Bulldogs Bounce Back with West Suffolk derby win over Wolves

Following an opening day defeat to UEA Panthers, Bury St. Edmunds Bulldogs’ NBL Men’s side travelled to Skyliner to face West Suffolk Wolves in the local derby, with several key players still missing through injury.

After a highly energetic, but nervy opening couple of minutes, Bulldogs guard Nick Fearon opened the side’s account at the foul-line, and the Bulldogs never trailed from there, as the young Wolves struggled to cope with the Bulldogs’ physicality and defensive intensity, with every player getting on the scoresheet in a 55-116 blowout.

Ethan Allen and Eivydas Kriunas led the way for the Bulldogs on the scoresheet, and with a number of highlight plays. Allen finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals in just 23 minutes of play, with Kriunas adding 21 points and 4 steals in 21 minutes. Veterans Greg Richards (14 points, 5 rebounds in 15 minutes) and Billy Smith (11 points, 17 rebounds in 20 minutes) were the other Bulldogs in double digits, whilst youngster Freddie Barber notched 6 points, 5 assists and 5 steals in a high energy display.

We caught up with veteran Guard Tom Guerrero after the game, who had this to say:

“It was a big win for us today. We set the tone defensively, and did exactly what we’ve been working on all week – which forced multiple turnovers and led to easy scores. I think we really brought the team ethos and energy today, everyone was involved in every possession – that set the tone for us, it put a smile on everyone’s face, and it was a great team win.”

Head Coach Arron MacDonald added:

“With almost two years since the last derby game, we wanted to come away from this one with a win, and we really wanted to bounce back from last week’s game – as we were disappointed with ourselves – so this week’s really been about resetting our standards, getting into our culture and climate. Today, I felt we played to our standards for probably 30 of the 40 minutes – and came away with a comfortable win. With that said, I believe our best basketball is ahead of us.”

Bulldogs NBL Men are next in action away at Northamptonshire Titans II on Sunday 21st November. If you’d like more information on joining West Suffolk’s longest-established basketball club, visit www.burybasketball.com.