Men's Division 3 Team In End of Season Push
March 15th, 2016 - With six games in four weeks over February and March to close out the season, and with only 8 players from the original squad of fifteen now available, it was always going to be a tricky run in for the Colliers Division 3 team to close out the season.
After signs of big things to come from this team early in the season - playing league contenders to the wire and a convincing victory over a team that finished in a similar league position last season - the loss of several key squad members throughout the season has made it hard to establish consistency in training and in games. Over the last three games however there have been positive signs that the players are developing and the team has shown the ability to find its rhythm and play well cohesively.
In an away game playing Glasgow Storm, with only a six man, undersized squad, the players showed a great ability to make good decisions and cope well in dealing with what was a tight game until late. James Wright's hot 3 point shooting and Connor White's clutch free throws in the 4th quarter sealed the win.
Playing against a veteran Dumbarton Dodgers squad the Colliers put on a gutsy showing and kept the game close, with the lead for either team never exceeding 4 points for the first 3 quarters. A great performance from Justin Young and Rob Jamieson inside held the Dodgers big front line in check until the Colliers squad of only 7 players tired and started to concede multiple offensive rebounds in the 4th quarter. In an attempt to claw back the 10 point lead the Dodgers had gained, the Colliers gambled on pressing defensively but the better rested and more experienced Dodgers took advantage to win comfortably after a great contest for the first 3 quarters.
Against Renfrew Rocks in a home game, the Colliers squad was bolstered by two players from our junior teams: Chris Curle and Calum Alexander. The Division 3 players set a great tone early: keeping turnovers to a minimum and playing strong man to man defence in the half court. When Chris and Calum came in to the game they brought a lot of energy and hustle, offensively and defensively and made a positive contribution throughout the game. Some big shots in tight situations from our regular squad and additional composure brought by the on court presence of Ross Hutton meant the team had a well earned win in the end after a tight contest throughout.
Head Coach Derek Milligan commented: “It's been a challenging season for the team, especially in terms of coping with the changing squad.”
“However, over these last three games it's been really notable that the players are buying in to playing as a team and sticking to the basic principles that will give us a chance to stay in and win games.
“It’s also been really pleasing to see a number of players show how much they’ve developed their game over the course of the season and they’re making big contributions when given the opportunity in these fixtures.
“We still have three more games to go so we’re hoping to finish the season on a positive, with things to build on during the off season.
“Hopefully we’ll get a good turnout of people coming to cheer us on in our last home game against Glasgow Storm.”
The final home game of the season for our Division 3 team will be this Sunday, the 20th, at the Alistair McCoist Sports Complex, tip off at 8.15pm.