By Jason Ntezilyayo 

Varsity was electric, and what a way to end the 2-day event with The University of Huddersfield Men’s Basketball team defeating Bradford University hosted at the University Sports Hall. From the warmups to the tip-off, it was evident that this wasn’t just another game for Huddersfield but a finalising statement to the rivalry with Bradford, as many events in this year’s varsity favoured Huddersfield. As Huddersfield was a division below set opponents who were also 1^st in theirs, the underdogs still managed to portray a dominant performance that had the crowd hyped and cheering throughout the night. 

Standout players, including Huddersfield’s Joshua Forde and the MVP of today’s match, Ropa Bindura, were essential in the strong start from the first tip-off. Josh Griffith, who was arguably Bradford’s best player, was causing many problems for the Huddersfield defence early on, as well as Bilal Kasana (Number 11) with how he drove into the restricted area and scoring points from layups. But as the opponent hit, Huddersfield hit harder with their transitions and managed to respond with fast breaks and a lovely 3-pointer from Joshua Forde to boost the team’s confidence and the crowd, as the first half finished 15-12 to Huddersfield. 

The second half showed increased confidence from the Huddersfield side, especially from Number 12 Ropa Bindura, who found his groove as his performance was outstanding. Although Bradford was fighting tough in their battle, the defence was much tighter in the second half, making it difficult for Griffith to take his signature shot for a triple and find his teammates to receive the ball in the restricted area. The successful strategy resulted in a close 35-33 to Huddersfield. 

The last and best half of the match showed Huddersfield’s teamwork and drive becoming too much for the Bradford team to handle. They finished off the game with a whopping 77-61 to Huddersfield. The crowd celebrated hysterically, not just for this game but also as confirmation of winning the whole Varsity event, as the trophy was handed to Huddersfield at the end of the game. 

MVP Ropa Bindura shared his thoughts on the intense game: “For me personally, I started slow, but obviously with my teammates, they gave me the opportunity to pick up the pace, and then the second half, I played a lot better, but not without my teammates.” 

“Our coach is a genius. We started on a man, but knowing Josh on the other team started heating up a little, we switched to the zone to kind of collapse that and prevent him going off, made sure we got our hands up on defence, trying to stop their 3’s, and it’s worked out well”. 

“Atmosphere was beautiful. Huddersfield was the bigger and loudest side, and I appreciate that so much. It definitely spurred us on to win”.