The teams had played earlier in the month at Bideford College, North Devon. That match had been a tightly contested affair which ended 59 – 56 in favour of Bridgwater. North Devon were unable to field a full team for this fixture though and with only 5 players found the going tough.

Bridgwater started well with Ben Williams able to convert easily in and around the basket throughout the first quarter, scoring 17 of his game-high 26 points.

In the second quarter Bridgwater showed good patience and ball movement against North Devon’s zone defense with shots starting to fall from behind the 3-point line, extending their lead to 51 – 17 at half time.

Despite facing a large deficit North Devon found a better rhythm in the second half, having their best quarter in the third, scoring 24 from a variety of shots inside and out. Ignatavicius and Ford led the way for the visitors.

Bridgwater however, were on top form and continued to pour in the points. Player/Coach Matt Lomen put in a strong performance with 12 of his 20 points coming in the second half. Andrius Kugeliavicius also contributed 20 points for Bridgwater, Paul Yabsley added 19 and Simonas Alavocius pitched in 17, including 5 3-pointers. A. Ignatavicius top scored for North Devon with 24 points and B. Ford contributed 16.

Final score: Bridgwater 109 – 55 North Devon II

Bridgwater are now poised to move into first place in Division 3. They currently sit second only by virtue of playing less games at this stage in the season. Their next game in the EDBA league competition is at home against Torquay Trailblazers, Sunday 9th January 11am.

This is the first season Bridgwater Bucs Basketball, who have 2 teams in the Somerset Basketball League (SBL), have fielded a team in the EDBA. Taunton Tornados are another club from the SBL who have entered a team into EDBA.