Chichester beat Bognor to go top of basketball league

This eagerly awaited match welcomed a season-high crowd and victory means Knights now sit top of the SABA division two.

Chichester came out of the blocks quickly against a strong GSD side made up of members of their National League side and their development squad.

Raf Cuesta and Ben Lucas made strong moves to the basket with some strong defence from Andy Knight and Kev Wilson.

GSD found their range in the second quarter, clawing back their earlier deficit, tieing the scores at 34-34 at half time.

The second half saw both teams find their rhythm. Connor Turvey found his rebounding form at both ends of the court, supported by Andy Turvey, showing some good shooting form. However Knights couldn’t stop some accurate GSD shooting and fast breaks, and they took an eight-point lead into the final quarter.

In the final quarter Knights regrouped and stepped up their strong man defence. Stu Hardyman drained two consecutive three pointers to tie the scores at 62-62 with two minutes to go to set up a tight finale.

Both teams finished the game strongly, taking the ball strong to hoop, trading free throws.

The game went down to the last eight seconds with Knights keeping their composure, Dave Turner scoring a late jumpshot to give them a slender lead, then the strong Knights defence sealing the result with a great team effort. Knights edged a great showcase of local basketball, 67-63.

Chichester Knights: Dave Turner 21, Kev Wilson 8, Adam Turvey 8, Raf Cuesta 7, Ben Lucas 7, Stu Hardyman 6, Connor Ferry 4, Isaac Haskell 4, Andy Knight 2, Ethan Walsh.