Bury St. Edmunds Bulldogs, sponsored by Kuda Automotive and Moreton Hall Social Club, travelled to Anglia Ruskin University looking to bounce back from their season-opening loss in Nottingham.
The hosts started superbly, connecting on a trio of three-pointers in a 14-4 run, before Bulldogs began to find their way into the game, but were unable to close the gap, as the first quarter ended 26-15 to ARU. The second quarter saw the Bulldogs continue to struggle against the long-range attack of ARU, and whilst they held their hosts scoreless through the middle of the quarter, the Suffolk side failed to register a field goal for eight minutes of the quarter, as they only tallied points at the foul line, and fell to a 46-28 deficit.
Another run from ARU to open the third effectively put the game beyond Bury, as ARU extended their lead to thirty points, despite Adam Ball’s offensive outburst late in the quarter. The final frame saw Bury play some of their best basketball, as the hosts struggled to deal with Vytautas Girdzius and Denby Ablard at both ends of the floor, and Bulldogs finally cut into the hosts’ lead, finishing 95-71 to ARU.
Ablard (17), Girdzius (16) and Ball (12) led the scoring for Bury.
“We have to be honest – we were not good enough today.” Said Coach Arron MacDonald. “We allowed ourselves to be out-worked in the first half, and while we got better as the game went along, we can’t afford to keep starting games slowly. We can’t afford to lose over 40 points of missed lay-ups and free-throws and expect to win games. I know there’s work to do, but I believe in this team – and I’d rather be an optimist and be wrong than be a pessimist and be right. We need to be ready to perform against Hemel”
Up next for the Bulldogs in NBL Division 3 East is Hemel Storm II, at 3:00pm on Saturday 2nd November at Skyliner Sports Centre – entry is free. For more information, or if you’re interested in joining the club, please visit www.burybasketball.com.
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