … The Spinners have hit 30 3-pointers during a three-game stretch. … Hickey was 3 of 4 from 3-point range against Derby on Sept. 26 and contributed four assists on Dec. 12. … Lancashire will be without guard Alex Roberts, who misses his second consecutive game after being injured in Myerscough College’s game against Charnwood.
Allen Gunn
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