The City of Sheffield Saints played host to local rivals Mansfield Giants on Saturday night in their first home game of the season at All Saints School. After a blistering start from the Saints, the Giants forced their way back into the game in the second half. The lead changed hands 5 times in the 4th quarter and the game was tied 66-66 at the end of regulation, but it was the Saints who edged it 75-72 in overtime.

After a short delay due to a damaged backboard, the Saints took the early initiative. Pete Olusoga opened the scoring for the home side after Mansfield captain Danny Richards made 1 of 2 from the line for the Giants. Tilly Hackett went to the line, sinking both foul shots and Garnet Gayle dropped the first 2 of his game high 27 points. While the Saints offence ran like clockwork in the 1st period, the Giants could find little in the way of a response at the other end, James Sutton and Gary Collins providing the only real threats. In a quarter plagued by fouls, Andy Turner went to the line 3 times in a row, making 5 of 6 from the stripe, and giving the Saints an 18-9 lead. Two more free throws from Olusoga and a 3 pointer right at the end of the quarter from Gayle gave the Saints a 23-11 lead going into the 2nd.

With Chris Law on the bench in foul trouble, Franz-von Shorter provided the Saints with some energy on defence as they continued to move the ball well at the offensive end. Dean 'Snoop' Griffiths also came off the bench in the 2nd quarter for the Saints, keeping the Giants second shot opportunities to a minimum with some solid rebounding. Garnet Gayle continued to torment his former Arrows team-mates scoring 11 more points in the 2nd quarter, while Guy Renton kept Mansfield in the game scoring 9 of his own. Turner continued to connect from the foul line and another Gayle 3 at the end of the period saw the Saints hold a 39-32 advantage at the half-time break.

Renton kept up the inside threat for the visitors early in the 3rd but more great ball movement from the Saints created gaps in Mansfield's defence. Chris Law managed to get to the foul line and 2 fast break scores from Olusoga forced the Giants to call a time-out, trailing 50-38. It was clear after the time-out that the Giants had no intention of giving this game up and increased defensive pressure resulted in the Saints only managing to score 2 points in the final 3 minutes of the quarter. Richards began to have an impact for the Giants and Sutton continued to score inside, but missed free-throws meant the Saints still held a 52-51 lead going into the final period.

Both teams were a little tentative in the early part of the 4th quarter and both teams struggled to score. Baskets from Mzika and Sutton gave the Giants the lead but Olusoga was fouled on the way to the basket and hit both free-throws to restore the Saints advantage. The Giants kept coming and again took the lead through Collins and Renton but Chris Law managed to find the gaps in the Giants defence and Turner finished from close range to give a 63-62 lead back to the Saints. Stuart Griffiths, who had been quiet all game, popped up with 2 for the visitors with under a minute to go and the Saints trailed by 1, but Tilly Hackett coolly drained a 3 pointer to put the Saints up 66-64 with seconds left. However, it was Griffiths again who managed to get to the basket and, despite the rest of the world seeing a travel, the basket counted as time ran out and the score was tied 66-66.

Again a cagey start to the overtime period saw neither team score for the first 2 minutes but it was Gayle who broke the deadlock to put the Saints up by 2. However, the Giants again refused to go away and it was Sutton and Renton who restored their lead yet again. The Saints superior ball movement began to show and Chris law exploited the gaps, getting to the rim for an easy lay-up. Renton brought the Giants back within 1 with under a minute to go but Hackett sank 2 more free throws to give the Saints a 3 point lead. Any chances of another late Giants' comeback were quashed as Hackett capitalised on a loose pass and got the steal allowing the Saints to hold on to a 75-72 victory.

Scorers
Saints
Gayle(27), Olusoga(16), Hackett(12), Turner/Law(10)
Giants
Renton(19), Sutton(17), Griffiths(10)

Posted on: Monday 23rd October

Back To Previous Page