C6 Dorset Play-offs

THOMAS HARDYE 32

POOLE HIGH 63

THOMAS Hardye suffered semi-final heartache at the hands of Poole High in the C6 Dorset Play-offs.

The tie started well for the county town side as Alex Skidmore bagged an easy lay-up to put the underdogs ahead.

However, the joy was short-lived as Poole struck back immediately and never looked back.

Hardyes did find some success with a substitution and defensive change, but they were unable to conquer a now dominant away side, who ran up a 37-15 lead at the interval.

The second half was a different story from the first as the hosts managed to keep their intensity to a high level and went basket for basket with their guests.

With some strong rebounding from Nick Beer and Ed May they were able to take advantage of Poole’s lack of height.

Unfortunately, Poole stepped up a gear in the final period and seemed to score at will.

Some determined play from Francis Anyanjo showed there was still some fight left in the home side, but it was not enough to prevent a 63-32 loss, meaning Poole now face unbeaten Weymouth College in the showpiece game.

Coach Alex Fuhrmann said: “Regardless of the result, I’m really pleased with the guys this year and their effort.

“We set out to qualify for the play-offs as we missed out last year and we did that. Though this game didn’t reflect our potential, we achieved our goal and can be proud of it.”

Hardye: Alok Bahl 10, Alex Skidmore 8, Francis Anyanjo 6, Nick Beer 4, George Scott 4, Henry Dale, Ed May, Luc Scadden.