Kestrels opened their pre season with a 95-67 victory over Portsmouth Force, in the annual Mick Byrne Memorial game on Saturday evening at the Solent Sports Complex. This was the second instalment of the yearly contest, designed to pay tribute to a Solent area basketball legend in Mick Byrne, whilst raising funds for charities of both clubs choice.
Team Solent Kestrels newcomer Wayne Kitenge stole the show on his debut in front of the Kestrels Family, with 18 points and 18 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action, whilst Isa Brandon and Greg Durand chipped in 17 and 14 points respectively.
The first quarter was perhaps a reflection of the time of the year with both teams starting slowly with little to separate the sides in the opening exchanges. Kestrels did take an early lead however as Greg Durand and Isa Brandon got the scoreboard ticking for the hosts. Wayne Kitenge provided the inside presence for TSK also as he scored in the paint and on successful trips to the foul line, 18-14 to the home side after one.
An early scoring run to open the second period saw Kestrels push the lead to double figures, forcing a Portsmouth timeout. Jake Kinder came off the bench for his Kestrels debut and continued to provide the scoring punch, whilst Itchen duo Jakub Ofman and Joe Lloyd also got on the scoresheet. By the half time break the hosts had jumped out to an 18 point advantage, 52-34.
Portsmouth hit back as the second half begun, cutting into the deficit as Harry Bates made a deep 3 before Jordan Walker also knocked down a jumper. That would be short lived though as Kestrels controlled the remainder of the 3rd, pouring in 29 points on the quarter. Isa Brandon got going whilst Kitenge continued to be a a dominant force inside the paint. 81-47 heading into the final quarter.
The tempo slowed drastically as the fourth quarter allowed both coaches to rotate and take a look at different combinations, in true pre season style. Portsmouth trimmed the gap marginally but it was TSK that would take the win having already built an unasailable lead.
TSK Head Coach Matt Guymon was satisfied with his squads performance, “It was great to be back on the floor at the SSC in front of a packed house and more importantly for a great cause to remember Mick Byrne and raise money for charity. It is important this time of year to get to see a variety of combinations through-out the game as well as integrating new players into the squad. I thought we showed some positive signs considering we have had a short time together and we look forward to the challenge of the Kit King trophy over the next two weekends.”
Perhaps the mostly impressive stat of the night was the £1765 raise for charity and has been split evenly between the Bev Guymon Memorial Fund and the UBROND Community Charity, thank you to everyone who supported from both clubs, another great evening remembering a Solent area legend.
Micky Byrne 1942-2023.
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