For this week’s SBC Game of the Week, Sony Centre Fury traveled to Edinburgh to take on Boroughmuir Blaze. Blaze’s efficient play on both sides of the floor allowed them to stay in control for the majority of the game and take the 94-83 win at home.

Blaze captain, Eoghann Dover was strong coming out of the gate, attacking the basket and pulling up from deep, scoring 11 points in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Fury struggled to execute on the other end as they missed shots and turned the ball over.

“We didn’t execute terribly well in the first quarter and that was probably the difference,” said Fury coach, John Bunyan

Always a threat from outside the three-point line, Blaze knocked down 4 threes in the first period, allowing the home side to pull away to a 26-16 lead by the end of the quarter.

“We were just a lot quicker than them,” said Blaze’s Sam Stott, “We advanced the ball over halfway, we were getting open shots and they were falling.”

After a slow start in the first quarter, Eddie Leginas hit straight away in the second, converting off the inbounds and then assisting on a cut inside by Daniel Tran to narrow the deficit to single digits. However, David Rowan and Eoghann Dover would then drop two consecutive triples to extend the lead back to 32-20.

Fury continued to gnaw away at Blaze’s lead for the rest of the quarter, at one point trimming the lead to just two points after Keith Bunyan knocked down two three-pointers in quick succession. Nevertheless, Blaze would put their foot on the gas for the latter part of the first half, going on a 14-4 run to close out the second quarter.

As the halftime buzzer sounded and both teams went to the locker room, Blaze lead Fury 54-42.

Blaze’s momentum from the first half carried over into the second as they came out and quickly extended the lead to 67-47 on the back of 10 points by Sam Stott in the third. A couple of bright spots for Fury, Zygimantas and Kornelijus Dauksas relished the opportunity for more playing time and would combine for 12 points in the third quarter as they got out on the break and converted inside as Blaze were slow to get back on defence.

“There were a few guys that I gave court time to that performed really well; Ziggy Dauksas had a really good game,” said Fury coach, John Bunyan.

Despite the effort by the Dauksas brothers to cut into the home team’s lead, Blaze went into the final period in front 77-64.

Fury made a late run in the fourth as Eddie Leginas got to the line on several occasions, at one point trimming the lead to just 8. However, John Browne would go off for Blaze in the fourth, scoring 14 of his 25 points for the game in the final quarter. This allowed Blaze to keep Fury at bay and they came away with the win at home, defeating the away side 94-83.

“We just need to keep the pace up, keep the mentality,” said Sam Stott after the game, “When we do that we’re really tough to beat.”

Along with John Browne’s game-high 25 points, Eoghann Dover added 23 points with 5 three-pointers, and Sam Stott scored 20 for the home team. Eddie Leginas was Fury’s leading scorer with 17 points, with Zygimantas Dauksas adding 15 and Kornelijus Dauksas contributing 13 points.

With the 2018 SBC season nearing its end, Sony Centre Fury will host Pleasance BC on the 16th of February in their final game ahead of the Playoffs. Meanwhile, Boroughmuir Blaze will make the short trip to play Edinburgh University on the 17th of February.