York Vikings Basketball Club
HBA Championship:
York Vikings 40
- Hull Stingers East 41
11 December 2024
After winning two games in a row, the York Vikings team faced unbeaten Hull Stingers East. With the twin towers (Dan Day and Tom Marks) unavailable, the Vikings didn't have their usual size advantage. Matt Theakstone and Mohcen Cheref made their league debuts.
The first quarter was a slow start for the Vikings with only Matt Theakstone scoring and the Stingers East taking the quarter 9 - 4.
Vikings managed to turn the table in the second quarter and with Nelvin Lau, returning after missing the last couple of games, leading the charge. With the shots following and a good defensive effort, the York team managed to win the second quarter 19 -10. Half time score Vikings 23 - 19 Stingers East.
The game continued to be even, with Stinger East pushing the pace trying to get the scores back level. A couple of big threes from Nelvin, allowed the Vikings to stay ahead with 1 point. The score after the third quarter was 32 - 31 for Vikings.
With both teams having all to play for, the final quarter resulted in an intense game. Stingers East having a full squad versus the Vikings only having 7 players available, the Stingers push helped them manage to go ahead by 2 points with just over a minute remaining. The Vikings managed to muster some energy and draw a couple of fouls, however did not mention to capitalise on those in the final minute, going 1 out of 4 and as such narrowly losing.
Notes: Nelvin Lau had a career high with Vikings, scoring 14 points and making 2 x 3 pointers.
Game MVP: Nelvin Lau