Dominant Greneway squeeze Barclay aside

GRENEWAY continued their fine form with a convincing victory against Barclay School from Stevenage in the Year 7 North Herts Schools Basketball Association final at St Christopher School in Letchworth. The Royston school were looking to win their 12th title in 14 years and maintain their 100 per cent record for the season. From the tip Greneway won possession and scored. Barclay responded in kind. This pattern continued as both teams looked comfortable in offence. Gradually Greneway tightened their defence and squeezed energy from Barclay as they began to pass and move more effectively to end the period in control at 26-12. The second period saw Greneway's new five carry on the great work of their team-mates as they increased the quality defence and used it to spring many excellent attacks. Barclay tried bravely to weather the storm but could find little penetration as Greneway dominated all phases. The interval was reached with Greneway cruising at 48-18. The third quarter saw Barclay rally as they chased the game and understandably Greneway eased off. Barclay scored eight unanswered points for their best run. This aroused the reigning champions once more and they responded positively to end the period still in control at 61-35. Once again Joe Graves proved to be the pivotal player for Greneway, reaching 40 assists for the season. The final quarter saw many changes as both benches were used and this allowed all players to shine and Greneway, in particular, were impressive. Barclay continued to work hard and were never down but Greneway caused too many problems and greeted the buzzer at 79-38 for a well-deserved 12th championship. Neil Addison led the scoring with 18 points, while Jack Beck chipped in with 16.