City of Sheffield Saints | Front Page

Saints March on to Second Playoff Final in 2 Years

pete@sheffieldsaints.co.uk — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:42:17 +0100

Cos Saints........ 77 (16, 44, 67)
Sheffied Sabres 53 (10, 25, 38)

The City of Sheffield Saints reached their second playoff final in as many years on Sunday night when they stunned the Sheffield Sabres with a 24 point win at the EIS. Having been soundly beaten by the Sabres in the league only a few weeks ago, it was a much more focused Saints team that jumped out to an early 4-0 lead behind Garnet Gayle and Pawel Szafraniec. Ex Sheffield Sharks Richard Windle and Adrian Anderson combined for 8 points for the Sabres but Gayle and Andy Turner kept the Saints ahead and a 3 pointer from Gary Bywater gave them a 16-10 lead after the first period.

The Saints' defence continued to cause problems for the Sabres in the second quarter while 7 points in a row from Pete Olusoga helped the Saints extend their advantage to 26-13. As the Saints were picking holes in the Sabres' defence, Rich Fooks came off the bench to drive home the Saints' lead with 6 points in the quarter. Turner and Rick Marsh were virtually unstoppable in the paint and a pair of foul shots from Chris Law gave the Saints a 44-25 lead at the half.

Neither team could score for the first two minutes of the second half but a Szafraniec score under the basket, followed by another 3 pointer from Gayle and 2 points from Chris Hackett, took the fight out of the Sabres. Anderson kept on working hard for his team but 7 more points from Olusoga and two more 3 pointers from Hackett and Gayle put the Saints 67-38 in front going into the final quarter.

With the Saints in the driving seat, Rich Fooks quite simply owned the 4th quarter. Kris Allot and Eugene Andrew were on the floor for the Saints and Fooks went on a 10 point tear to take his tally to a season high 16 points. With 5 minutes to go and the game effectively over, the Saints ran out the clock for a 77-53 win and a place in the Division 3 playoff final.

Scorers
Saints
Gayle(18), Fooks(16), Olusoga(14), Olusoga(16), Turner(8), Hackett(7), Bywater (4), Marsh(4), Szafraniec(4), Law(2), Allott, Andrew
Sabres
Anderson(13), Windle(11), Chandley(6)

The Saints will play old foes Leeds Carnegie next Saturday after they won their semi-final by just 2 points on Saturday. Leeds just pipped the Saints to the Division 4 league title last season but it was the Saints who reached the playoff final, only to lose by 6 points to Brookes Sport Oxford. The Saints just missed out on the Division 3 league title again this year with Leeds taking the honours, but with the overall league record between the teams tied at 2-2, this is sure to be a hard fought and thrilling final.

Saints Bring Down Towers for Semi-Final Place

pete@sheffieldsaints.co.uk — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:08:40 +0000

CoS Saints... 100 (33, 54, 75)
London Towers 92 (23, 52, 73)

The City of Sheffield Saints booked their place in the Division 3 playoff semi-final with a thrilling 100-92 victory over London towers on Saturday night. Pawel Szafraniec scored the Saints' first 4 points of the game and a Kingsley Ellmer 3 pointer gave the Saints an early 12-7 lead. Steponavicius and Anebo provided the answer for the Towers, but Rick Marsh and Garnet Gayle inspired another Saints' run and a triple from Pete Olusoga gave them a 10 point lead. Although Steponavicius continued to do the damage for the Towers, a pair of Chris Law foul shots put the Saints up 33-23 after the first quarter.

Five quick points for the Towers halved the Saints' lead but some great defence and fantastic ball movement at the other end saw Chris Hackett spark another 10-0 run. Szafraniec worked hard at both ends of the floor, scoring 6 more for his team and 2 more threes from Ellmer helped the Saints out to a 49-40 lead, but a series of fouls sent Towers shooters to the line and they clawed their way back into the game, trailing 54-52 at the half.

Gayle opened the second half with a 3 pointer and with Szafraniec on the bench in foul trouble, Andy Turner stepped up with a nice baseline jump shot from a Hackett assist. The Saints defence stopped the Towers from getting into any sort of rhythm and as Gayle continued to run the show, 2 points from Rich Fooks off the bench put the Saints comfortably ahead. But the Towers wouldn't crumble and back-to-back three pointers from Odeniyi and Drungys meant the Saints went into the final quarter 75-73 in front.

For the first 8 minutes of the final period, the teams traded baskets and with neither team able to make a decisive run, the scores were tied 85-85 with under 2 minutes to play. Gayle found Olusoga for 3 and then faced up his defender to hit a triple of his own on the very next play. The Saints defence held fast and yet another 3 pointer, this time from Hackett, gave the Saints the edge they needed. With Gayle fouling out, Rick Marsh came up with some huge rebounds and the Saints were accurate enough from the free throw line to hold on to a 100-92 win.

Scorers
Saints
Gayle(23), Hackett(19), Ellmer(16), Olusoga(16), Szafraniec(11), Turner(6), Marsh(5), Fooks(2), Law(2)
Towers
Steponavicius(24), Anebo(22), Drungys(17)

The City of Sheffield Saints will battle it out for a place in the playoff final as they line up against the Sheffield Sabres at the EIS this Sunday. Tip off is at 7.30pm.

Saints' 11th Straight Win Spoils Leeds' Perfect Season

pete@sheffieldsaints.co.uk — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:18:31 +0000

CoS Saints.... 77 (18, 39, 56)
Leeds Carnegie 76 (27, 37, 57)

City of Sheffield Saints gave their hopes of taking the Division 3 North title a boost on Saturday after becoming the first team ever to defeat Leeds Met Carnegie on their home court. Saints started brightly opening up an 8-2 lead but Leeds gathered momentum and led 27-19 at the first break.

The Saints stepped up their defence in the second quarter and a Garnet Gayle 3 pointer started a 19-4 scoring run. Kinglsey Ellmer and Gary Bywater also connected from beyond the arc and the Saints held a 39-37 advantage at half time.

The third quarter became a 3 point shootout, Ellmer draining three for the Saints and Leeds answering with four of their own to hold a 57-56 lead going into the 4th quarter. Four points from Gayle and a 3 pointer from Chris Hackett to start the final period restored the Saints lead while Ellmer continued to torment the Leeds' defence with his sharp shooting. A game high 34 points for Ellmer cemented Leeds' first ever defeat on their home court and helped the Saints to their 11th straight victory. Final score Saints 77-76 Leeds Carnegie.

The result means that both teams are now tied at the top of the table with identical 14-1 records. Although Leeds hold the head-to-head, with 5 games remaining and some tough opponents for both teams, the title race is still wide open. Saints next game is against cross-town rivals Sheffield Sabres at the EIS on Friday 22nd Feb (7pm tip) and their next home game is at All Saints School against Mansfield Giants on Saturday 1st March (6pm tip)

Scorers
CoS Saints
Ellmer(34), Gayle(11), Szafraniec(10), Hackett(9), Olusoga(6), Bywater(5), Marsh(2)
Leeds Carnegie
Harris(15), Holland(13), Supola(13)

Another Double Keeps Saints Title Hopes Alive

pete@sheffieldsaints.co.uk — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:14:00 +0000

Reports to follow...

Northwest Double Keeps Saints in Title Hunt

pete@sheffieldsaints.co.uk — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:10:01 +0000

CoS Saints ......69 (18, 34, 51)
Manchester II .64 (16, 30, 47)

Cos Saints 88 (28, 39, 67)
Liverpool ...56 (09, 22, 40)

City of Sheffield Saints recorded two wins in a Northwest double this weekend as they played host to Manchester Magic II on Saturday night before heading to Liverpool on Sunday.

The Saints edged a close 1st quarter on Saturday to lead the Magic 18-16. Pawel Szafraniec scored all 12 of the Saints points in a 12-5 run to open the second, the 'Polish Express' out-rebounding the entire Magic team on several occasions to help his team to a 34-30 half time lead.

Both teams traded baskets in the third quarter, Szafraniec, Garnet Gayle, and Kinglsey Ellmer keeping the Saints in front 51-47 with one quarter remaining. Seven 4th quarter points from Gary Bywater along with some fine play from Szafraniec kept the Saints comfortably ahead in the final minutes, running out 69-64 winners.

In the second of the weekend's games, the Saints travelled to winless Liverpool and a devastating 28-9 first quarter set the tone for the rest of the game, Kris Allott underlining Liverpool's misery with a buzzer beating 3 pointer from a different post code to end the quarter. Rich Fooks and Eugene Andrew kept up the scoring for the Saints in the second period and the Saints led 39-22 at the half.

Much of the same followed and although Ng was a bright spark for Liverpool, scoring 12 in the game and creating several opportunities for his team-mates, the Saints were just too strong, and with Law and Ellmer firing from behind the 3 point arc, finished the game with and 88-56 win.

Scorers
CoS Saints
Szafraniec(24), Wllmer(13), Bywater(9), Gayle(9), Hackett(7), Turner(4), Marsh(2), Law(1)
Manchester Magic II
Hanson(13), Sutton(11), Daniels(11)

Scorers
CoS Saints
Turner(17), Ellmer(16), Gayle(15), Fooks(10), Hackett(9), Law(9), Andrew(5), Hope(4), Allott(3)
Liverpool
Ng(12), Purcell(9), Hargreaves(9)

With two wins out of two this weekend, the Saints keep up the pressure on table leaders Leeds Met, the only team to have beaten the Saints in league play so far this season. The Saints have a another double head next weekend, although the opposition will be much tougher as they host Bradford Dragons on Saturday night at All Saints (6pm tip) followed by a trip to Mansfield Giants on Sunday.