Bulldogs Run Into "Buzzsaw" Against Titans

Bury St. Edmunds Basketball Club, sponsored by Kuda Automotive and Moreton Hall Community Centre, hosting unbeaten Northamptonshire Titans at Skyliner Sports Centre as they fell to a heavy 53-124 loss.

Titans dominated the tie from the off, with Bulldogs unable to impose their will at either end of the floor, and only Ed Spurling connecting for the Bulldogs in the opening five minutes as Coach Arron MacDonald was forced into an early timeout, before Billy Smith, Vytautas Gridzius and Adam Ball found their range for the home side, unfortunately for the hosts, Titans’ inside-outside attack was too much for them, as they built a strong lead. The introduction of debutant Sonjay Williams in the second gave a spark to the Bulldogs offence, but they were still unable to contain the Titans, who built a 31-61 lead. The third quarter was as good as it got for the Bulldogs, as Spurling, Smith, Girdzius and Brandon Marshall led an 11-7 run in the home side’s favour, before Titans ran off a 16-0 run that demoralised the hosts, who then fell to a horrific fourth quarter en route to a heavy loss.

The performance of Ed Spurling was one of the few bright points on a very difficult day for the Bulldogs.

Leading scorers for Bulldogs were Spurling (12), Girdzius (10) & Williams (9).

“Coming into this game, we knew we’d be up against it” said Coach Arron MacDonald. “Missing Denby, Ashley, Tom and Jimmy – with Matt Spurling suiting up despite really being quite unwell – we knew we were short-handed, and were up against a side with exceptional talent and experience, who we fully expect to compete for silverware this season. There’s no excuses from us though, we ran into a buzzsaw, they were relentless and, frankly, we were really soft – and that’s not a term I use lightly."

"It’s tough to stay in a game mentally when you know it’s beyond reach – but our fourth quarter performance was simply unacceptable – and we were undeserving of the fantastic support we again received from our club. We have a few weeks to get healthy and get ready to go again – that’s an opportunity for us to improve at every level, and I know we will be better.”

Up next for Bulldogs is the visit of County Upper Wolves on Saturday 21st December at Skyliner Sports Centre, at 3:00pm. Visit www.burybasketball.com or find the club at @BuryBasketball on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more information.