BBL Championship: Cheshire Jets 67 Glasgow Rocks 80

Jan 30 2011 by Alec Doyle, Chester Chronicle

SO often the man of the moment this season, when Jeremy Bell's shooting powers deserted him, no-one was there to pick up the baton as the Jets lost a key game in their quest for the regular season title.

Bell managed a sum total of 10 points and between them, he and Colin O'Reilly, the Jets' three-point specialists, hit 0 from 14 shots from downtown as the Glasgow Rocks claimed an important victory at the Northgate Arena earlier this evening.

The shooting guard refused to disappear into the shadows as he worked tirelessly in defence but there seemed to be nothing he could do to weave his magic from outside the arc and for the Jets it proved costly.

Their defensive game returned to something approaching it's potent best but with the scoreboard not ticking over the win eluded Paul Smith's side.

"We just had a really bad shooting night. I don't think we were taking bad shots, we just weren't nailing them.

"Colin and Jeremy, two good three point shooters, go 0 from 14 - and they were good looks as well, they weren't rushed or anything like that. When you have a night like that you know it's going to be a tough one to win so what you have to do is make up for it at the defensive end.

"Probably for two-and-a-half quarters we did but that's not enough. We were still in with a shout in the last minute or two but by that time you've expended a lot of energy, you make mistakes that kind of stuff so.

"It was tough for Jeremy. I just made a decision down the stretch, in the second half really, that defensively we needed five energetic players on the floor. Jeremy worked very hard on defence, it wasn't his night for shooting but I can't level too much criticism at him for that as he's been great for us this year."

Smith's famously well-planned tactics were altered significantly during the game as his big-man problems continued. Quemont Greer put in his usual reliably impressive shift at forward claiming a game-high 27 points and nine rebounds, but at centre Calvin Davis looked way off the pace in the first half.

Whether the Texan was carrying an injury was unclear, but after the game Jets head coach Smith was clear that he expected more from the veteran.

"Calvin didn't do anything tonight and that's happening far too often," he said. "He's just not playing very well and he'll need to start playing well soon."

Replacement centre Steve Smith, still a rookie learning his craft, grabbed another two home points and looked more comfortable, but as the Rocks kept the ball moving fast Paul Smith decided to bring in Stephen Gayle, who grasped the nettle and landed 13 points including three successful shots from three-point land and added a little zest to the Jets.

Matt Schneck, still suspended until February 20, was in attendance after returning from an extended Christmas break and will be itching to impose himself on a team crying out for his dominance of the court.

But Smith refused to allow his team to use their lack of an in-form centre as an excuse for their performance.

"It's not about whether we have a centre or not, We have enough talent on the floor to win games, we had enough talent on the floor to win tonight's game.

"We had too much of a lull on the second quarter where the field goal percentage was probably 65-70%. If you have one quarter like that and then don't shoot the ball well all night then you're going to get beat."

But he was quick to add that one bad performance does not make his team a bad side and they will need to regroup and take the positives out of a game that they set up for a Jets win, despite failing to convert it.

"I won't put too much store in one game. It was a bad shooting night, but there were a lot of things we did well and I won't lose sight of that, just like when we won a big game against the Mersey Tigers for example I didn't think we were the best team in the league.

"We did some things right and some things wrong. If we 'd have shot averagely tonight we'd have won the game and I think we'd probably have a different tone to the conversation and the report on the game.

"It's Essex next week. It's a tough game, they played Plymouth hard last night and we'll treat them with the respect we would treat anybody else but we need to get back to winning ways."