North Star Warriors advance into Plate semi-finals

North Star 78 . . . Queens 64

It is now 14 consecutive wins for North Star Warriors after they dug deep to wear down a strong Queen’s team in Friday night’s Plate quarterfinal at the Foyle Arena.

Just a few weeks after winning a first league title in 15 years, North Star were back in action hoping to make their dream season last just a little bit longer, with their eyes now firmly on two more trophies before they take a well-earned break for the summer.

Hugh Barbour’s team are high on confidence, prolific on points, and focused on one game at a time as they push themselves on to see just how far they can really go in a season that has delighted everyone at the club.

But this 14th win didn’t come easy at all. Queen’s brought a much-strengthened team to the Foyle Arena on this occasion, and matched the league champions step for step for three quarters of the game, with manager High going through the whole gauntlet of emotions before his team pulled away with their superior fitness and determination in the closing stages.

They now face UU4 in the semi-finals of both the Plate and the Play-offs, with every opponent providing their own lessons, every basket challenging these tireless players, and every win filling them with hope that they can defy all expectations of a double, maybe even a treble this season.

Step for step

Facing this North Star team on current form would be daunting for every team, but Queen’s, much-improved from the side which lost in Derry just a few weeks earlier, matched them step for step early on.

Stavrakzs ended the game on the bench after being reprimanded for dissent, but he started the game strongly, giving Queen’s the lead, quickly joined by team mate Bartholemew, before Danaan Coyle and Aaron Temple got North Star up and running with two early three-pointers.

The pace of the game was intense as both teams tried to set the tone, and that meant a first quarter of back and firth as the lead changed hands again and again.

While Queen’s had a range of different scorers, Callum Scofield was the stand-out for North Star at a crucial stage, with 11 points on his way to an MVP display of 21 overall. His ability to hold off opponents, keep hold of the ball under severe pressure and find the basket in unlikely circumstances, kept the Warriors right in touch with a very decent opponent.

North Star Warriors Callum Schofield. (Photo - Tom Heaney, nwpresspics)

It was his basket with just 10 seconds of the first quarter remaining that gave his team just the slightest advantage at 24-22 heading into the first break of the game.

Two free throws from James McLaughlin gave North Star a four-point lead at the start of the second quarter, but that was as good as it got for the hosts as Queens’, led by the talented number 14 Rauzkumar, clawed their way back into the game.

While Temple and Coyle were scoring timely and important points for North Star, they were too open defensively, with the majority of rebounds falling into Queen’s hands. That was driving Barbour to distraction on the sidelines, and he wasn’t shy in holding back his feelings about the matter either.

The introduction of Diego de Villar soon helped that defence tighten up, and with that problem addressed, North Star were able to finish the first half strongly, with seven unanswered points, five of which came from Coyle, giving them a seven-point lead and daylight for the first time in the game.

HALF TIME – 38-31

It now became a question of North Star pulling away and extending that lead or Queen’s fighting back, but the drama was just starting with the third quarter a whirlwind of action from one end to the other. And it became very clear that Queen’s weren’t interested in slipping away quietly.

Four points in a matter of seconds from Stavrakzs and Walsh almost decimated the North Star lead and it was now time to really dig in for the hosts. Leading the way in their response was legend Kenny Barboza, whose experience proved to be vital as he got better the bigger the challenge became for his team.

One moment in particular summed up his presence in the third quarter as he snatched the ball from the hands of an opponent at one end before leading an attack which ended with Ben Armstrong scoring brilliantly at the other.

While Kenny was doing his thing, Rauzkumar was still the go-to man for Queens, with his ability to score, contorting his body to find shooting opportunities as he did so a real asset for the visitors.

North Star Warriors Drego de Villar denies Queens attempt to score. (Photo - Tom Heaney, nwpresspics)

Come the end of the third quarter the scoreboard rad a 12-point lead for North Star at 61-49, but that didn’t tell the whole story, with four points from Marco Logue in the dying seconds absolutely crucial. Those points changed the picture of the game dramatically, with a tiring Queen’s now facing a deficit of double figures for the first time.

This time there was no comeback.

Big scores from Diego took the difference to 17 points and with free-throw opportunities now going wasted for Queens, it quickly became apparent the game was up.

Scofield and Barboza continued to chip away for North Star, and with Queen’s losing their cool and their fight, the last quarter was largely one-sided, that fitness and will to win evident as the champions rolled their way towards another big victory.

The big games just keep coming now with that double header against UU4 next up.

Teams

NORTH STAR: Aaron Temple (14), Danann Coyle (10), Ben Armstrong (2), Kenny Barboza (9), Callum Scofield (21), Marco Logue (7), David Farrell (2), Diego de Villar (6), James McLaughlin (7), Andrew Bulloch, Adam Gesek.

QUEEN’S: C Walsh (9), L Sheridan, K McShane, C O’Hare (6), D Bateman (2), G Rauzkumar (19), S Stavrakzs (11), M McGoran, C Kennedy (2), E Bradley (9), T Duffy (6), M Bartholomew.