Story of the Archers' visit would make a great soap opera

The Pirates tried to force the issue at the offensive end, but with solid defence from UWIC they could not increase their score easily. The quarter ended with the Pirates 17-14 down.

The second quarter saw both teams go on small runs but neither was able to pull away. The Pirates worked hard but just couldn’t find their form at the offensive end.

They failed to move the ball as they had in previous games and struggled to grab points. At half-time the Pirates trailed 35-30.

The Pirates started the third quarter by moving the ball about and attacking the opposition’s basket. Joe McLaren did well to break and drive against UWIC’s defence and with Dave Turner working like a washing machine inside, the Pirates started to take a hold.

But Bognor reverted back to trying to force things offensively and failed to increase their score, which allowed UWIC to keep their lead. The quarter ended with Pirates 56-46 behind.

The Pirates knew they had to step up their game for the final quarter. Bognor increased their defensive intensity and began to put UWIC under a lot more pressure, which caused them to make turnovers and miss a lot more shots.

At the offensive end, the Pirates started to play smarter basketball.

Luke Attfield proved too hot to handle for UWIC as he worked hard inside at the post to increase the Pirates’ score. With the gap, all Pirates players were putting in the effort. Dave Turner hit a very important three to tie the game up, and continued to jump like a salmon on springs to rip down offensive boards.

Attfield grabbed defensive rebounds and with UWIC in team fouls, Attfield was sent to the line where he made his free-throws to give Bognor a hard-earned 69-66 win.

PIRATES: L Attfield 18, D Turner 15, J Mclaren 13, N Buksevics 7, R Lowe 6, R Stapely 4, K Wilson 4, G Roythorne 2, L Barnes, S Hardyman, R Knight.