Kendal 52 - University of Chester 98

BEATING an undefeated University of Chester team was always going to be a tall order for Kendal Warriors - even without two players standing in excess of 6ft8.

The Cheshire outift made the trip to Dallam on Sunday evening and proved their worth with a comprehensive win over the Warriors.

Kendal were boosted by the return of Nathan Williams to their squad who added some much needed height of his own, but even he was dwarfed by his opposing position.

Mathias Basedow was also declared fit to play for the Warriors after a mid-week injury concern, albeit with restricted movement.

Kendal were not to be phased in the opening exchanges as Gareth France and Phil Mason put the points on the board to open up an early lead.

Chester’s Brandreth pulled his team back into the game as he connected with multiple shots from range.

The Warriors however were still leading 12- 11 going into the final three minutes of the quarter but when Brandreth and McNutt combined for twelve unanswered points the visitors had gained control of the encounter 14-23 at the end of the first.

Early points from Tom Withnell at the start of the second quarter narrowed the visitors lead back to just seven points but again the outside shooting of Chester proved to be a decisive factor.

Even when they did miss, the superior size of the visitors allowed them to retain possession allowing Strong in particular to capitalise.

Kendal however were still hanging to the tails of their opponent as they fought back to within twelve points, but again some unforced errors and a lack of composure towards the end of the quarter resulted in the lead being opened up to twenty one points as Chester led 22- 43.

Kendal were much more competitive in the third as they found a more regular scoring touch.

Points from Keith McInnes and Williams added to further points from France and Mason as the teams traded points.

However Kendal never really threatened to further claw back Chester’s lead and with Gillard hitting a series of baskets to end the quarter Chester’s lead had been extended to 40-69.

The fourth quarter proved to be a punishing one for the Warriors as Basedow’s pre-game injury forced him out of the rest of the action.

With the game seemingly already out of reach, Kendal’s heads began to drop and as a result so did their efforts.

As a consequence Chester were able to break on their opponents finishing frequent baskets on the fast break to further extend their lead.

A three pointer from Marc Crockford and a couple of good finishes from Steven Back were to prove the rare highlights in what was a disappointing finish to the game for the Warriors.

Scorers

G France 24, K McInnes 8, P Mason 8, T Withnell 4, S Back 4, M Crockford 3, N Williams 1, M Basedow 0