New-look Giants open season in style

Mansfield Giants basketball action against Derby at Oak Tree Lane Leisure Centre on Saturday. C M Hudson.

Mansfield Giants men’s team opened up their 2014-2015 season with a 98-52 win against Derby Trailblazers III in the Men’s National Shield to book themselves a place in the next round of the competition.

It was the first game under the club’s new regime, with a new look team, and saw Giants start the season off with a bang.

However, it was the Trailblazers who started off well with a 10-4 run.

But a quick time-out rectified the issues and Giants never looked back, as they scored 15 unanswered points, six Giants players all contributing to take a 29-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Trailblazers heavily relied on taking many outside shots, with Mansfield running the floor from many missed shots and out-rebounding their opponents as point guard Calvin Morant-Hudson and American import David Spain combined to score 16 points between them in the quarter alone to put Giants 47-26 ahead at the halfway point.

A dominant defensive third quarter from Giants held their opponents to just six points in the quarter, as Morant-Hudson continued to pressure Trailblazers’ guards, converting steals into fast break points as Spain nailed a dunk inside.

Tom Brown and Barry Plummer dominated offensive and defensive rebounds, with shooting guard Gary Collins scoring a three as Giants outscored their opponents 28-6 in the quarter to take a 75-32 lead.

The final quarter saw Giants rotate their bench well, with all players gaining many minutes on the court.