DORSET STORM CAVALIERS 83

WEYMOUTH BANDITS 67

WEYMOUTH Tandoori Bandits saw their winning run come to an end at the hands of the Cavaliers.

The Bandits entered the clash in buoyant mood, following back-to-back victories, and knew that a third straight win would secure a mid-table finish in Solent League Division Two ahead of the final match of the season.

The game started brightly enough with an early three-pointer from Chris Canham followed by some good exchanges between Dzintars Kalkis, Julien Lawes and Ian Manley.

This gave the visitors a commanding position for the majority of the quarter, but it was the Cavaliers who finished the stronger with three unanswered scores. The early stages of the second period followed a similar tempo to the first with several quick baskets.

However, Weymouth struggled to settle into their offence, as they had done in previous games.

And after some valuable foul-line shooting from Giles Heaman, the team took a time-out to talk tactics and revert to zonal defence.

This proved costly with the hosts dropping three unanswered three-pointers to put the Bandits on the back foot – the half ending 28-20 in the Cavaliers’ favour.

For the mid-part of the season the Bandits had managed to shake off a spate of poor third quarters, but this old foe came back to haunt them at Dorset Storm.

The offence broke down and ultimately stalled while the Cavaliers continued to score consistently, exploiting the baseline and exposing the visitors on several occasions.

The home side were rampant and had opened up a 24-point cushion heading into the final period.

In a desperate bid to hit back, the Bandits upped the tempo and were rewarded with scores from Canham, Lawes and Andy Steel.

Unfortunately, an injury to Kalkis midway through the quarter saw his match come to a premature end and although Weymouth finished with a flourish, it was a case of too little, too late.

Bandits: I Manley 26, D Kalkis 18, C Canham 10, A Steel 6, G Heaman 3, J Lawes 3, M Board, R Camp.