03.23.2010
Witney came into this game knowing how tough the Eagles are, after a comfortable win for them last week.
The starting five (Matt Jura, Owen Workman, Luke Gould, Tom Shore, and Tim Kenyon) had a torrid first quarter that finished 7-26. the second wasn’t much better in which the Eagles held Witney to just 3 points. At the end of the half it was 10-51.
A few positives to take from the game are that Witney countered the trap that the Eagles slaughtered them on last week, but then panicked once in the Eagles half.
The game finished 26-107 in favour of the Eagles.
Other positives were Owen Workman finally hitting top gear, albeit whilst nursing various injuries including groin strain, twisted knee and ankle and a sit of the flu. Owen gets game MVP scoring 11, getting 9 rebounds and a few assists. Honorable mention to Mark Ridgill who performed tirelessy at 4 spot, setting up Matt Jura who unfortunately shot a low percentage tonight.
Witney host the Sonics next Tuesday at Wood Green so make sure you come along and show your support for the last game of the season!
Owen Workman – 11
Gary Sollis – 5
Tom Shore – 4
Matt Jura – 4
Luke Gould – 2
Dave Shrimpton, Mark Ridgill and Tim Kenyon – 0
03.20.2010
Witney host Brookes Eagles
by Owen
Witney will host brookes eagles tuis coming Tuesday 23rd March. Witney played these guys for the first time on the 10th march and got thouroughly beaten. Why not come along and show your support! Court opens at 8pm tip off is at 8:15pm @ wood green school.
03.10.2010
Sometimes, it’s a matter of physical ability. No matter how mentally tough you are, or how much experience you have, it’s always gonna be tough to beat a team that’s younger, faster and more talented.
Oxford Brookes Eagles used an up-tempo offence and stifling defence to beat the Houstons 119-55 at Abingdon College. After racing to an early 14-2 lead and withstanding a gritty 2nd quarter comeback by Witney, the Eagles went to their full court press in the fourth to close the game out. “We just couldn’t cope with their speed”, guard Tim Kenyon commented. “The biggest problem was, how do we break their press?” asked forward Owen Workman. “The size of their guards gave us problems in the backcourt, which made it difficult to attack their defence.”
As is their custom, Witney regrouped at the start of the second period and made a strong comeback, cutting an 18-point deficit down to 9. The Eagles were held scoreless for several possessions as the Houstons found their rhythm offensively and forced a number of turnovers on the defensive end. Oxford were forced to look to their starting five to regain momentum, and managed to push the lead back to 19 by the end of the half.
Witney continued to have sporadic success offensively in the third, scoring down low and drawing fouls. Problems resurfaced defensively though, as Oxford used sharp ball movement and broke out for fast breaks to leave the visitors flagging. Midway through the final quarter the Eagles executed their full court press to put Witney away, with guard F Brobby scoring 19 of their last 21 points.
Witney were once again led by forward Matt Jura, who lit up the Eagles big men for 28 points. Backing him up were point guard Gary Sollis with 8 points, including two deep threes, Workman with 6 points and Kenyon with 4. Swingman Luke Gould provided his trademark hustle and continued to fearlessly crash the boards and lead guard Tom Shore anchored the backcourt and did a good job handling the ball. Oxford Brookes were paced by Brobby, who led all scorers with 39 points.
11.06.2009
Oxford 93 – Witney 64
Witney played the reigning champs from the last 3 years and put up a good fight.
Witney went into this game knowing that they had never beaten the Stealers, but still felt like they could get something out of this game if they put the effort in. From tip, (which Oxford won) Witney gained possession after an Oxford miss, Gary Sollis hitting his first “3” of the game to give Witney an Early lead. This was to be the only time that Witney would be ahead. After the first quarter, Witney were down by 12, and it only got worse from there.
Not putting Witney down, Oxford Stealers have 3 or 4 national league players, so it was always going to be tough. And Witney never gave up the fight, in fact the only negatives from Witney’s point of view were a few dodgy calls by referee’s and Matt Jura, Mark Ridgill and Tim Kenyon getting into foul trouble early on. In fact, Matt Jura had 3 fouls in the first quarter, so he had to be taken off to cool down and get his head back into the game, which he sure did as he continues to look likely to win most improved player. Tom Shore had another good game, getting 16 and keeping his PPG up. Luke Gould had another solid game scoring 4. Owen Workman finally got his finger out and played to the potential we know he has, scoring 20 against the best team in the league, doing it with style, and generally owning the post on offense. Highlight of the match has to be Owen intercepting a pass, bouncing it through an opponents legs, crossing up another then passing for the assist. Read more
11.04.2009
Witney 60 – 52 Aylesbury
Witney ran out with a relatively comfortable win over the heat on Sunday 1st November. Witney travelled with a small squad of 7 but only used 6 of them. This was a debut for new comer Luke Gould as well.
Witney warmed up and felt confident, knowing the last time they had lost to Aylesbury was 2 years ago. Owen Workman won the tip-off, tipping into the Heat’s half and straight to Tom Shore to open the scoring with a neat lay-up, this would be the start of an impressive game for Tom shore who scored a minute later to increase Witney’s lead. The first quarter, Witney played hard and fast, only conceding points when Aylesbury had a fast break on, finishing the quarter 21-16. It was even enough from then on, with Witney overall too strong for the Heat, and Witney ended up winning by a comfortable margin. Game MVP goes to Tom Shore again, for a resounding performance, and keeping his PPG up high! Matt Jura put in another strong performance as his improvements from last season are speaking for themselves! Owen Workman had a solid game, still not scoring like last season, but he came up with some important defensive plays, including a couple of last ditch blocks and plenty of rebounds. He found all his shots rolling around the ring and coming out, needless to say he will be working on that ready for Thursday’s game against the reigning champs – Oxford Stealers. Dave Shrimpton had a similar game, solid on D and making himself a nuisance on offence.
Tom Shore – 26 Points including 2 x 3 pointers
Gary Sollis – 11 Points including 3 x 3 pointers
Matt Jura – 8 Points
Owen Workman – 7 Points
Luke Gould – 4 Points
Dave Shrimpton – 4 Points
10.21.2009
Yesterday’s cup game between Thame Tigers and Witney Houstons has been abandoned after a referee slipped on the puddle of water created under a leaky roof at Wood Green School. The water on the court meant that it was unsafe to continue the match. The game stood in 4th quarter: Thame Tigers 68 to Witney Houstons 34 – not a good result for our boys.
Gary Solis – 11 points
Tim Kenyon – 10 points
Matt Jura – 6 points
Owen Workman – 5 points
Dave Shrimpton – 2 points
10.13.2009
Witney lose to Brize by a large margin after some lack luster defending in the first half.
Despite coming back and equaling the RAF in the second half, it was too late to stake a claim for the win. Top scorer Tom Shore had a great game, and gets Game MVP with 17 points, including 4 3 pointers, 3 of them coming in the first quarter! Other honorable mentions to Mark Ridgill scoring 4 on his debut under difficult circumstances. Last season’s MVP, Owen Workman chipped in with 6, much lower than last seasons avg of 15ppg. Matt Jura played really well with 6 points also, and Barry smith and Gary Sollis had 4 and 3 respectively.
Next game is home to Thame Tigers in the cup, and Witney will expect an answer to such a poor performance. Lets hope they can provide it!
10.02.2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Time: 8:15pm – 10:00pm
Wood Green School
Witney host Thame for the first home game of the season. This is the first round of the Oxford and Bucks Cup, and Witney will go into this game with the knowledge that they haven’t lost to Thame for about 5 years, so will have plenty of confidence, although Witney know that Thame are always tough, and having scraped past them last season, they were only 1 of 2 teams that Witney did the double over.
Owen from Facebook
10.02.2009
On the 8 October – Thursday (7:00pm – 9:00pm) we have first game of the season against RAF Brize Norton. Witney have 2 injury headaches to deal with, Owen Workman with ankle and toe injuries and Matt Jura with an ankle injury. Both are expected to clear up in time.
Owen from Facebook
