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In a huge bounce back game for the Caledonia Gladiators, they showed their fighting spirit and took home the win against the Newcastle Eagles. New Head Coach, Jonny Bunyan, earned his first win in enemy territory in commanding fashion with a 16-point lead. The Gladiators came out strong in the first quarter, and despite the Eagles taking the game back to just a 3-point deficit at the end of the third quarter. The Gladiators took control back in the game, being back up 10 with only 5 minutes left in the game.
The first quarter saw the Gladiators look to forget their mid-week game, taking a strong 8-point lead by the end of the first half. The team would put on a three-point clinic early in the first, with their first 12 points all coming from behind the three-point line and all but one of their shots scored in open play being from behind the arc. Patrick Whelan would help his team to this early lead, putting up 8 of the teams 22 in the first quarter. The score at the end of the quarter was 14 – 22 to the Caledonia Gladiators.
The Newcastle Eagles were determined to prevent the Gladiators from running away with the game on their home court and were able to take the game back to within one possession at the Vertu Motors Arena. The Gladiators started the second quarter, pushing their lead to 17 points, preventing the Eagles from scoring in the first five minutes of action. However, the Eagles would answer back with a run of their own to finish the half in touching distance of the lead.
The score at the half was 38 – 41 to the Caledonia Gladiators.
The Gladiators would not let the Eagles run at the end of the first half discourage them and would quickly take back a strong lead, going up 7 within the first few minutes of play. However, the Eagles would remain competitive throughout the rest of the third quarter, with the Gladiators lead remaining at 7 by the end of the third, going into the final quarter with a strong lead. Unlike the first half, the Gladiators scored most of their points under the basket, showing that they can score at all three levels.
With a 7-point lead entering the final quarter of action in Newcastle, the Gladiators were ready to put this game to bed and hand Jonny Bunyan his first win as Head Coach. The Gladiators would quickly take the 14-point lead, doubling their lead at the start of the fourth quarter, behind strong shooting from new guard, Albert Ventura, who scored the first 9-points for the Gladiators in the fourth. With the 14-point lead the Gladiators kept their heads for the rest of the quarter and came away with the win. A impressive 16-point win for the Gladiators away on the road was well deserved by this new look Gladiators team.
The Gladiators will be back on the road next Friday to play Manchester Basketball, before returning back to Playsport to take part in a Gladiators doubleheader. The women will take on Manchester Basketball at 2pm, closely followed by the men taking on Bristol Flyers at 5pm at Playsport. Don’t miss out on the action this Sunday the 16th with Tickets Now Available!
Tonight’s MVP was Devearl Ramsey, after another strong performance in Gladiator Blue!
