Watt take care of Saints

Heriot-Watt was drawn against St Andrews in the last-32 of the BUCS Trophy; a team that they had faced and beaten twice already in the league. With the previous results in mind, Heriot-Watt went into this game full of confidence that they could progress to the last 16 of the competition. The game saw momentum swinging back and forth throughout, until a strong fourth quarter from Heriot-Watt saw them come out the winners in a hotly contested 83-73 victory.

The game started brightly with both teams exchanging baskets early on, Heriot-Watt driving to the basket with ease and St Andrews knocking down jump shots: Bobby Fessler hitting two threes early on. As the quarter progressed, Watt’s defence picked up, and they started to force turnovers leading to easy baskets down the other end. Danny Finn was particularly effective in this stretch, finishing the quarter with 7 points and leading Heriot-Watt to a 26-19 lead going into the second quarter.

The second quarter continued in a similar vein to the end of the first, with Watt’s strict man and zone defences creating turnovers, allowing baskets in transition, and getting St.Andrews in foul trouble. Two of Heriot-Watt’s French players, Cyril Noyer and Remi Bastien, led the front line in scoring in the second, scoring 8 and 10 respectively, with Bastien scoring 6 in a row at one point. With a solid first half from the Watt they went in to the half-time break deservedly up 46-37.

The start of the second half saw a complete change in momentum as St Andrews came out with fire in the bellies and the heartache of earlier losses to the Watt still fresh. They started the third quarter with a 17-0 run capped with another Fessler three – one of his five on the day. Coach Griffiths called a time-out with five minutes remaining to try and recollect his team. It worked, and Watt came out more calm and composed and they managed to get a few points on the board before the end of the quarter. However, it wasn’t enough to claw back the deficit completely and the scoreline read 66-58 in favour of the Saints.

The fourth quarter provided Watt with a platform for a fighting comeback, and come back they did. Starting the quarter with an electric 11-0 run that saw two amazing blocks on the defensive end by Laurent Masson which caused talented guard James of St Andrews to lose his cool, leading to his ejection from the game by the referees. With Watt now back in control of the game, they continued to be aggressive on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Eventually, with an eight point lead and five minutes remaining, Watt started to slow the tempo of the game down.

Saints tried desperately in vain to get back in the game but a Tinashe Murenga dagger three pointer saw their heads go down and eventually it petered out into an easy finish to the game for the Watt.
With that win, Heriot-Watt will next face Newcastle University Men’s 1st in the last 16 of the competition at home on 17 February.