SBC: Rocks Secure Historic Win

23-21 37-39 48-54 68-72

Cumbernauld, Scotland | Renfrew Rocks came into the final game of their 3 game road trip with a Friday night match up with North Lanarkshire Chiefs. An 0-2 start to the season following big match ups versus perennial title contenders Falkirk and St Mirren left the new look Renfrew side hungry to chalk up one in the Win column.

Renfrew got off to a rocky start for the travelling side, with turnovers allowing the Lanarkshire side to pile the pressure on but struggling to convert, a big 3 from Canadian Vlad Pierimarchi saw Renfrew on the scoreboard. The two sides would trade buckets in the first with Renfrew stuttering on the offensive end, leaving a lot of easy points on the floor. Big performances from big men Shiloh Wakazadi and Scottish international Jonny Pettit kept Rocks in the game. A defensive spark from Jack Thomson sparked a suffocating start to the second quarter, translating into a 6-0 early run with Thomson and Callum Brand getting to the freethrow line, putting a number of Chiefs players in early foul trouble. Another solid quarter from Pierimarchi and a big 3 for US Guard Kris Carroll gave Renfrew a slender 39-37 lead at the half.

A debut for Renfrew product, Martin McQuarrie saw a 2nd half start as he lit a spark in the 3rd on some stellar individual defense in a quarter that would be all about locking in. A quiet offensive quarter for both sides meant buckets were hard to come by, but a personal 8-0 run from Pierimarchi accounted for a bulk of the points. A poor shooting quarter despite some wide open looks meant Rocks couldn't pull away and would leave it all to play for in the final period. A high energy final quarter would secure Renfrew the win off some big defensive stops that sent the Rocks bench roaring, from the efforts of Thomson and Milo Lockhart. A Chiefs timeout would regain their composure as they cut the deficit to 1 behind some good interior offence. Regrouping, Renfrew were able to convert two big 3s from sharpshooters Thomas McGoran and Liam Stevenson, igniting the Renfrew bench once again. Good tactical defensive execution kept Renfrew in front and a final 3 from McQuarrie in the penultimate possession of the game sealed the 4 point win, marking the first ever Division 1 win in Renfrew Rocks history.

Speaking post match, Renfrew Head Coach Johnathan MacLeod commented;

It is important to be able to grind out a win like that, especially coming off the run we have, it is great for the boys to be able to bounce back and get their confidence back. We are still on a journey and have some brilliant spells, we now need to sew them together and be consistent over 40 minutes. I am incredibly proud of all the guys, everyone contributed in their own way and we stuck together when we were on the wrong side of a run, now we will analyse and fix some of our mistakes that we need to get better on. To get the clubs first ever National League Division 1 win is a huge moment and something the boys will savour, for Martin to secure the win with a big 3 on his D1 debut makes it sweeter, considering his tenure with the club, coming up through the junior section and playing at every senior level before we took the club into the top flight. We have that need for a win that was looming over us gone now and I am looking for us to kick on in our progression.

Renfrew will enjoy a weekend off from match action with a bye week before they return home when they take on the Edinburgh Lions on Sunday 13th November, tickets available via the Game Hub.