CHAMPIONS: The team celebrate their second cup victory in a row
TEESSIDE University are celebrating winning silverware after winning a thrilling cup final at Leeds.
The university basketball team beat the previously unbeaten Salford University 100-96 in double overtime last week to achieve back-to-back Northern Conference Cup victories.
The cup victory comes after the team just missed out on winning their league.
However, coach Tony Hanson was delighted with the team’s cup success and believed the support from the university was just added touch they needed to help them bring the cup back home.
Hanson said: “The crowd were so amazing and I was so impressed when we had some of the other university clubs, like netball, supporting us.
“The girls are really loud so I thought that was our sixth man on the court and they supported us throughout the entire game.
“We’re very proud to represent Teesside University and bring the Northern Conference Cup back home and it was a truly an all-university event to help us win this championship”.
Salford had established a run of ten wins out of ten in their league and made it to the final of the cup.
However, Teesside were able to end Salford’s unbeaten run as Romonn Nelson was able to secure 12 crucial points in a row for Teesside in the second double overtime.
Teesside took a 22-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Salford had closed the gap to 40-34 by half time.
The lead had closed a little bit more by the end of the quarter as Teesside still led by 54-50.
A dramatic fourth quarter saw Teesside almost clinch the cup, but a mistake with the free-throw led to the game ending up all-tied after the fourth quarter.
While the first overtime couldn’t separate the teams, the second overtime did as Teesside were able to clinch the game and the Northern Conference Cup for a second year in a row.
SUPPORT: Coach Tony Hanson celebrates with fans.
Club chairman Thompson Charuma was impressed with the team spirit of the team, especially when going into overtime.
Charuma said: “Winning this final has been a great relief especially knowing we played so well for the majority of the game.
“Having to go into overtime took a lot out of us, but we found the strength as a team to overcome the shock of it all.
“Defending the cup shows just how strong the team bond is and next year should be interesting.”
Courtside Teesside 