Blackpool Basketball Club pounce on Panthers

The teams went into the top-of-the-table clash tied for second spot in division four north of the National League, both having won six of their first seven matches.Blackpool were missing some players and gave a National League debut to Shaune Walmsley. A back-and-forth first quarter started with some hot shooting from both sides as Aitor Estrada knocked down two early three-pointers for Blackpool and the Panthers answered with seven quick points of their own.The home side’s hot start continued with a 12-2 run, though Blackpool weathered the storm and James Ormond’s five points enabled them to close the quarter just one point behind at 23-22.The second period opened with another three-point bomb from Estrada, before Rhys Young went to work around the basket with six, though the Panthers kept their noses in front at 34-31. Chris Hodkin took advantage of some defensive mismatches with 10 unanswered points to push Blackpool ahead, then Harry Parr and Shaune Walmsley helped them to end the half with a 47-42 lead.Blackpool came out firing in the third quarter with another nine points from Estrada, and further points from Hodkin, Parr and Young forced Kingston into a time out as they trailed 65-51.The Panthers regrouped to close the quarter with a 13-4 run, meaning Blackpool went into the final period leding 69-65.The end-to-end action continued and Ormond converted to leave Blackpool 76-75 ahead with five minutes to play. Hodkin grabbed two points from the free-throw line and hit a transition three-pointer to stretch the lead to six.And although Kingston mustered one final push, Blackpool converted their free throws to close out the win. Hodkin and Estrada scored 52 points between them, each grabbing seven rebounds. Ormond added a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Young finished with 16 points. Blackpool face Myerscough College in a derby at Blackpool Sixth Form College this Sunday (2.15pm tip, spectators welcome).