Durham’s basketball division has shown its strength as the men took on Worcester and the women took on Sheffield Hallam in the BUCS competition. Both teams displayed considerable skill as they easily overcame their opponents. The men convincingly won 80-53, but it was the women who set a high standard for the rest of the season with a phenomenal win of 133-31.

Although the men always enjoyed a comfortable lead, as the game went on they put more and more distance between themselves and Worcester. At the end of the first quarter there was a ten point lead, at the second this had risen to a fifteen point lead, at the third there was a sizeable twenty point difference between the two sides and finally as the horn sounded to mark the end of play there was a near thirty point lead enjoyed by Durham. The final score was 80-53.

The men’s team strength came from their tactical advantage. Acutely aware of where their team mates were waiting, players would find the spaces they needed to turn Coach Dave Elderkin’s strategy into reality.

Such team work is particularly impressive given that all but four members of the squad are new players. Whilst talent was obvious throughout the ten man squad, three players were picked out by the Coach as having impressed: DJ Glavan (St. Stephens), Mark Elderkin (St. Chads) and Stephen Jones, the Captain (St. Hilde & St. Bede) for their outstanding scoring and skill.

Glavan told TeamDurham after the game, “The game went real well. We played as a team, we played together and everyone got a look it. We never let up and kept the pressure on them. It was a good team victory.”

In a show of Palatinate solidarity, the men’s squad stayed on after their match to support the women’s team who were playing Sheffield Hallam. In return the women’s team showed the men what a ridiculously remarkable win looked like.

Although Sheffield Hallam gave their all throughout the entire game and would frequently make it to Durham’s basket, disappointingly for them they were unable to score points with Durham’s ease. The Palatinates on the other hand were incredibly strong defensively, putting down and intercepting attacks before they had really begun.

However, it was the speed with which they took command of their offence that stood out. Avoiding the little resistance they met, in a display of total team cooperation, Durham would turn the ball around to make rapid and repeated attacks.

After the second quarter, the score stood at 75-13 to Durham, by the final horn the score showed a massive 100 point difference with Durham securing a win of 133-31. It was clear that Durham were simply too strong to overcome.