Cavaliers started strong in their match up against old rivals DGU Jets in Isle of Man Basketball Association’s Senior League at the NSC on Thursday evening.

Both teams ran short benches, Cavaliers missing inside men Dave Minay and Les Winnicki, as well as guards Phil Evans and Dave Boyle, while Jets lacked point guard Tom Dalton-Brown and power forward Peter Boussougou.

The shorter bench favoured Cavaliers at first though as they set a quick pace that led to open lanes for Wig Bregazzi and left Chris Wolfendale free around the perimeter arc.

Jets’ engines were misfiring throughout the first quarter and they were trailing 15-21 at the buzzer.

A stronger performance in the second saw Jets pull ahead, with outside shooting from Thomas Crosbie and Paul Kilic the driving forces. Cavaliers still held onto their composure though, as Bregazzi and Wolfendale kept them within four points, 38-34 at the half.

Jets took flight in the third and fourth, a quicker pace down the court coupled with a well-drilled offence that cracked open the Cavaliers defence through the drive and dish and baseline cuts.

Crosbie again led the efforts, swishing a series of nice shots while picking up a string of foul free-throws that extended the Jets lead. Well-timed cuts from brothers Jake and Logan Glover had them free for easy mid-range shots and open lanes that saw Jets soar.

Cavaliers fought through to the end, but the short bench took its toll through tiredness, and their scoring couldn’t keep pace. At the final whistle Jets had notched up their 10th consecutive win, 79-47.

The other games of the evening saw strong performances from Wolves and Cannons Elite as both teams notched solid wins in their league campaigns.

Wolves were initially on the backfoot against Southern Phoenix as Matthew Jones ran the lanes effectively with trails from Sully Forfar and Connor Moughtin. A late surge by Viktor Capkanovski put Wolves ahead at the end of the first, 24-18, and set off a tense second quarter that Phoenix won by a single point.

The second half was dominated by Wolves defensive pressure though, containing Phoenix offence and allowing Wolves to run out the win, 91-58 at the buzzer.

Cannons Elite took control early on in their match against Cheldan Property Pirates though, with a 31-10 first quarter powered by the outside shooting of Jack Wilkinson, Gabe Thatcher and Rowan Coulter.

Pirates fought their way back with an impressive 16-point unanswered run in the second quarter, with outside shooting from Jordan Brew complimenting a strong inside presence from John Russell.

It was a short-lived revival though, Cannons reasserting their dominance in the third quarter and sealing the century win with a 36-10 fourth quarter that again saw Coulter splash from outside the arc. Final score: 100-50 to Cannons.

Wolves will be looking to settle a score with Cannons Elite at 8.30pm on Thursday after their shock 62-68 defeat in the season’s first round.

Cannons have continued to improve throughout this season and will be keen to end Wolves hopes of a top-of-the-table finish early, while Wolves have found renewed form through a combination of strong defensive pressure and solid outside shooting.

The match-up promises to be one of the most exciting games of the season and not one to be missed.

Meanwhile on court two at the same time DGU Jets will take on Hoops in what should be a fast-paced affairm while the evening kicks off with Cavaliers playing Southern Phoenix at 7pm.

All games are played in the NSC main hall with courtside seating provided for spectators.

Full details of the league schedule and results are available on www.isleofmanbasketball.com

The regular season is now well beyond its halfway point and the performance of players have shifted significantly since the early rounds.

Scoring was initially dominated by fast breaks and strong inside presence, Matthew Jones (Southern Phoenix) on the break while Dave Minay (Cavaliers) was a close second with big post plays.

As the season has progressed though scoring patterns have shifted to solid outside shooting alongside mid-range pull ups and strong drives.

The change has been led by Viktor Capkanovski (Wolves) who has powered to first place with a 190-point total and a 27.1 points per game average.

Seventeen-year-old Rowan Coulter (Cannons Elite) continues to impress, having snatched second spot with 165 points and 26 three-pointers (20.6 ppg) after a storming performance in recent games that included seven three-pointers against Pirates last week.

Fast breaks are still important though, as Jones holds strong in third place (160 points, 17.8 ppg) and fifth goes to Jake Glover (Jets, 143 points, 17.9 ppg) – both players being core to their team’s fast break options.

Versatility plays a key role for fourth place where Thomas Crosbie (Jets) shines. With 149 points and a 24.8 ppg, he has shown a solid mix of inside and outside shooting but has shone from the free-throw line, leading the league with 87.5 percent from the line.

Calculated on a minimum of ten free throws taken, Crosbie is followed up by Capkanovski (83.3), Andrew Cregeen (Cavaliers, 78.9), Chris Wolfendale (Cavaliers, 78.6) and Wayne Mears (DGU Jets, 65.5).

The under-18s rankings also show the strength of developing talent in the local league, with three players breaking into the top 10 overall scorers, each totalling over 100 points so far this season.

Coulter holds a commanding lead in the u18s rankings on 165 points, with Oliver Hamilton (Cannons Elite) taking second place with 108 points and only just ahead of third place Seb Smith (Wolves) with 107.

Brothers Konrad and Zak Hand round out the top five u18s scorers with 96 and 95 points respectively.

With little over a third of the regular season left to play, it remains to be seen whether shooting form, inside presence or fast break runners will claim the top spot in the 2025/26 player rankings.

Given the strong performance of rookie players this could also be the first season that sees a u18 player crowned top scorer in the island’s basketball leagues.

MARTIN DUNNE