Rob Donaldson was the top points scorer for West Yorkshire Hawks but he couldn’t prevent his side going down to a 72-58 defeat at Tameside Vikings.
Donaldson scored 19 points and, despite early promise from the Hawks, the Vikings came on strong in the second half to inflict a first defeat of the season on the Huddersfield-based side.
The Hawks were ahead in the first quarter but Tameside fought back to level at 40-40 at half-time. The home side dominated in the second half and the Hawks were always second best.
Donaldson top-scored with Jermayne Laing and Jacques Misambu chipping in with 11 points each.
Hawks’ head coach Danny Byrne said: “Credit to Tameside. They executed their game plan well, especially after the break.
“We were disappointing today. We played at their pace and didn’t look to increase the tempo. Defensively, our intensity just wasn’t there, and we’ll be working hard on that during our break.”
The Hawks now have a couple of weeks to regroup before their next outing. They face a tough 4th round National Cup fixture against Division One side Newcastle University on Sunday November 17, before returning home to host Tees Valley Mohawks on Saturday November 23 at the University of Huddersfield.
Image by: Nino Tughushi
