by Esha Nayar

Manchester Revolution kicked off their Division two North season with a convincing 78-42 victory against the Tees Valley Mohawks. The win gives them a positive start to the season, which is needed after they missed out on playoffs last year.

Gary Dawson put the first points on the board, setting the tone for Manchester. The hosts opened the game with a 12-0 run after pushing the ball and capitalising off these fastbreak opportunities causing Tees Valley to take a timeout to try and put an end to Manchester’s strong start. The visitors finally managed to take the lid off the basket after five minutes and managed to find the back of the net, ending the quarter down 22-8.

The Mohawks came out of the break fired up, starting the quarter on a 6-0 run. Their defence had improved after they found a solution to stop the Revolution’s costly fastbreaks. After five minutes the quarter was tied 8-8, much to the dismay of Manchester Head Coaches Garry Peel and Dan Johnson who took a minute to reorganise the team. The discussion worked as Manchester shared the ball around and found some good looks at the basket. At the half, the Revolution led 40-20 with both Henley Cavanagh and James Wooff on 10 points.

The Mohawks had some catching up to do in the third quarter if they wanted to stay in the game. Much like in the first, Manchester pushed the ball on offence finding four consecutive fastbreak scores. Despite not being able to slow the Revolution’s offence, the Mohawks managed to find more opportunities at the basket. Niamh Horan proved to be a thorn in the side for the guests, scoring 12 points in the quarter. Despite it being the highest scoring quarter from Tees Valley, 64-34 would be a tough total to close the gap on.

The fourth quarter was a reflection of the game. Throughout the contest, Tees Valley found some great looks at the basket but struggled to finish. Despite being the smaller team, the Revolution were able to dominate the boards both on offence and defence. The main takeaway from the hosts display of dominance was their ability to push the ball up the floor and find those quick scores. The Revolution took home the pink sheet, finishing the game 78-42. James Wooff led the scoring for Manchester with 28 points, Niamh Horan was close behind with 24. Liam Hodgson kept the Mohawks in the contest with 26 points.

Manchester Revolution Head Coach Dan Johnson: ‘It was a very good performance, probably the best I’ve seen from our second team in years.’

Head to FocusHoops YouTube to rewatch the game and for interviews with Gary Dawson, James Wooff and Dan Johnson.

Rewatch the full game on FocusHoops Youtube: