BARROW Thorns have been celebrating a new sponsorship deal, but were unable to follow that up on the court when they faced Liverpool Stars on Sunday.

Barrow-based bathroom supplier The Waterworks Studio, owned by former Thorns player Nigel Fryer, have come on board as the club’s kit sponsor.

It has come as a huge financial boost to the club, which has to find around £3,500 per season to run the senior National Basketball League team, and men’s coach Chris Smith is grateful for the Waterworks Studio’s support.

“Running the team for a season is very expensive for us, partly due to where we are,” said Smith.

“Officials fees are around £200 each home game. Add to that the cost of court hire for training and games and it certainly isn’t cheap.

“The guys fund that entirely out of their own pocket with no grants or external funding, so finding extra cash for a new kit is difficult.

“We are very grateful to Nigel and the team at the Waterworks for their support and proud to wear their logo around the courts of Northern England.”

Sunday saw the Thorns hosting the play-off chasing Stars in the NBL Division Four Men North conference, which saw a frantic start to the contest with both teams playing some intense defence.

Liverpool gradually edged ahead, but back-to-back three-pointers from Niall Johnson and Gareth France ensured the visitors only held a narrow 23-21 lead at the end of the first quarter.

However, the lack of consistency which has haunted Barrow in games throughout the 2018/19 season returned in the second period, with the Stars surging ahead.

Periodic scoring from France, Luke McCracken and Matthew Moore kept the scoreboard ticking over for the hosts and towards the end of the second, Dan Griffiths was able to exploit a defensive mismatch to add to the tally.

However, Liverpool managed to establish a 53-39 lead at half time and pushed on when play resumed, with the Thorns kept scoreless for the first five minutes of the third quarter and trailing 84-49 heading into the fourth.

A 2-2-1 zone press from the home side caught the Stars by surprise and the Thorns were able to out-score them in the final quarter. However, the contest still ended in a 104-72 defeat.

Johnson and France led the scoring for Barrow with 15 and 14 points respectively, while Griffiths, who also hit double-figures with 10, was named as their man of the match.

The Thorns are back in action this Saturday when they head to North leaders Newcastle Eagles Under-23.