Varsity 2010: Basketball

Premier league competitors, Edinburgh University Men’s 1sts, were subjected to a shock defeat in basketball’s inauguration to the Edinburgh Varsity. Heriot-Watt, who finished third in the Scottish Conference, approached the game with confidence and were rewarded for their sustained effort and cool heads.

Taking an early lead, Heriot-Watt guard Noyer opened the scoring with an impressive three-point shot – an early indication of what Edinburgh University could expect. After a slow start, Smith finally got Edinburgh off the mark and honours were largely even towards the end of the first quarter. Into the second, the trend continued with both sides rueing missed opportunities to take the initiative. It was Edinburgh, however, who, despite often failing to convert from a series of Heriot-Watt turnovers, went into half time with a ten-point lead.

The sizable crowd could have been forgiven for thinking that Edinburgh would capitalise on their lead, and go on to dominate the second half. However, Heriot-Watt held their nerve with Noyer again finding his three-point range early on. Estonian Merisalu, who led the line for Edinburgh in the first half, was at the wrong end of some dubious refereeing decisions and four fouls meant he had to hit the bench. Tempers rose high as Heriot-Watt ate away at the deficit, but Captain Finn (14 points) maintained his composure to sink three out of four free-throws gained from poor Edinburgh discipline.

Towards the end of the third quarter, Thompson bolstered Edinburgh’s offence with an impressive run, starting with a three point shot and followed by three consecutive drives to the basket. The hosts could not capitalise however, and Heriot-Watt answered with a full-court press and several impressive outside shot to keep the score at 43-38 to Edinburgh.

With the atmosphere building at the CSE, nerves were creeping in, but it was Edinburgh who again took the initiative, with Thompson driving deep into Heriot-Watt’s defence. However, the visitors again showed their quality and the hosts failed to close down Finn’s outside shooting. With Edinburgh in foul trouble, he stepped forward to convert two free throws to level the match at forty-five points apiece. Edinburgh were not aided by the departure of Merisalu, who finally struck out with five fouls. Into the final minutes, the match was anybodies to win, and Heriot-Watt seized the opportunity with both hands, putting up a staunch defence while showing patience and determination in offence.

With Heriot-Watt up by one point with 1.4 seconds left on the clock, they sent Edinburgh to the line with the opportunity to score one free throw for the draw or two for the win. Agonisingly for the hosts both shots were missed, ensuring that Heriot-Watt deservedly took the spoils from what was a gripping match. While Heriot-Watt supporters invaded the court to celebrate with their team the Edinburgh players hung their heads. The amount of drama will ensure that basketball, as a Varsity event, is here to stay.