Double defeat leaves Giants rock bottom

It was a frustrating weekend for Mansfield Giants Basketball Club’s senior men after narrowly losing against both Ipswich Basketball away on Saturday and Huddersfield Heat on the Sunday to be firmly be placed at the bottom of EBL Division Two.

Ipswich started off well, taking a 29-16 lead at the start of the first quarter, with Giants clawing back in the second and third quarter.

RB Clyburn dominated the game, as did Mark Woodhouse inside for the Giants, as the visitors trailed by seven points at the end of the third quarter 65-58.

Ipswich maintained their lead in the fourth, with Giants pulling back the gap to as close as three points.

But the damage was too much as Ipswich took a 85-75 win.

Giants top scorers were: Clyburn 31, Woodhouse 15, and Xavier 13.

Sundays game saw Huddersfield Heat travel to Mansfield, with Huddersfield needing the win to clinch a promotion place.

Giants dominated the first half of the game with Clyburn continuing where he left off on the Saturday, scoring 11 points in the first quarter alone.

Mark Woodhouse and Chris McIntyre added baskets with youngster Omar Chambers scoring vital free throws as Giants led at the end of the first quarter 25-19.

A strong second quarter then saw Giants outscore their opponents 30-23, to continue to lead the game.

Clyburn bagged three back-to-back three pointers, as Lewis Tucker stepped up his game, scoring long jump shots and gaining important rebounds as Giants ended the first half with a 55-42 lead. Huddersfield turned up the heat at the start of the second quarter, gaining important steals from their full court press with Giants failing to break, as they were outscored 36-17.

Mendez and Sosa combined to score 24 points between them in the quarter, as the lead began to slip away for Mansfield, with Huddersfield going ahead for the first time 78-73.

Both teams stepped up the pressure, which led to a low-scoring final quarter.

But the damage from the third quarter was too much as Huddersfield walked away with a 94-84 win.

Giants’ top scorers were Clyburn 39, Tucker 14, and Woodhouse 12.

Giants travel down to play Eastside Eagles this Saturday, with the U14 team also in action as they play their final home game against City Of Sheffield Junior saints at Oak Tree Leisure Centre at 12.30pm.

Both Giants U14 and U12 teams were in action over last weekend, with the U14s travelling down to play Northampton Thunder and losing 101-56.

The U12 minis team beat Hucknall II 73-5 and, with a win this coming Sunday, will secure them the league title while a loss will see them end as runners-up.

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