York won the tip-off, and amid a slightly cagey opening to the first quarter, Lancaster looked to have the upper hand with some decent counter attacking play. However, from 9 points apiece midway through the quarter, York switched up a gear and used their man-to-man marking system to shut out Lancaster whilst advancing into a slender 13-9 lead. York intercepted Lancaster’s passing game well, using this to launch their attacks and by the end of the first quarter, had increased their lead to 19-12.
The second quarter begun well for Lancaster, lessening their deficit to 22-16 via a 3-pointer and a successful free throw. Pushing on, they deservedly drew level at 22-22. The boys in red were playing well, waiting for scoring opportunities and then taking them with aplomb. A great hustle and subsequent basket from York put them 34-33 up, but Lancaster repeated the trick their own way to move back into the lead and leave the half time score at 35-34.
Neither side was able to immediately pull away in the second half, with the scores locked for a time at 43-42 to Lancaster. When the scores got to 52-44 Lancaster’s way, you could sense that the tide of the game was switching Lancaster way. This was obviously felt by York’s coach on the side-line, who got progressively more animated and annoyed with his team after every basket! Ending the third quarter 57-47 up, Lancaster knew that they were ten minutes from victory, and just had to keep scoring to prevent York from coming back into the game.
The match went very end to end all of a sudden in the fourth and final quarter, with defence almost going out the window as both teams tried to gain an unassailable lead with time running out. When the score got to 72-59 Lancaster’s way with just two minutes remaining, it became clear that York would struggle to make up the difference whilst also stopping Lancaster from scoring. York very nearly managed it surprisingly, powering their way through the points to 72-67. A final basket in the dying seconds made safe of the victory for Lancaster, leaving the final score 74-67.
A great win from Lancaster, who despite a few minor scares in the fourth quarter, held on to win the points for the Red Rose. The game was effectively won in the third quarter, when Lancaster gained a ten point lead, it became very challenging for York to bring it back.
