BUCS Super 8s Basketball Wrap

It was a disappointing end to the BUCS Super 8s for Northumbria University, with both M1 and W1 falling short at the final hurdle.

It was the second year in a row that the competition was held at Sport Central - testimony to the incredible facilities on offer at the university. 

Both sides celebrated victories in Saturday’s quarter-finals but performances against Loughborough weren’t strong enough to secure a spot on the bus to Bath next week.

“It was a massively disappointing,” said M1 coach Marc Steutel after a 94-49 defeat. “Generally we were really poor but credit to Loughborough for an exceptional performance.

“At this level you hope that you’re able to manage situations and put emphasis on those within the match.

“But we looked disjointed across the board in every aspect of the game. We looked poor offensively and defensively and we just didn’t establish a rhythm.

“We looked like a group of individuals playing on the same team, as opposed to team-mates which was challenging I think.

“There were areas of the performance that we wanted to improve and work on against Loughborough.

“I thought we’d be able to do that but unfortunately we weren’t. Our performances weren’t great and that was evident.”

Northumbria W1 basketball coach Chris Bunten admitted he was delighted with his team’s effort and resolve but disappointed with the final scoreline as the hosts went down 78-54 to Loughborough. 

“I’m a little disappointed with the score,” said Bunten. “It isn’t a true reflection of what we are capable of doing.

“It was always going to be a tough task with only five players available but I thought their effort was phenomenal considering we couldn’t make any changes.

“We could have executed the game plan a little bit better but it really does show that when fatigue kicks in it’s hard to focus on simply playing the game.

“I would have liked to have been a bit more competitive and I thought we could have been but I have to be realistic. 

“With five players against a really good team, it’s probably a true reflection – if we hadn’t had the injuries that we’ve had this year then we probably would have been in a better place.”