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Matchday Live: MMU Basketball surge to national trophy final 

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By Charlie Ball. Photography: Ellie Wright


A dominant performance from MMU resulted in a convincing 90-68 victory against a strong University of Surrey team.

Photography: Ellie Wright

Once again Manchester Giant’s Evan Walshe was the player of the match for MMU. He was MMU’s highest scorer. His perimeter shooting was impressive throughout, which gave him the ability to drive into the lane and Surrey were forced into defending him tightly. This meant he was able to get separation from his defender when going to the basket. 

Photography: Ellie Wright

After the game he said: “We had a good team performance, couldn’t have done it without the guys it was great to get the win.

“The guys really started to find me in my spots in the second half and when other people are contributing it really opens the game up for me. 

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play basketball for a long time now at a lot of different levels, and being able to come down and play at this level is good as I get to share some wisdom with the younger guys and give the team what they need to get to the final.” 

MMU’s defensive tactics were once again impressive as they were able to hold Surrey to just 68 points. This meant that in the final quarter, MMU were able to control the pace of the game.  

Photography: Ellie Wright

Louie Weaver, MMU’s captain, also reflected on reaching the final: “I’m really proud, it was something we had planned on from the start, so it was nice for it to come into fruition. 

“We had a really good win today, everyone played for each other, and we got the job done so that is what matters at the end of the day.” 

When asked about Head Coach Callum Jones, Weaver said: “Callum has been a great coach the whole year, we didn’t have the best practice, but he took us aside and told us to get together – that is what pulled us together at the end.” 

MMU will play Loughborough University on Wednesday 20th March in a game which will take place in Loughborough.

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