By Ben Curtis
Chester extended their unbeaten run to 3-0 in the BUCS division 1A by beating University of Liverpool.
The home side were looking to start quickly after a strong first few games in their new division. It was Liverpool who started quickly here today though, shooting off to an 11-0 run thanks to some strong rebounding from the blues number 12 Buschbeck. It took until the fifth minute of the first quarter before Chester finally got on the scoreboard through Garcia Chaichio.
Despite finishing the first quarter 14-20 down, the home side never really looked in trouble, coming out of the blocks in the second with a 11-0 run to grab the lead and they never looked back. By the end of the second, the Reds had jumped ahead to a 55-39 lead thanks too intense defence combined with some very consistent shot making.
Liverpool continued to fight hard despite it becoming more and more clear who the better team on the night was. It was in the third quarter when the home side really put the hammer down on any chances of a comeback for the visitors. Etherington was showing all the skills in his locker off the bench, with steals and layups through contact helping to stretch Chester’s lead too 27 points by the time the end of the quarter came around.
It’s often said that you can tell a good team by how they play when they’re well ahead, if that’s the case then Chester showed themselves to be a very good team tonight, showing a relentless approach to furthering the lead in the fourth quarter against a now battered and worn down Liverpool team. By the time the final buzzer came around the lead was at its highest point of the game at 36 points.
A convincing performance after a wobbly start puts Chester in strong position going into a big weekend with games against Derbyshire Spartans and Leicester Warriors to come.
