Sunderland Men’s Basketball 2nds 63-61 Hull Men’s 2nds

Felix Attah’s 14 points and a Qi Jun Chan buzzer beater helped surge Sunderland 2nds past Hull 2nds 63-61 to win their fifth straight league match in Northern Tier 5B.

Hull’s first-half runs threatened Sunderland’s recent unbeaten league run, but the lack of second-chance points dampened the visitor’s chances of causing an upset.

Late drama led to a Chan buzzer beater after Hull came back from eight down in the fourth quarter.

The 2nds entered the match winning four of their last five in all competitions, and four straight in the league.

Early efforts from Sunderland’s Joshua and Attah had sparked confidence for the hosts after they jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Despite Hull’s Suhut Bernard forcing three point attempts resulting in Sunderland defensive rebounds, the visitors shared the wealth, with the help of second chance opportunities, to go on an 8-0 run and took their first lead since going up 2-3

Sunderland’s Joshua was at the centre of shutting out Hull for the remainder of the first quarter with a few blocks, steals and forced turnovers.

The visiotor’s positive spells came in runs as Stephen O’Donoghue’s pair of three’s combined with Darren Oware and Malachi Fenton’s pace of play led to a 11-0 run and a 14-22 lead.

The hosts responded with a 14-3 run of their own, after recording their first second quarter point with five minutes left in the half.

Led by Chan’s nine points in the first half, Sunderland’s aggressive offensive style gave them a 28-25 advantage at the half.

Defensive efforts, coupled with high tempo, gave the hosts an early nine point lead, causing Hull’s coach to call a timeout to regroup after two and half minutes into the third quarter.

A transition from man to zone defense gave Sunderland an edge allowing only five points and led by Walid, with six points, gave them a 16 point edge going into the final quarter.

Key defensive player, Joshua, fouled out with 5:10 left in the game, and gifted Hull hope to claw back at their 12 point defect.

Hull on the back of three consecutive threes cut the lead down to eight with over a minute and a half left to play.

The visitors capitalized on multiple late possessions to tie the match with 10 seconds remaining. Chan shot a put back second chance opportunity, and won the match for Sunderland as time expired.