THE seniors were looking for an important win against old rivals Copley, a team who have put Bolton out of the play-offs the last two seasons.

Bolton began well coming out strong offensively with Mike Nichols hitting from down town early and Nick McCarthy contributing with open shots.

Defensively, Bolton moved well playing the passing lanes, limiting the shots by the home side. Richard Seddon held his own against the aggressive Copley forwards and with Greg Sanderson running havoc with his hustle, the Bolton lead began to increase.

Copley, without one of their star players, began to feel the heat and resorted to rough tactics, shoving and tripping the now well oiled Bolton players who rose above the torment.

Crisp ball movement and tough defence were the keys which enabled Bolton to open up the lead and to an eventual 88-52 point win with Mike Nichols and Richard Seddon leading scorers with 21 and 16 points.

A positive attitude and plenty of hustle proved decisive for second shot attempts, an attitude which must be utilised for the remaining games if they are to win the league and with a 6 and 1 record, league honours are in sight.

The Juniors hosted Toxteth, a tradiationally athletic team with plenty of energy and for the first quarter, Bolton held their own with Nick McCarthy leading the way with jump shots and inside moves, while Peter Swarbrick hustled defensively.

Bolton trailed by three after a quarter. It seemed Toxteth had been figuring out what Bolton's limitations were, and soon worked them out, capitalising with fast break points and athletic moves to the hoop.

Bolton turned the ball over too easily, with captain Pete Hartley the main culprit. The visitors hustled with full court trapping defence, forcing the home side to commit errors which were punished with points on the board.

Bolton couldn't help the cause by not being able to find the basket and the lead increased quickly. Fundamentally, Bolton failed to box out, enabling the visitors second shots, and with nobody crashing the boards, Toxteth ran away with the game. You can't measure hustle on the scoresheet but it is an important weapon when playing against a team who possess qualities your side lack. This will be a learning game for the Juniors who now face an uphill struggle to reach for league honours.