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 Bedford Bulls 1 (61) vs Luton Fliers (62) G-Casino Luton Fliers travelled away midweek to face a tough fixture at Bedford Bulls who notoriously field a stronger team at home. Fliers were missing one of their top scorers in guard Ali Miller and grizzled veteran, Jock Mackay the team’s burly power forward. Both teams struggled out of the blocks with a very low scoring first quarter, as Fliers struggled to convert easy scores near the rim. Luckily they were able to hold the home team to 10 first quarter points whilst scoring only 6 themselves.A positive start for the visitors in the second quarter saw them tie the game at 14 each with valuable bench contributions from Andy Cherry and Lewis Palmer. A balanced Fliers attack kept pace with Bedford and the half ended with Fliers up 1 at 27 – 26. The third quarter saw the outside barrage of 3 point shots for the home side continue as they opened up a 6 point lead again, but Fliers fought back and entered the final period down 3. Rafe Abrook and Jon Gill attacked the basket and drew fouls while the defense focussed on stopping Bedford’s star guard D. Silkauskas who finished the game with 32pts. In the final minute Luke Patterson got a big steal and drove the length of the court to score putting Luton ahead by 2. After another defensive stop, Chris Whybrow was able drive inside and draw a foul and he made 1 free throw to put Fliers up by 3pts, however Fliers then conceded 2 made free throws at the other end. On Bedford’s final attack Silkauskas was forced into taking a very tough shot that would have won the game, but he came up short and G-Casino Fliers escaped with the narrowest of victories. Abrook top scored for Luton with 18, with Gill and Whybrow adding 14 and 12 respectively, helping keep Luton at the top of the table with 10 wins and just 1 defeat. Fliers now face possibly their toughest game of the season, away at second place Cambridge Cats this Weds in what could prove to be the HPL title decider.  Comments are turned off for this item
G-Casino Luton Fliers win 2 League Games this weekend G-Casino Luton Fliers played 2 league fixtures over the weekend as they aimed to keep some breathing room at the top of HPL Div 1. The first was a home fixture Friday night hosting Stevenage Scorpions, a newly promoted team this season who ran Luton close in the cup at their place earlier in the season.Fliers used their size advantage inside during the early going with Chris Whybrow working inside and picking up some scores from close range, balanced nicely by Ali Miller who was connecting from long range. Jon Gill had one of his best games of the season, hitting the offensive glass hard and contributing 14pts. Despite a plucky fight-back during the latter stages of the game, Scorpions could get no closer than 20pts and ended up losing by 23 as Miller took over the game in the final period where he scored 18 out of his team high 26pts. Whybrow contributed with a season high of his own of 20pts, with Rafe Abrook adding 16 and Gill 14. Final score 88 – 65 to G-Casino Luton Fliers. The second fixture of the weekend was a more daunting task, as Cambridge Cougars always field a strong side when playing at home and typically Luton were only able to dress 6 players for the game, 4 of which arrived late for tip off! Despite the lack of preparation, Fliers jumped out to their best start of the season with suffocating defence, holding the home team scoreless for the entire first quarter before eventually conceding a basket 3 minutes into the second quarter while 17-0 up. Despite trading baskets for much of the remainder of the game, the Fliers defence continued to force Cambridge to outside long range shots, and they gave up very few scores in the paint. Once again, Miller was deadly from outside and top scored with 21pts, with Abrook doing considerable damage inside on his way to 18pts. The final margin of victory was 20pts at 57 – 37 in a defensive classic. These 2 wins put G-Casino Luton Fliers at 9 and 1 for the season as they push on towards their third title in the last 5 seasons. Comments are turned off for this item
Hertfordshire Warriors 1 (45) v Luton Fliers (71)
Circus Raiders (67) v Luton Fliers (52)
Luton Fliers (72) v Bedford Bulls 1 (49)
Stevenage Scorpions 1 (47) v Luton Fliers (59) (CUP)
Luton Fliers (59) v Cambridge Cougars (51) G-Casino Luton Fliers hosted Cambridge Cougars on Friday in a league fixture. The home side got off to a slow start as they struggled with their outside shooting in the early going, giving up 16 early points with only 10 in reply. A strong start to the second quarter from Fliers saw them run off 12 unanswered points to get back in the drivers seat, and they were able to maintain a lead at halftime to close 29 - 25.The second half saw Cougars come out strong forcing turnovers, as Fliers tried to get it’s bench players some action, but again the home side made some changes and rallied to close the third quarter 43 – 40 ahead. The start of the final quarter saw Luton keep a comfortable 9 point cushion and smart play over the final minutes saw them close out a hard fought 59 – 51 victory. Ali Miller top scored for G-Casino Fliers with 16pts with Rafe Abrook being the only other player in double figures with 11. Fliers have thrived off their outstanding team defence so far this season holding all other teams below 50pts until this fixture thus far, however they are prone to dry spells offensively which will need to be remedied when they face Stevenage this Tuesday away.
Luton Fliers (P) v Stevenage Scorpions 1 (P)
Ware Jokers (47) v Luton Fliers (54) G-Casino Luton Fliers faced a tough road trip on Sunday at last season’s league champs Ware Jokers who beat them twice that season. With Fliers facing a full strength Jokers squad while missing 5 key players of their own, they went into the game as underdogs and further pressure was placed upon them in the first quarter as 2 starters, Luke Patterson and Rafe Abrook both picked up injuries. Luckily both players were able to soldier on, by which time the home team had built up an 11 - 4 lead. Fliers were able to dig in by making some excellent defensive stops and clawing the deficit back to just 12 – 13 by the end of the first quarter. Defensive pressure was to be the key for Luton throughout the game and they suffocated Ware’s usual scorers in a dominant second quarter display with Jokers making just one field goal for the period. Recent signing Ali Miller stepped up for Luton and hit 2 big three pointers in the period, with Chris Whybrow contributing with scores inside. A 26 – 18 halftime lead was the away team’s reward for their efforts. The third quarter saw Ware respond with some sharp outside shooting to pull within 3 by the end of the third quarter, and the stage was set for a tight final stanza. Luton took the initiative by continuing to pound the ball inside to Abrook and Whybrow who put points on the board with Jon Gill crashing the offensive boards when they were unable to finish. At the other end, all 5 players dug in defensively and held a 10 point lead heading into the final minute when Luton’s point guard, Patterson was unfairly called for an offensive foul and had to leave the game as it was his fifth. Jokers then pressed Fliers at every opportunity and managed to reduce the deficit by 5pts before Abrook iced the game with 2 free throws with 15 secs to play, with the final score ending up Fliers 54 – Jokers 47. Whybrow had his best game of the season with 16 points and 3 big blocks, and Gill was also exceptional with some suffocating defense and key rebounding. The win takes G-Casino Luton Fliers to the top of the HPL Div1 table with 4 wins and 0 defeats.
Harlow Hawks 1 (44) v Luton Fliers (51)
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