Written by Scott Laidlaw
The Caledonia Gladiators entered this game following an 84-90 win against Newcastle Eagles away on Thursday night. With a record of 19 wins and 12 losses this season, they sit 3rd in the table, 2 points behind Cheshire Phoenix in the battle for 2nd place and home advantage in the playoffs.
The Surrey Scorchers come into this game after a heavy loss last week against Newcastle Eagles (125-84) and currently sit 7th in the table with 13 wins and 18 losses this season.
Match Overview:
The Surrey Scorchers’ starting five were Abdul Mohamed, Cameron Gooden, Saiquan Jamison, Padiet Wang, and Josh Steel.
The Caledonia Gladiators’ starting five consisted of Quade Green, Prince Onwas, Patrick Whelan, Clifton Moore Jr., and Lukas Palyza.
The game started slowly, taking over a minute for the first points to drop. The first points were scored by Surrey, but Prince Onwas responded with a bucket of his own. The teams continued to trade baskets, with Surrey hitting a 3-pointer to stretch their lead to 7 points at 11-4. This forced Coach Murray to call an early timeout with 5:58 to go in the quarter. After the first 5 minutes, the score was Surrey 13-8 Gladiators. Mohamed was in red-hot form behind the arc. The TV timeout came with the score Surrey 18-12 Gladiators. Quade Green scored 2 free throws to cut the lead to 4 points. The Gladiators went on a 4-0 run to trail by 2 points, 20-18. Surrey scored another pair of back-to-back 3-pointers to lead at the end of the 1st quarter, 26-20.
The second quarter started with Surrey hitting a 3-pointer, but Fraser Malcolm responded with the Gladiators’ first 3-pointer of the game. The Gladiators tried to stay within touching distance of Surrey. Surrey’s lead was cut to 2 points after being up by as many as 9 points. The game was tied for the first time at 31-31. Back-to-back 3-pointers for the Scorchers gave them a 3-point lead, 37-34. Another timeout was called with the score Scorchers 38-34 Gladiators. The teams were tied again, this time at 39-39. Surrey hit another 3-pointer, but Lukas Palyza scored 3 free throws to put the Gladiators in the lead for the first time in the game. The halftime score was Surrey Scorchers 47–50 Caledonia Gladiators, with the lead at 3 points.
Half-time Stats:
Leading scorers: Abdul Mohamed (Surrey Scorchers) with 12 points and Clifton Moore Jr. (Caledonia Gladiators) with 14 points.
The third quarter started with traded buckets, making the score Surrey 51-56 Caledonia. Quade Green had scored 20 points so far in the game. Surrey hit a 3-pointer to bring the gap down to 2 points. The Gladiators then went on a 5-0 run to lead by 7 points, 58-65. Surrey responded with a 5-0 run of their own to trail by 2 points, 63-65. Quin Cooper had scored 12 points in the game, shooting 80% from beyond the arc. The game was tied at 65-65 with 3 minutes left in the quarter. The score was tied again at 67-67. At the end of the 3rd quarter, it was Surrey Scorchers 69-73 Caledonia Gladiators.
The Surrey Scorchers started the 4th quarter with a 4-0 run to tie the game at 73-73. The teams traded baskets, and the Gladiators led by 1 point, 76-77. The Gladiators were on a 9-0 run to lead 78-82. The game was tied at 82-82 after Surrey had 2 free throws for an and-1 and another for a technical foul against Fraser Malcolm. With 2:42 left in the game, the Gladiators led 85-86. The end-of-quarter score was Surrey Scorchers 89-95 Caledonia Gladiators.
Full-time Stats:
Leading scorers: Abdul Mohamed (Surrey Scorchers) with 22 points and Quade Green (Caledonia Gladiators) with 31 points.
MVP: Quade Green with a stat line of 31 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists.
Tickets:
Tickets for the men’s next home game are still available on the Fanbase app!
