A WIN against Penicuik this weekend would secure a mid-table finish for the Border Bullets at the end of an impressive first season in the Lothian Basketball Association leagues.
Tomorrow's game will see the Bullets take on the league-trailers wit
h increased confidence following back-to-back wins against Lothian & Borders Lions and Mitie Tigers.
At the end of March, the Bullets held off a more experienced, physically stronger Lions side to win 55-48.
But it was a mammoth victory over the Tigers that gave them the boost they both needed and deserved as they push for a late climb up the table.
The Borderers faced the Mitie Tigers side with their youngest squad to date, but showed no signs of bowing to their older, more experienced opponents.
Kris Baranski and Davy Mercer helped launch the Bullets to an early lead in the first quarter, which saw Earlston High School players Scott Runciman and Graham Mounsey among the starting five.
The gap was stretched in the second, taking the Borderers to a strong 37-17 lead at the half, thanks to tight defence and lively performances up front from teenagers Stuart Thomson and Nick Garbutt.
The win was all but sealed in the third quarter as the squad went from strength to strength and put another 16 points on the board, with Ewan Langworth and 15-year-old Isaiah Symonds producing a standard of play which belied their ages.
And in the final stages of the game, the Tigers could only stand and watch as their opponents ran circles round them, scoring a further 17 points and conceding only two to take the full-time score to 70-29.
John Hood's 23 points and an impressive performance from the youngsters helped seal the squad's first consecutive wins and take the Bullets up to eighth place in the league.
The Border Bullets play Penicuik at 8.40pm tomorrow (Friday) at Westwoods in Edinburgh.
