Carnegie Overcome Warriors' Fight
Carnegie managed to overcome a 19 point deficit in the first half to pull off an incredible comeback victory against Westminster Warriors on Sunday. Led by fourth year guard Gyorgy Polya (28 points), Leeds won 85-78 to move up the Division One Men’s table.
After a strong victory against Northumbria on Wednesday in the BUCS Premiership and a day off on Saturday, Carnegie were expected to come out strong against Westminster. However they were slow off the blocks and Warriors talented guard Ed Lucas came out on fire scoring 7 points in the opening quarter. Leeds trailed 25-18 at the end of the first quarter. Then the start of the second quarter just piled on Carnegie’s troubles, with Westminster opening up on a 12-0 run. With the team now trailing 37-18, Coach Newby knew he had to switch up his tactics. With a change in defence, Carnegie pulled of an incredible 21-4 run to end the second quarter, with Sean Clifford and Gyorgy Polya combining for 18 of the 21 points.
The second half started in similar fashion, despite a quick jumper from Lucas, Carnegie then pulled off an 11-0 run to blow the game apart. Former Warriors player Wilkins chipped in 9 points in the third quarter. Leeds pushed the lead to 16 midway through the fourth (a 35 point turnaround!), but Westminster did not give up and were willing to fight to the end. Led by Popoola who scored 10 straight points for Westminster, they pulled it to within 3 points with less than a minute to play. But Leeds ran an offence to perfection which gave Armand Anebo a wide open lay up under the basket to seal the victory. The game ended 85-78.
Top Scorers:
Carnegie
Polya – 28
Clifford – 17
Wilkins – 15
Warriors
Bulambwe – 18
Popoola – 17
Lucas – 15