The ninth-placed Lancashire Spinners travel to eighth-placed Hemel Storm on Saturday at Sportspace Hemel Hempstead. Tipoff is set for 7pm.
Lancashire (3-8, 2-4) ended Manchester’s unbeaten run to the season at Castle Leisure Centre last Saturday for its second National League win, led by Jack Hudson’s 18 points and 12 rebounds. The guard, who is averaging a team-best 16.2 points per game in league play, also had four assists and four steals in 38 minutes.
With six games still remaining before the Christmas break, the Spinners will play four of those on the road beginning tomorrow. Lancashire is just 1-4 on the road – the lone win came at Worthing on Oct. 22 – in all competitions in 2016-17, and has suffered back-to-back defeats at Bradford and Loughborough.
Connor Murtagh added 17 points in the win against Manchester and is one of four Spinners in double figures scoring in NBL1. The forward is averaging 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Mark Rangeley ranks second in rebounding (6.7 RPG) and third in scoring (13.7) whilst forward David Ulph leads with 9.4 rebounds. Ulph is also contributing 11.8 points on 47 percent (25-of-53) shooting, but has failed to reach double figures in three-straight games after posting back-to-back double doubles.
The Spinners have shot below 40 percent in three out of the last four games, but are managing 41 percent (164-of-400) from the field in divisional play. Ulph
Hemel (5-5, 2-3) returns home to Sportspace where it is 2-3 this season following a 108-78 defeat at London on Nov. 13. The Storm, who average 84.6 points per game, have not lost consecutive games in divisional play.
Saturday is just the third meeting overall with Hemel having swept the season series last year. Despite matching its high of 12-made 3-pointers, Lancashire fell to a 96-90 defeat to Hemel at Castle Leisure Centre in February.
Lancashire surpassed that mark with 16 3-pointers in its National Cup victory over Liverpool and has four games of at least 10 threes already.
Allen Gunn
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