The Sports Dome seemed a little on the quieter side on Tuesday night until the thriller between the Foul Outs and the Motives, which saw the Motives come from behind to snatch a 40-37 win.
The energy with which both teams hit the floor reverberated through to the spectators and had us sitting up and taking notice.
Strong defence from each side kept the scoreboard bare until Hayden Davy from the Foul Outs made his mark.
This broke the seal for his team and Cody Mackenzie scored back-to-back two pointers followed up by Thomas Raeside.
The Motives had a slower start to their scoring with attempt after attempt deflected by the hoop.
Rickylee Craig had a win with his basket, putting first points on the board for the blue team who all looked very impressive in their full uniforms.
Adam Cruickshank made his mark before Adam Vine got a two pointer and Cruickshank added to his previous points with two in a row.
Paul Seymour was able to get both of his foul shots through the hoop as well.
This run of points for the Motives started to narrow the gap between the teams but the Foul Outs weren’t letting their lead slip away and a flurry of scoring and some strenuous defence kept them in front.
Archie Cudmore showed his skill with his two baskets along with Luke Wakely.
Cody Mackenzie, Hayden Davy and Thomas Raeside weighed in again for their team. Halftime saw the Fouls Outs 10 points in front, 23-13.
The second half saw another fast start and the yellow Foul Outs again drew first blood when Matthew Parsons potted his two pointer.
Hayden Davy followed suit and Archie Cudmore joined his teammates in the scoring.
Paul Seymour started the scoring for the Motives which opened the floodgates for the blue team who found their groove and began to master the hoop.
Josh and Adam Cruickshank took turns in scoring before Adam Vine sunk a lovely three pointer that seemed to come from nowhere.
Thomas Raeside scored again for the Foul Outs along with Parsons, and Cudmore sunk a last second basket that left their final score at 37.
The Motives weren’t giving up their hard-earned lead without a fight and were able to keep the pressure on the opposition.
Paul Williams and Paul Seymour added points to their final score of 40 points.
The passing game from both teams was hard and fast, keeping the ball in constant motion.
This, combined with rigorous defence and surprise intercepts, had the direction of play changing with rapid regularity.
The Motives coming back in the second half was icing on an already exciting game.
