Huish Tigers advance to Playoff Final with win over Bridgwater Blackhawks
221For the second year running Huish Tigers have made it to the Playoff Final after defeating Bridgwater Blackhawks 82 – 72 in their Semi-final match at Trinity Sports & Leisure.
League winners Blackhawks were hoping to cap their excellent first season in the SBL with a place in the Playoff Final but it wasn’t to be as last year’s league and playoff champions Tigers (4th) caused the upset away from home in the second of two high-level semi-finals.
A massive 41 points from Glotnis wasn’t enough to overcome a solid team effort from Tigers. The tight first quarter ended 17 – 20 to Tigers. Blackhawks were able to do damage at the free throw line early, but Tigers countered with well-rounded scoring, 8 Huish players getting on the scoresheet in the opening period.
In the second, Tigers asserted themselves with strong defence, limiting Blackhawks to just 12 points. It was also a good quarter on the offensive end with quality shot-making from Fabres and King who scored 7 and 5 points respectively.
Going into the second half Blackhawks trailed by 13 points, 29 – 42. It was a better offensive quarter from Blackhawks in the third, scoring 22 points. Glotnis added to his tally with a second 12 point quarter and Beardshaw chipped in 6 points from 3 made field-goals. But Tigers were not ready to relinquish their lead, matching Blackhawks and doing one better with 23 points behind Ross (7), Jackson (6) and, Raithby and Quirk (5).
Blackhawks dug deep in the final quarter with their best defensive effort but another 11 points from Glotnis wasn’t enough to worry Tigers as they maintained a 10 point lead untill the final whistle. For Tigers, Ross added 8 points to his 21 point total for the game in the fourth.
Final score: Blackhawks 72 – 82 Tigers.
A disappointing loss for Blackhawks but a successful first season as a new team winning the league with just 1 loss! The team also enjoyed success in the EDBA where they won Division 2 with a 13/3 record, and made it all the way to the Playoff Final before losing to Exeter University I.
Congratulations to Huish Tigers who have once again earned a place in the Playoff Final which they won in 2021/22, where they will face Bridgwater Bucs, Wednesday 24th May, 8pm at Richard Huish College.