w/e 26/02/06 London United lost by 13 on the road to title chasers Reading Rockets on Sunday evening at Reading. United again started brightly taking the lead through a Damian Reid 3 pointer and then a Deppisch three. United went up 6 at 13-19 as Van Elswyk scored inside the paint after some good ball movement. By the end of the 1st Quarter United looked steady with a 1 point lead at 22-23. In the second quarter Readings main inside scoring threat went down hard on his ankle to slowly get up and take a place on the bench and in the next play for United Damian Reid did the same thing landing awkwardly after rebounding the ball. Jacek Jagodka stepped up for United to nail 2 successive three's and give United a three point advantage at 30-33 as the teams traded baskets through Readings EJ Harrison's offensive work with nine 2nd quarter points. Reading took a 3 point advantage into the half at 43-40. The third quarter saw Reading forge ahead after they stretched their lead out to 14 and then the game looked over for United as Tonkovitch seemed to recover from his ankle turn by slamming home on three successive offences, whilst United Reid seemed to struggle with his mobility. In the fourth United managed to bring the game back to 10 although United had to foul Reading to try to force free throw misses in the last minute and a half. United's inability to shoot their own free throws was their undoing scoring only 10 from 25 trips to the line, whilst also turning the ball over in some crucial situations. United lost 76-89 in a game that could have been very different if they shot a higher percentage from the free throw line. United now face a tough home game versus Worthing Thunder on Saturday 4th March at Brunel Osterley at 6pm. Tickets are available on the door. Paws Leave Little Impression on Magic. Manchester Magic: 84 – 59 PAWS London This was a poor game for the fans. After the euphoria of the last home game, the Magic stuttered in offence and were slack in defence and the visitors were uninspiring. Their late arrival meant the game was half an hour late in starting and this did nothing for the mood of the paying spectators, or of the Magic players. With a comfortable lead of 26-14 at the end of the first quarter, Jeff Jones put his bench players on for the Magic to maintain the lead and they just managed to do so until half-time. The Magic tried to break the PAWS’ zone defence with some long shooting but were only 26% successful with 3 point attempts for the game. So the second half went by, with PAWS plugging away, picking up some easy baskets and led by K. Robins who was the game’s top scorer and rebounder. It all ended with a comfortable win for the Magic, as PAWS tired and to some extent lost heart in a lost cause. For the Magic it was a case of some bright performances and some good moments but an overall lack of cohesion which will have to be rectified come play-off time. This is coming ever nearer. The Magic have four more games, all against teams they should be able to beat, but this is a difficult league and they will have to be at their best to ensure fourth place and a home tie in the opening game of the play-offs. This will be a sudden death one-game affair and, especially on their home floor, teams are very difficult to beat. The Magic’s cause will not be helped by the loss of two key players. Influential captain Del Herriman has already left for the Commonwealth Games in Australia and their all-action Australian forward Aaron Roberts has returned home with a back injury which would not heal before the season’s end. Fortunately Coach Jeff Jones will be able to promote the bench players who have served him well this season. Next home game is on Sunday, 5th March at the Amaechi Basketball Centre. Tip-off is at 5.00 p.m. and all are welcome. Top scorers: Magic: Matt Hogarth: 19 Kenny Roberts: 15 Troy Sledge: 13 PAWS: K. Robins: 23 P. Avorkliyah: 12 I. Gariba: 10 Worthing Thunder 100 (25, 39, 62) Ott 30; Woods 19; Gayle 18 Worcester Wolves 78 (18, 37, 56) Urbonavicius 19; Collins 17; Harper 16 Worthing Thunder cemented their position at the top of the EBL Division One table with a convincing 100-78 victory over second-placed Worcester Wolves on Saturday. The first quarter started off a very evenly with both teams playing some tight defence, Thunder in a man-to-man set-up and Worcester into a zone. Points inside the paint were hard to come by for Thunder who were forced into playing an outside shooting game and they didn’t disappoint with guards Alfredo Ott, Steve Vear and Steve Gayle all sinking treys. Worcester were ahead by the 6th minute through Valdas Urbonavicius at 14–12 but at 6-0 Thunder run through Vear and Gayle put the hosts back in front and they extended their lead to 7 points at 25–18 by the close of the period. The second period saw Thunder resting their starting guards and as they struggled against Worcester’s defence the visitors closed the gap to within 2 points at 31-29. Alfredo Ott led the resistance from the hosts though and his 9 second period points ensured that they maintained an advantage, albeit slender going into half time 2 points ahead at 39-37. In the third period Thunder gradually increase the lead over their opponents, as the home team were able to adjust to their opponents defence, Jon Woods came to the fore. The Worthing forward not only shackled his Worcester counterpart Ty Shaw, restricting him to just 3 points but also profited with 8 of Thunder’s 23 third period points and extended the lead to 60-49. A late Worcester revival in the final 2 minutes saw Thunder’s lead slip to 6 points at the close 62-56 up. The fourth period was where Thunder really got going. The hosts moved into a 10-point lead by the fifth minute, Worcester tried desperately to salvage something from the game, but Thunder took full advantage of their opponents disarray to post an incredible 10 points in the 9th minute and, despite 5 late points from Wolves, Steve Gayle’s two frees at the close ensured Thunder a treble digit score and a convincing 100-78 victory. w/e 19/02/06 Magic Newcomers Shine. Manchester Magic: 95 – 81 Kingston WildcatsThe outcome of this game was very difficult to predict. Since the teams last met, they had both recruited new players. The Wildcats had had some results that belied their low position in the league and the Magic started the game with three very recent new players. Two of them were to make a huge difference to the quality of the Magic game and to the outcome of this encounter. From the tip-off, American guard Kenny Roberts played with an enthusiasm and zest that spread through the whole Magic team and his fellow countryman Troy Sledge at once looked like the best rebounder to wear a Magic shirt. Meanwhile the Wildcats showed a speed and energy in attack and defence which was matched by the accuracy of their shooters. At the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats were deservedly leading by 27 -24. In the second quarter it looked as if the Magic might run away with the game, as their newcomers started scoring heavily, helped by some sound play by Del Herriman and Matt Hogarth. At half-time they held a 49-37 lead. The third quarter was a different story. The Magic game faltered and the Wildcats took advantage, edging the quarter by two points and looking right back in the game. This was the most exciting game seen at the Amaechi centre for a long time, with the sell-out crowd enjoying the exuberant play of both sides but the home fans at least always fearing a surge by the dangerous visitors. The last quarter was a thriller as the Wildcats fought back, gnawing away at the Magic lead until Roberts led his team to victory with some cool finishing from open play and from the line. This had been a splendid advert for Division 1 basketball and it was just a shame that the one team had to lose. Top scorers: Magic: Troy Sledge: 33 Kenny Roberts: 25 Del Herriman: 17 Wildcats: J. Sudler: 23 M. Williamson: 16 N. Selsby/M. Addy: 14 London United 126 Solent Stars 91 At Brunel University, Osterley Sat 18th Feb.
Worcester Wolves: 96 (Harper/Urbonavicius 23, Collins 21, Shaw 15) London United: 86 (Ataha/Quashie 18, Deppisch 15, Van Elswyk 10) At Worcester University Sunday 19th Feb
London United visited Worcester after a convincing win at home to Solent the day before which was effectively a walk in the park for the home side. Solent without leading scorer David Butterworth were no match for the Hounslow based West London Team, with United running away with an easy 35 point victory. Sunday trip to Worcester was going to be a much tougher game for London as Worcester had beaten them in the recent Trophy competition at the semi-final stage and were looking to strengthen their position in the league further with another win. London United won the tip and Van Elswyk opened the scoring with a lay-up for 2. Worcester’s game started very slowly. Their first points came from Matt Collins with 3, but London very quickly pulled ahead. After 4½ minutes, they led 11-5. United sunk shot after shot to move further and further into the lead. At the end of a great first quarter London led by a considerable 28-10 margin, playing some of their best basketball for a long time. Worcester opened the second quarter with a fast passing move leading to 3 from Matt Collins. Andy Harper followed this up with 2 of his own on the next offence. Moments after being introduced into the game, Ben Potts made his mark with another 3 for Worcester. Whilst this began to eat into London’s lead, they still had a considerable comfort buffer. After 4 minutes, United led by 38-24. Into the latter stages of the quarter, Worcester began to gain momentum and, lifted by the enthusiasm of the crowd, began to close rapidly on London. With 2¼ minutes remaining, London lead by 45-34. A number of high-energy offences and steals combined with good defence allowed Worcester to close further, cutting London’s lead to a mere 47-42 by half time. Worcester gradually closed in on London’s lead eventually drawing level 52-52 after 3 from Matt Collins after 5 minutes of play had elapsed. For the next few minutes, the score remained very close as the teams exchanged baskets until London appeared to wake up to the situation and again pulled ahead by a widening margin with a 9 point run from Reid and Klocek. The last points of the quarter came from Worcester’s final offence resulting in London leading by 67-59. In the early stages of the fourth quarter, Worcester again piled the pressure on London in a successful attempt to regain ground lost in the latter stages of the previous quarter. A number of successful unanswered baskets culminating in a 3 from Andy Harper brought Worcester level with the visitors again after 2 minutes of play. London began to find the basket again through a huge Deppisch three and aggressive offence from Klocek and, as had happened minutes earlier, the two teams scored in step with a gap of no more than 2 points at any time. Again, after a few minutes, London began to eke out a lead of a few points. With 1 minute remaining, Worcester trailed 79-77 behind the visitors. Colin Chiverton was then fouled by Van Elswyk and sunk one of the two free throws. This left Worcester trailing by a single point with 17 seconds remaining. A number of fouls brought Worcester into foul trouble leading to two free throws for Santa Ataha who coolly sunk both and with just 13.3 seconds remaining, Worcester embarked on a final last-ditch offence in a bid to draw level for overtime… against the odds, an off balance Andy Harper sunk an incredible arcing three pointer to the huge disappointment of United who thought they had the game won. Worcester started the overtime period with possession, which Andy Harper quickly converted into 2 points for Worcester. This shot combined with another 5 points from Valdas Urbonavicius took Worcester 88-84 ahead with 2 minutes remaining. Fouls from London worsened their situation as Collins and Harper gladly accepted the free throws that resulted. Josh Cooprider called a timeout with 17.7 seconds of play remaining and the score at 94-86. Andy Harper sunk the last points of the game to give the Wolves a 10 point win of 96-86. United could only muster 5 overtime points through Ataha and Jagodka and felt bitterly disappointed to lose a game they believe they did enough to win. the positives were Mark Quashies performance in his best game of the year and Santa Ataha's obvious return to form running the point.
Top scorers for United were Ataha and Quashie on 18 and Deppisch on 15. United now face another tough game at Reading Rockets on Sunday 26th Feb and then a massive home encounter against close rivals Worthing Thunder at Brunel on the 4th March. Wolves claw back victory from determined United Worcester Wolves: 96 (10, 42, 59, 81) (Harper/Urbonavicius 23, Collins 21, Shaw 15) London United: 86 (28, 47, 67, 81) (Ataha/Quashie 18, Deppisch 15, Van Elswyk 10) London United visited Worcester after a convincing win at Solent the day before. Worcester had beaten them in the recent Trophy competition at the semi-final stage and were looking to strengthen their position in the league further with another win. The game started very slowly for Worcester and for much of the time the prospects looked bleak. However, a massive effort in the final quarter and ensuing overtime period pushed them on to eventual victory. London United won the tip and Van Elswyk opened the scoring for the visitors 25 seconds later with a lay-up for 2. Worcester’s game started very slowly. Their first points came from Matt Collins with 3, but London very quickly pulled ahead. After 4½ minutes, they led 11-5. Worcester continued to put the shots up, but they seemed unable to quite find the basket. Meanwhile, the visitors sunk shot after shot to move further and further into the lead. At the end of a sobering first quarter for Worcester, London led by a considerable 28-10 margin. Worcester opened the second quarter with a fast passing move leading to 3 from Matt Collins. Andy Harper followed this up with 2 of his own on the next offence. Moments after being introduced into the game, Ben Potts made his mark with another 3 for Worcester. Whilst this began to eat into London’s lead, they still had a considerable comfort buffer. After 4 minutes, the visitors led by 38-24. Into the latter stages of the quarter, Worcester began to gain momentum and, lifted by the enthusiasm of the crowd, began to close rapidly on London. With 2¼ minutes remaining, Worcester trailed by 45-34. A number of high-energy offences and steals combined with good defence allowed Worcester to close further, cutting London’s lead to a mere 47-42 by half time. Harper found the basket again at the opening of the third quarter, dropping 3 through the ring to start Worcester’s scoring. Worcester gradually closed in on London’s lead eventually drawing level 52-52 after 3 from Matt Collins after 5 minutes of play had elapsed. For the next few minutes, the score remained very close as the teams exchanged baskets until London appeared to wake up to the situation and again pulled ahead by a widening margin. The last points of the quarter came from Rob Clarke with 2, but Worcester’s final offence was unsuccessful resulting in Worcester again trailing behind, this time by 67-59. In the early stages of the fourth quarter, Worcester again piled the pressure on London in a successful attempt to regain ground lost in the latter stages of the previous quarter. A number of successful unanswered baskets culminating in a 3 from Andy Harper brought Worcester level with the visitors again after 2 minutes of play. London began to find the basket again and, as had happened minutes earlier, the two teams scored in step with a gap of no more than 2 points at any time. Again, after a few minutes, London began to eke out a lead of a few points. With 1 minute remaining, Worcester trailed 79-77 behind the visitors. Matt Collins was fouled and awarded free throws, of which he scored one, only to have them disallowed after a complaint from London’s coach that it was not a “free throws” foul! Colin Chiverton was then fouled by Van Elswyk and sunk one of the two free throws. This left Worcester trailing by a single point with 17 seconds remaining. A number of fouls brought Worcester into foul trouble leading to two free throws for Santa Ataha. With just 13.3 seconds remaining, Worcester embarked on a final last-ditch offence in a bid to draw level for overtime… against the odds, an off balance Andy Harper sunk an incredible three pointer to the relief of the home fans and the team. Worcester started the overtime period with possession, which Andy Harper quickly converted into 2 points for Worcester. This shot combined with another 5 points from Valdas Urbonavicius took Worcester 88-84 ahead with 2 minutes remaining. Fouls from London worsened their situation as Collins and Harper gladly accepted the free throws that resulted. Josh Cooprider called a timeout with 17.7 seconds of play remaining and the score at 94-86. Andy Harper sunk the last points of the game to give the Wolves a 10 point win of 96-86. KUTI'S SOLENT STARS 89 (20, 44, 63) WORTHING THUNDER 108 (29, 53, 88) Had Solent Stars not turned the ball over 16 times in the first half against league leaders Worthing Thunder, they might have been in a more competitive position in this English League Division One game at Fleming Park. As it was a particularly wretched last minute of the first quarter, when Solent missed several shots and gave the ball away four times, saw the visitors able to open a nine point lead. Previous to that Solent had matched the visiting team basket for basket in the opening six minutes helped by three point scores from Mark Jackson and Anthony Rutter. Seeming not to have learned their lesson, the second quarter started with Jackson losing the ball in the opening seconds, but he was not the only culprit as most of his team also conspired to lose possession under the intense pressure put on them by Worthing. Jackson also picked up his third foul in the second minute of the quarter forcing coach Steve Chant to bring him off court. Gradually Solent by determined effort came back into the game, despite still conceding possession to their more alert and quicker opponents. Tensions rose towards the end of the period as John Smith picked up three quick fouls, but Solent held their own as they shared the points scored in the quarter. The exchanges were even at the start of the second half, with Solent coming to within ten points of the visitors (52 - 62) in the fourth minute. However, another less disciplined period of play allowed Worthing to add seventeen points in the next four minutes with just two points by Clayton Milner in reply. Coach Chant used his time-outs to try to get his team back on course and Jackson - who had already picked up his fourth foul - responded by adding five quick points for Solent. Steve Chant was forced to call a time-out again at the start of the final period as Solent - looking dispirited after the mauling being given them by Worthing - conceded eight points in the first three minutes. Now trailing by 35 points, it is to the home team's credit that they were able to restrict Worthing to just twelve more points in the remaining seven minutes whilst adding twenty six of their own. Scorers: SOLENT John Smith 32 Mark Jackson 17 Clayton Milner 11 Anthony Rutter 9 Will Zoppellini 9 Ryan Payne 8 Graham Hunter 3 WORTHING Alfredo Ott 21 Pat Bates 21 Steven Gayle 19 Jonathan Woods 18 Rani Malik 14 Steve Vear 9 James Brame 6
City of Sheffield Arrows 61 (14,28,44) LEOPARDS finally ended their Sheffield hoodoo as they collected their 12th league victory of the season, on Saturday. Since the old Big Cats won the BBL title with an overtime victory against Sheffield Sharks in April 1998, the two versions of the Leopards had managed to lose an incredible SEVENTEEN straight games in the Steel City. That included two heartbreaking National Cup defeats, and three losses in the play-offs. But on Saturday a dominant performance by the Big Cats meant that they never looked likely to extend that miserable run. The visitors were led by a 28 point haul from point guard Demetrice Williams, with his fellow American Tory Selvey chipping in with 19 points. But it was a good all-round defensive performance from Jon Burnell's team that sealed the win, with the reigning league champions unable to score more than 17 in any quarter as Leopards outscored them in all four periods. Both teams went into the game missing key players, with Steve Ogunjimi and Roger Lloyd missing for the Big Cats, but it was the loss of Arrows' Noah Brown which proved to be the key. Without Brown, who is averaging over 30 points per game, the hosts were never able to match Leopards, and Williams set the scene when he opened the scoring with a three-pointer. Arrows hit back with a pair of baskets from American big man Tucker Kain, but that proved to be the home side's only lead of the night.
A pair of Selvey free-throws launched what proved to be a
key 13-0 run, with Selvey hitting eight of the points. The Big Cats reached
the first break with a comfortable 22-14 lead, with Selvey and Williams continued to be Leopards' main threat as they scored the first seven points as the lead was stretched to 29-17. A trey from Salter plus three points from James Warwick and a Brian Moore basket saw Leopards extend the lead to 15 with two minutes of the period remaining, and they held that advantage until half-time. Eight points from Williams and five from Salter kept Leopards' in control as the teams exchanged baskets during the first seven minutes of the second half. A rare three-pointer from Errol Seaman saw the lead grow to 20, and Leopards took it out to a game-high 24 thanks to baskets from Salter and Williams, before a three-point play from Kain saw the visitors reach the final break with a commanding 21 point lead. With the game effectively won, Leopards noticeably relaxed, allowing Sheffield to cut the lead to 13 with eight straight points - although they could have extended that run if James Sutton had not missed four straight free throws.
However, that was as close as Arrows got as Moor ended the
run with a three-pointer to wrap up the game and end Sheffield jinx. Worthing Thunder 112 (39, 65, 85) Gayle 26; Ott 23; Vear 16 Teesside Mohawks 104 (23, 48, 69) Nicholson 20; Adu 19; Fingleton 19 Thunder laboured to a 112-104 victory over Teesside Mohawks at the Leisure Centre on Saturday night despite looking to be continuing the devastating form that had condemned Manchester Magic to a comprehensive loss last weekend after they raced into an early 10-0 lead against a Mohawks side fielding the tallest player in British basketball; 7’ 6” Neil Fingleton. While Thunder centre Pat Bates (a mere 6’9 tall) struggled to contain Fingleton in the paint and was called with some early fouls, Thunder switched to an outside shooting game with devastating effect, 5 treys during the second half of the period ensured that try as they might, Teesside would not get back onto terms and the 1st quarter finished 39-23. The second period was a much closer affair as Thunder, hampered by foul trouble, an injury to Okolie Ugbana and the unavailability of forward James Brame (flu) struggled to contain Mohawks. A series of threes from the Thunder guards ensured the status quo until a Rani Malik trey on the buzzer extended Thunder’s first quarter lead by 1 point to 17 points at 65-48. Thunder were forced to rest live-wire point guard Alfredo Ott for the third period after he picked up 3 fouls. Without their starting American they struggled as Teesside went on a 13-4 run inspired by 6 successive points from Jamie Nicholson and reduced the margin to just 8 points at 69-61. Thunder’s guards stabilised things with an 8-2 run that re-established daylight between the two sides and following a Malik basket the game was poised 85-69 going into the final period. Teesside came back hard in the final period as Thunder struggled with offensive plays. The margin was reduced to just 6 points, by the midway point and following some accurate outside shooting by Mohawks in the last minute of play the margin was only 4 points at 104-108. With time running out, consecutive frees from Jon Woods and Steve Vear ensured that the game was made safe and Thunder ran out victors 112-104. Easy Road Win for Magic Nottingham Knights: 54 – 97 Manchester Magic After a hard game on the Saturday evening against tenacious opponents, the Magic could relax a little in their game against Nottingham. They took it seriously enough, making their best start of the season, with 31-14 the score in their favour at the end of the first quarter. This had included 4 successful 3 point attempts from Del Herriman. The game was then effectively over, but they carried on until half-time with their strongest players, when they led by 58-23. After 5 minutes of the third quarter, Magic coach Jeff Jones put his bench players on court and they saw out the game for an easy win. The Magic are now in third place in Division 1, helped by having played more games than anyone else. But points in the bag are always better than games in hand and they can look forward to the rest of the regular season with confidence. Their next chance to maintain their position comes on Saturday, 25th Feb. at the Amaechi Centre. Tip-off is at 7.30 p.m. and a large crowd is expected. Top scorers: Magic; Del Herriman: 17 Matt Hogarth: 15 Kenny Roberts/Gavin Smith: 13 Knights: B. Johnson: 20 A. Haase: 11 M.Omope: 9 KUTI'S SOLENT STARS 91 (22, 41, 66) LONDON UNITED 126 (31, 66, 90) Ollie Marsh returned for Solent Stars in this English League Division One game at Osterley, but Paul Silcox declared himself unfit for the rest of the season after a couple of recent run-outs. This proved to be an open and fast encounter with both teams able to show enterprising play in the high scoring game. The pattern for the match was set early on when the London players started to shoot and score from long range over the Solent zone defence. Even when coach Steve Chant called an early time out and the team reverted to man-to-man defence, the home players still found the target with outside shooting, notching seven three pointers in the opening quarter. So physically distant were the London team that the Solent players were not called for one foul for the first fifteen minutes of the game. Indeed, the first quarter only contained one personal foul in total. Anthony Rutter, who had opened Solent's account, was supported in the scoring mainly by Clayton Milner, who worked tirelessly in defence. Mark Jackson took over the main scoring role for Solent in the second period as Solent tried in vain to stem the flow of London points. Missed shots early on meant that Solent trailed by 30 - 52 in the seventh minute. John Smith had only managed eight points thus far and was culpable of a missed slam dunk reminiscent of John Bynum's effort that cost Solent the Championship Play-Off a few seasons ago. But he, too, epitomised the Solent players' approach of being very competitive, so much so that he picked up a technical foul for protesting that he had been fouled - ironic bearing in mind that only seventeen fouls were called in the game. A lapse of concentration in the final minute by Solent saw London score six easy points. Solent shaded the third quarter by one point. Ryan Payne hit a three point shot early on but the London players continued to shoot successfully from outside, adding four more to their total of sixteen three pointers in the game. Brave defensive work by the Solent players against the taller opponents limited the home team to 24 points. As well as Payne (5) other scores were made by Milner (8), Jackson (6), Rutter (4) and Smith (2) to bring the Solent quarter total to 25. Solent also scored 25 points in the final quarter - including Will Zoppellini's best contribution so far of 4 points - but London gave a grandstand finish taking advantage of the tiring Solent players, who were all conscious of the next day's game against table-topping Worthing Thunder. Scorers: Clayton Milner 22, Mark Jackson 22, John Smith 21, Anthony Rutter 13, Ryan Payne 5, Will Zoppellini 4, Chris Sheldrick 2, Graham Hunter 2 w/e 12/02/06 KINGS LYNN FURY 81 (17, 41, 59) SOLENT STARS 87 (27, 47, 61) This was a first meeting for these two teams, both currently languishing in the lower reaches of the league. Solent were trying to end a 13 run of defeats whilst Kings Lynn, who had nearly overcome Kingston Wildcats the previous evening, had lost 12 consecutive league matches. It was the visitors, Solent Stars, who took the early initiative in this Division One game, despite missing Ollie Marsh and Paul Silcox from the previous night's match against Worcester Wolves. The eight man team all contributed to an inspiring Solent performance which got off to a flying start thanks to points from Clayton Milner, Anthony Rutter, Ryan Payne and Mark Jackson. American John Smith seemed to find the going hard and it took him ten minutes before he could score his first points to give Solent a ten point first quarter lead. Graham Hunter came off the bench to hit a three pointer at the start of the second quarter, but it was three minutes later before Payne would add two more points. In that time, the Fury had come right back into the game with a nine point burst of points. Kings Lynn levelled the scoring at 37 all with three minutes remaining of the first half, but Will Zoppellini's score and John Smith's second basket of the half meant that Solent could enjoy a rare half time lead. Smith finally got among the points at the start of the second half scoring ten of the team's fourteen points, but the Fury outscored Solent by four points to trail by just two, going into the final quarter. In the most exciting of final quarters, the two teams slugged it out with Solent always managing to keep the upper hand, save for one change of lead midway through the quarter. Kings Lynn visited the free throw line 17 times and Solent 16 in a tense finale. Four of the visits for Kings Lynn came courtesy of a Jackson foul followed by a technical foul on the same player. This enabled the Fury to draw level at 65 all in the third minute. Earlier Clayton Milner had picked up his fifth and final foul. Coach Steve Chant turned to Chris Sheldrick to add some height to the defence, and he performed his task admirably, making it difficult for the taller Kings Lynn players to have easy shots. Rutter added important points at vital times including four from the free throw line in the final minute. But the game turned on a brilliant Jackson steal and score in the last minute with Solent then just three points ahead. More fouls by the home team in attempts to get possession were dealt with by a succession of successful free throws by Jackson (4) Rutter (4) and Smith (2). "This was a team win with everyone playing their full part," said a delighted Steve Chant after the game. Scores: Anthony Rutter 21, Mark Jackson 21, John Smith 18, Ryan Payne 12, Clayton Milner 10, Graham Hunter 3, Will Zoppellini 2 Wolves shoot down the Stars Solent Stars 77 Worcester Wolves 103 The Wolves travelled to Southampton to play the lowly placed Solent Stars with a clear intention of a win to consolidate their position at the top of the table. Ben Potts made the starting line-up for the Wolves in the absence of Valdas Urbonavicius. On the bench for the first time for the Worcester side was the young prospect Oliver Turner, who had been promoted following some impressive performances for the Wolves Division 3 team. Solent made a promising start to the game with some fine shooting from Payne, but it was not long before Trophy Final hero Andy Harper found his range, as he scored 3 three-pointers in the opening quarter. Point guard Matt Collins was also amongst the early scorers with nine points in the opening spell that included two 3-point shots. The key feature of the Wolves play in the first period, however, was the quick passing that created several gaps in the spirited Solent defence. At the end of the first quarter the Worcester side led by 31–18. The second quarter saw Ty Shaw and Colin Chiverton feature more prominently with some great rebounding at both ends of the court. Shaw scored from some excellent drives to the basket whilst guards Harper and Collins continued to find space for some fine long range shooting. Joseph Forde joined the Wolves attack and linked well with Collins to extend the Wolves advantage. At half time the Wolves had built an impressive 59–33 lead. The third quarter saw Solent enjoy their best spell of the game as they converted several 3-point attempts of their own. The main response from the Wolves came from Potts and Forde who were enjoying a lengthy spell on the floor, whilst giving a clear indication that they are comfortable at this level. In the final quarter the Wolves lead approached 30 points yet there was no let up for the Stars as Harper and Collins maintained their scoring form and Shaw and Rob Clarke took care of the defensive end of the court with some fine rebounding. The game ended with a comfortable Wolves win. American shooting guard Harper recorded a healthy 32 points and the game statistics of Matt Collins read 24 personal points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists which shows an excellent all round performance at any level in National League Basketball. Head Coach Josh Cooprider commented, “It was an excellent team performance tonight. Once again we were organised on the court and executed the plays in an efficient manner.” Director of Basketball, Mick Donovan, added, “The performance by Matt Collins was outstanding and throws further doubt upon the National Coach who has not even considered him for the Commonwealth Games team. He has shown week in week out that he is the best English point guard in the league”. Wolves scorers: Harper 32, Collins 24, Shaw 14, Forde/Potts 10, Clarke 7, Chiverton 6. The Wolves play London United at home next Sunday as the Division One title race becomes even more intense SOLENT STARS 77 (18, 33, 57) WORCESTER WOLVES 103 (31, 59, 79) Solent Stars have been averaging 75 points per game so far this season. Although they achieved this score again - without leading scorer David Butterworth or recently departed Marc Steutel - it was never going to be enough to defeat table-topping Worcester Wolves in this Division One league game at Fleming Park. For the first eight minutes of the game, the teams were evenly matched as the Solent Stars starting five, John Smith (6), Ryan Payne (4), Anthony Rutter (2), Clayton Milner (2) and |Mark Jackson (2) all scored points to help Solent lead on six occasions. However it all began to unravel when Worcester scored ten unanswered points in the last two minutes of the opening quarter. It was the outside shooting of the Worcester guards, Andy Harper and Matt Collins, that did the first quarter damage. Harper went on to score with eight of his fourteen three point attempts and continued to be a thorn in the Solent team's side. The margin by which Solent trailed grew to 27 points as Worcester scored the opening fourteen points of the second quarter in four minutes without any reply from Solent. The home team moved the ball harmlessly around the outside of the Worcester defence, but with no outside shooting threat (scoring only three times in fifteen match attempts) the bigger Worcester defending players could afford to wait for the almost inevitable turnover or missed shot. Payne landed a three pointer to bring Solent back into scoring mode, but half time came with Solent 26 points adrift. The half time interval proved a blessing for Solent who came out with a renewed vigour and actually outscored their opponents 24 - 20 in the quarter. Rutter opened the scoring and Smith had four free throw chances to add to the total after Worcester picked up their first foul of the game in the second minute. Although he missed with three of those attempts, it was his rebounding ability (17 in the game) which gave Solent more possession of the ball than they had earlier in the match. Rutter scored seven consecutive points midway through the quarter to spark new hope into the Solent team. Worcester, having won the National Trophy final the previous week. could only share the spoils in the second half with both teams scoring 44 points. Whilst the eight man Worcester squad comfortably took the game, Solent coach Steve Chant took heart from his team's second half performance. "We started well, but when things started to go wrong, the players didn't seem to know how to put it right. Full marks, then, to their recovery in the second half, " said Chant. Scorers SOLENT John Smith 24 Mark Jackson 16 Clayton Milner 15 Anthony Rutter 11 Ryan Payne 9 Paul Silcox 2 WORCESTER Andy Harper 35 Matt Collins 26 Ty Shaw 14 Ben Potts 12 Joseph Forde 8 Colin chiverton 6 Robert Clarke 2 London United got themselves back to winning ways on Sunday by winning on the road to Teesside Mohawks. The long journey up north is always a tough one for the players to travel for 5 hours and then automatically switch things on to play, but the players reacted really well after a horrific performance last weekend in the league losing to Kingston at home. United were up against 7ft 6" Centre Neil Fingleton who is impressive in frame as well as his ability, but with United working tirelessly as a team they managed to forge a 27-21 first quarter lead with captain Pete Deppisch nailing 6 points and rejuvenated point guard Santa Ataha scoring 11. By the half United had extended their lead to 51-39 as Deppisch took his tally to 20 points. United's constant work ethic on defence helped them play more as a team than in recent weeks and although Teesside made a comeback to within 8 points in the final quarter it was Ataha again who managed to seal Teesside fate by scoring 7 consecutive points handing United a much needed win at 72-88. Ataha top scored with 27, Deppisch with 24 and Klocek with 13. United now placed 6th in the league with a 11-5 winning record are hoping for the teams above them to slip up as they all play each other in the coming weeks. United face a double header weekend coming up with Solent Stars at Brunel Osterley on Saturday at 6pm and then away to second placed Worcester on Sunday.
Essex & Herts
Leopards 77 (21,39,58) A POOR final 15 minutes saw Leopards slip to their first defeat at Goresbrook since September, on Saturday. The Big Cats had looked set for victory against a Magic side lying one place behind them in the EBL Division One as they led by eight points at the midway stage of the third period before being outscore 33-21 in the final stages. Troy Selvey led the Big Cats with 28 points, but it was the performance of England international Delme Herriman who kept the visitors in the game with 20 first half points before being restricted to two after the break. A tight first period saw "and-ones" from Selvey and Brian Moore plus an Errol Seaman basket helped keep them level after six minutes. Four straight points from Selvey followed by as many from Seaman saw Leopards open a six point lead, and a three-pointer from Dave Jones sent the Big Cats into the first break with a 21-14 lead. Herriman continued to be Magic's only real offensive threat in the second
period as he doubled the ten points he had scored in the first quarter.
However, seven points from Demetrice Williams kept Leopards ahead, and
although a Herriman basket briefly put the visitors into a one-point lead,
four points from Selvey plus scores from Williams and Seaman sent the Big Magic opened the third period strongly, with American Troy Sledge scoring five points in a 7-2 run to cut the Big Cats lead to a single point. Sledge scored 12 of Magic's first 14 points of the period, but another trey from Moore and a Selvey put-back kept the hosts' lead at eight at the midway point in the quarter. Despite Williams picking up his fourth foul, the home side remained in control, and a long-range jump shot from Seaman saw the lead by five with two minutes of the period remaining, only to be hit by seven unanswered Magic points to give the visitors a 69-58 lead at the final break. Things got worse for the home side as Gavin Smith and Matt Hogarth extended that run to 11-0, and although Selvey broke the run off a Williams' assist, Magic's lead was extended to seven following a Hogarth trey. Sam Salter's second basket of the game plus five points from Williams saw Leopards reduce the arrears to two with 5:40 on the clock. The teams exchanged baskets until scores from Williams and Selvey saw Leopards draw level at 73-73 with two minutes remaining. A trey from Kenny Roberts restored a lead Magic were to never lose, but despite another three-pointer from Hogarth, the Big Cats kept in touch with successful pairs of free-throws from Williams and Seaman. However Selvey missed both shots from the charity stripe with 1:18 remaining, and with Moore fouling out, Gergely Major sealed Manchester's win from the free-throw line. Leopards: T Selvey 28, D Williams 23, E Seaman 10, B Moore 9, S Salter 4, D Jones 3, R Lloyd, M Eames, J Warwick, E Gregory (DNP) Worthing Thunder 103 (37, 64, 91) Ott 28; Gayle 24; Bates 21 Manchester Magic 83 (12, 34, 58) Herriman 24; Roberts 21; Sledge 13 Thunder blew away Manchester Magic with an incredible 1st period display that saw them race past their opponents and rack up a 37-12 1st quarter lead. Magic could not live with the presence of English centre Pat Bates in the paint who dominated Thunder’s defence with a number of superb blocks first period and from the resultant turnovers Thunder’s guards Steve Gayle and Alfredo Ott profited with 8 and 10 points respectively. Bates was equally effective on offence and some strong moves under the basket saw him lead all scorers with 12 first quarter points. The second and third periods were to prove to be much closer affairs as Thunder were able to rotate players and Manchester picked up their offensive game. Despite resting Bates for much of the second period, Thunder continued to hold an increased lead over their opponents who despite England player Delme Herriman leading his side with 8 2nd period points, trailed by the half by an increased margin of 30 points. The margin was to grow to as many as 36 points in the third following 7 unanswered points from ex-magic player Steven Gayle, but following a three-pointer by Magic’s Steve Towell the 3rd period closed with Thunder an impressive 91-58 ahead. With the contest effectively over and a comfortable victory seemingly in sight, Thunder coach Gary Smith took the opportunity to run his bench. Led from the front by their captain, Herriman (9 points), Manchester did their best in damage limitation. They outscored their hosts by 25 points to 12 despite the best efforts of Thunder’s Jon Woods who scored 9 fourth quarter points, but the game had effectively been over as a contest for some time. The buzzer sounded and Thunder had run out comfortable victors by 20 points at 103 – 83. Arrows fall to Rockets bomb blitz Arrows 84 Reading Rockets 100 The City of Sheffield Arrows suffered a major setback to their hopes of retaining their League Championship as they were hit by a staggering 13 “3 pointers” , which included 5 in a row at the start of the second half as the Rockets took this vital game by 100 – 84. The Arrows started brightly in front of a good crowd at the All Saints Sports Hall, all 5 Arrows starters scored as the scores were level at 9 – 9. The quarter continued to entertain with a refreshing brand of attacking basketball, with the Rockets leading 29 – 24. Noah Brown led the Arrows attack in the second quarter with 13 points as the Arrows fought back to take the lead at 48 – 45, however EJ Harrison hit a “3 pointer” on the buzzer to tie the game at 48 – 48, to set up the second half. The Arrows started well after the interval with baskets from Danny Richards, Noah Brown and Tucker Kain but this was not enough to hold the Rockets who blasted off 5 consecutive “3 pointers” to break the game open in their favour at 63 – 55, an advantage they maintained to the end of the quarter at 75 – 66. James Sutton was doing well for the Arrows but they could not break into the Rockets advantage, the Rockets remained composed and when Noah Brown fouled out and joined Tucker Kain on the bench the game was up for the Arrows. Scorers; Brown 32, Kain 15, Sutton 12, Richards 9, Anderson 9, Gayle 5, Davidson 2. w/e 05/02/06 Promising Start for New Look Magic. Kings Lynn Fury: 67 - 91 Manchester Magic After the departure of the Club’s two American players, the supporters were excited by the prospect of how the new imports would perform. Only one, Troy Sledge, was on show in this road game, but he did enough to suggest he will be a force to be reckoned with. Kings Lynn are the Division’s bottom club, but they have strengthened their team lately and no-one expects an easy game on their floor. A run of eight unanswered points by the Fury in the in the middle of the first quarter meant the Magic were playing catch up. They responded slowly, but reduced the deficit to three points by the end of the quarter. Outscoring the Fury by six in the second quarter the Magic took a three point advantage into the half time break. Two three pointers from Magic’s back court of Sean McKie and Gerry Major at the start of the second half put them into the driving seat. From this point on the Magic were in control of the game and extended their lead further to give them a comfortable win on the road. It was an encouraging first game for the Magic’s Troy Sledge from New York who top scored with 21 points. The Magic’s second new American Kenny Roberts a point guard from Fort Washington arrives on Thursday in time for next weekend’s games on the road at Essex and Worthing. Top scorers: Magic: Sledge: 21 Matt Hogarth: 19 Gerry Major: 15 Fury: Luong: 21 Pilkington: 16 Sheard: 15 Even though London United managed to get back on track against lower opposition in the last two league games, they struggled to find any form against lowly Kingston Wildcats at Brunel on Saturday evening and became victims to the Wildcats hard working ethics. The tone was set from the first quarter of the game as Kingston pressed United's guards at every opportunity forcing turnovers and mistakes. This method of play helped Kingston take a 10 point lead at 32-22 through accurate outside scoring from new signing Williamson and Judson. This lead was carried over into the half as Kingston lead by 10 at 45-55. United never really got going until the final quarter as Deppisch finally hit a three and then repeated with 2 more on the bounce to give United the impetus to win the game.However Kingston's guard Selsby hit back with a big three of his own from the corner to help Kingston retain a 4 point lead. Jacek Jagodka then got into the groove offensively to hit 9 consecutive points and give United the lead at 84-82 with only 2 minutes remaining. Again it was Kingston's Selsby who hit another three to give the lead back to Kingston immediately at 84-85 and with less than 40 seconds on the clock Peter Van Elswyk missed an easy basket from under the ring and then picked up an offensive charge and had his basket cancelled out as Kingston capitalised from the line by scoring 6 of their 8 free throws to give them the win at 87-91. An under par United were hugely disappointed to lose this home game handing out their 5th league loss of the season against the 10 wins they have amassed. Top scorers for United were: Van Eslwyk 25, Jagodka 16 and Mumuni 15 whilst Sudler had 32 with Selsby backing up on 20 and Williamson on 13 for Kingston. United now travel that long road trip to Teesside Mohawks next week to try and recover some pride in their abysmal league form.
Worthing Thunder
122 (25,52,77, The Big Cats were outscored 20-2 during a manic three minute spell, and they were never able to make up the deficit against the joint league leaders. The run was in direct contrast to the first half, where the sides had exchanged baskets in the high-scoring encounter. The visitors were given an early indication of the threat Alfredo Ott would present as he scored Thunder's first five points, but five points from Sam Salter off a pair of Demetrice Williams assists saw Leopards take their first lead at 8-7. The teams exchanged points, with Troy Selvey proving unstoppable in the paint, and although Worthing went on a 7-2 run to lead by five, a Selvey put-back and a three-pointer from Dave Jones sent them into the first break tied at 25-25. The second period continued in the same fashion, with Selvey scoring Leopards first six points as the teams remained deadlocked at 31-31 after three minutes. Another trey from Salter plus three-from-four foul shooting by James Warwick and a Dave Jones jump-shot kept level at 41 by the midway stage of the period, but Leopards suffered a blow when Selvey picked up his third foul, and was forced to sit down for the final 3:44 of the half. A Salter basket off Errol Seaman's assist and a Jones three-pointer gave Leopards what proved to be their biggest lead of the game at 49-45, but despite a free-throw and a put-back by Roger Lloyd, a later score from Pat Bates sent the two teams in level at the break.
Seaman restored the
visitors' lead with the first score of the second half, but when Selvey
returned to the bench after collecting his fourth foul, things rapidly
deteriorated for the Big Cats. Worthing's American forward Jonathan Woods also collected a technical foul, and treys from Jones and Brian Moore saw the lead cut to 11. A pair of free-throws from Ogbana saw the lead go back up to 14, but a pair of Jones baskets and a Williams score saw the Worthing lead cut to ten at the final break. Any chances of a comeback were effectively ended seven seconds into the final period, as a foul call on Tom Christie - making his comeback after a year with the British Rowing Team - saw coach Jon Burnell receive a technical foul, and with Ott converting three of the free-throws and scoring on the inbounds, Thunder's lead went up to 15. The Big Cats never got within ten again, despite Williams adding 12 points to take his tally to a club record 33, as Selvey and Moore both fouled out. Salter joined the pair on the bench after collecting the game's fourth technical foul for disputing Moore's fifth foul, as Leopards saw their winning streak come to an abrupt end. Leopards: D Williams 3, T Selvey 22, D Jones 11, E Seaman 10, S Salter 10, B Moore 3, J Warwick 3, R Lloyd 3, T Christie 3, E Gregory 1, M Eames. Worthing Thunder left it until half time to pull away from visitors Essex and Herts Leopards in a thrilling game on Saturday. Thunder struggled to exert any superiority over their visitors in the first period of play with a slender lead changing hands between both teams throughout the first quarter. Following a free throw from Ciaran Burns in the last minute Thunder were 5 clear but let Leopards back into the game and their American’s combined for 5 points to close the period level at 25 apiece. The second period followed almost a mirror of the first with neither team able to pull away. Leopards seemed to have the edge with a 7 point run in the 7th minute that put them 4 clear but Thunder left it late and following a buzzer beating put-back by Pat Bates were level at half-time at 52 apiece. The third period was to prove the turning point of the game. With Leopards Troy Selvey rested after picking up 3 quick 2nd quarter fouls, Thunder went to work. A 20-0 run in the 2nd minute put them firmly in the driving seat as Leopards struggled to cope. Pat Bates was the one to benefit most inside as he scored 12 3rd period points to inspire Thunder to a deserved lead. With fouls stacking up for both teams the game moved into the final quarter, Thunder holding a 10 point lead at 87-77. Thunder tightened the screw further in the final period, Alfredo Ott inspiring them to roar to a 25-point 1st minute lead. Try as they might Leopards could not get back on terms and the frustration showed as both Roger Lloyd and Coach Jon Burnell earned technicals. No fewer than 4 players were to foul out in the fourth period, Bates for Thunder, shortly followed by Selvey, Salter and Moore for Leopards. With the game drawing to a close Okolie Ugbana hit an audacious trey and followed it up with an assist to Jon Bailey who sank the final bucket to give Thunder a satisfyingly comprehensive 121-99 victory. Worcester slay the Knights Worcester Wolves: 107 (29, 57, 77) (Harper 26, Urbonavicius 21, Shaw 14) Nottingham Knights: 77 (20, 37, 62) (McGlothin 23, Gill 22, Haase 19) Nottingham Knights arrived just 15 minutes before the scheduled tip-off time, so the game began ten minutes late. The Knights have had a number of squad changes during the first half of the season and tonight was no exception. Anthony Haase, who had left Nottingham a few weeks ago, returned for the game at Worcester. Worcester won the tip. Harper took a defensive rebound from the Knight’s first shot, drove up court and found the basket from beyond the arc. Nottingham did not open their account until 1¾ minutes had elapsed. Urbonavicius drained a long shot of his own, Collins sunk a pair of free shots and the home side were on their way. Good defence from the Wolves restricted the visitors, but McGill launched a shot on the buzzer from 3 metres outside the D and it dropped in to reduce the Knight’s deficit to 9 points at the first break. Ben Potts joined the fray for the home side in the second period and some calm shooting saw him make six points personal. Collins continued to control the game from the point guard spot, varying the plays and keeping the visitors on the back foot. By half time, Urbonavicius had racked up 15 points, Harper 14 and Collins 10 to give the home side a 57-37 advantage. Four assists from Collins in the third period each resulted a long range basket, as the Wolves piled on the pressure, despite a minor technical hitch, as parts of the scoreboard chose to take a break for a short while. The Knights staged something of a revival mid way through the quarter; with a 7-0 run to cut the Wolves lead to 11 points but 4 points from Shaw restored the home side’s dominance and the score was 77-62 at the final break. Slick passing and good finishing in the first 4 minutes of the final period saw the Wolves build their lead to 25 points and the visitors called time out to try to stop the rot. Josh Cooprider introduced his bench players over the next couple of minutes and the lads performed well, maintaining the pressure on the Nottingham basket and defending well. The Wolves ran out comfortable winners over the Knight’s and held on to their top spot in Division One. w/e 29/01/06 Magic Subdue Rockets. Manchester Magic: 84 – 76 Reading Rockets. Both teams came to this game on the back of painful defeats and missing key players but provided an entertaining game for a large and enthusiastic crowd. It was the Reading travelling support who sounded happier in the first half, as the Rockets moved smoothly into a lead of 41-34 at half-time. Their big man, Paul Tonkovich, was proving a handful close in and the shooting of the other starters kept the score rolling. For the Magic, Del Herriman seemed inspired by the news of his selection for the Commonwealth Games and the chance to visit Aaron Robert’s home town. He ended the game with 21 points and 11 rebounds, leading his team to a 45-28 superiority in the latter department. In the absence of both Magic American players, Gavin Smith stepped up for his best performance to date and Matt Hogarth gave another fine display. After the break, the Magic came out hitting the ground running and quickly got ahead for the first time in the game at 49-45. New Hungarian guard, G. Major, was the catalyst for the revival, as he made an immediate impact with his sharp running and snappy passing. The whole team responded and started to take advantage of the tiredness of the Rockets players. Nine were used, but three for only 8 minutes in total. No bench players scored and all credit must go to the Rockets starting five, who scored all the points and played nearly all the game. Magic Coach, Jeff Jones, had the luxury of a strong and deep bench and he used this well. The Rockets made a strong surge in the last quarter and almost looked like taking the win, but the Magic held on to send at least most of the crowd home happy. Not bad for a team in transition, they were heard to say. Top Scorers: Magic: Del Herriman: 21 Matt Hogarth: 16 Gavin Smith: 14 Rockets: Paul Tonkovitch: 26 Peder Madsen/Richard Wellings: 12
Essex & Herts Leopards 108 (15,44.79) LEOPARDS completed a perfect January as they wrapped up their seventh successive victory, at Goresbrook on Sunday. However it wasn't as easy as the scoreline suggests, with the Big Cats forced to fight back from a 18-point deficit during the first period, before taking control with a dominant second half display. The win was Leopards' successive success at Goresbrook and completed a six-game winning month - the first time Jon Burnell's side have achieved the feat. Demetrice Williams led the way for the home side with 26 points as all of the Leopards' starters scored in double figures as the Big Cats avenged the 100-91 defeat at Coventry on the opening day of the season, and ensured that they have the head-to-head tiebreaker with Crusaders if the two clubs finish level on wins. Scott Neely who had caused Leopards so much pain with a 40-point haul at the Coventry Sportscentre was held scoreless on the night as the final three quarters saw the home side again produce some stifling defence. Although Errol Seaman opened the scoring for Leopards, the first quarter proved to be a dismal one for the home fans as Crusaders rained in five three-pointers. Back-to-back treys from Roberts, Jeremiah Roberts and Sam Oatman saw the Crusaders lead grow to 20-7, and although Brian Moore stopped some of the rot with a pair of threes, Hamlet scored a late jump shot and Roger Lloyd missed a pair of free-throws as the visitors led 31-15 at the first break. Whatever coach Burnell said during the break, it certainly worked. Leopards' James Warwick and Laventure exchanged threes, before a 13-3 run from the Leopards cut the lead to 37-33 with 4:22 on the clock. Troy Selvey scored six points in the run, and provided an assist for Seaman who hit five in the tear to put Leopards back into the game. The two teams exchanged basket for the remainder of the period, with shooting guards Steve Ogunjimi and Sam Salter both hitting a pair of baskets as Leopards went into the locker room trailing by four. Salter's three two minutes into the second half cut the deficit to one before Williams also sunk a try to give Leopards the lead for the first time. A pair of Roberts free-throws level the score at 52, but Salter drained back-to-back threes off Williams assists, and Leopards never trailed again. Once Coventry fell behind, they seemed to lose all discipline, and five points from both Seaman and Salter put the Big Cats in complete control as they effectively wrapped things up at 79-61. With Leopards needing to win by ten to seal the series win against Coventry, the Big Cats never took their foot off the pedal during the fourth quarter, steadily building the lead. Williams led the way with 12 points and Ogunjimi chipped in with seven during the period as the Big Cats completed a 43-point swing to move back to fifth in the table. Leopards: D Williams 24, E Seaman 19, S Salter 18, S Ogunjimi 17, T Selvey 13, B Moore 6, D Jones 3, J Warwick 3, R Lloyd 2, E Gregory 1, M Eames (DNP) London United won very easily on the road to Nottingham Knights in their 14th league game of the season to take their record to 10-4 an stay in contention with the leading 3 teams who have all lost one less game. United sprinted out of the blocks with a 16-0 run in the first quarter and the tone was set for the game as Captain Pete Deppisch nailed 5 first quarter threes in a row. By the end of the first period United had already amassed a 20 point lead and the game was effectively over for Nottingham. In what really felt like a practice match for United they managed to break the 100 barrier and keep Knights below 60 points with final score of 58-106. Deppisch rained in 10 threes to top score with 30, as Reid nailed 26 and Jagodka 25. United now face a tough home game this coming Saturday at the newly revamped court and bleacher seating at Brunel Osterley, against Kingston Wildcats who have recently added sharp shooting American Mike Williamson to their roster. City of Sheffield Arrows 114 Kings Lynn Fury 68 An under strength Sheffield Arrows side with only 6 regular first team players, due to illness and injuries, were still far to strong for the struggling Norfolk side as point guard Noah Brown went on a 48 point tear to secure an easy win for the defending Division One Champions. The early exchanges were fairly even before two 3 pointers by Danny Richards and a Noah Brown trey put Arrows ahead 18 – 10. Kings Lynn were not able to cope with the fast paced Arrows game and went scoreless the rest of the quarter as Tucker Kain and Garnet Gayle profited from excellent passing to push the lead to 27 – 10 at the first break. The introduction of Dave Passmore at the start of the second quarter increased the pressure upon the Kings Lynn defence which failed to cope with the big mans presence near the basket scoring 10 points in the quarter. Noah Brown continued to exploit the gaps in the away teams defence as the Arrows quickly established a 30 point lead and Brown amassing 18 points in the second period. The quarter aptly finished with a Noah Brown breakaway dunk to go into half time 64 – 27 to the Arrows. The pace eased a little in the third with the Fury showing some fight with an 8 – 2 run of their own. However, a nice move by Danny Richards sparked a period of intense Arrows defence causing a series of Fury turnovers converted by the rampaging Arrows players. A strong Guy Renton put back pushed the lead back out to 78 – 40. The pressure continued to take its toll on the Fury defence in the fourth as a series of 3 point plays by Noah Brown and Tucker Kain suggested the away side were running out of gas. The Sheffield side continued to work the ball inside to Dave Passmore or hit from deep. Clever passing from Garnet Gayle and Noah Brown continued to set up team mates for easy baskets as the lead reached 100 – 53. The teams traded baskets as the Arrows introduced their newest recruit, Mike Richardson in the closing minutes of the game. The home side finally eased to a 114 – 68 victory. A useful win by an Arrows side missing three regulars that maintains excellent momentum as the League season continues to heat up.This was the Arrows fifth straight win and consolidates third place in the league with a game in hand over the two leaders, Worcester and Worthing, who are just two points clear. Next stop, the Trophy Final, against Worcester next Sunday. Scorers: Noah Brown 48, Tucker Kain 23, Dave Passmore 14, Danny Richards 14, Garnet Gayle 9, Guy Renton 6. TEESSIDE MOHAWKS 106 (29, 53, 79) KUTI'S SOLENT STARS 70 (20, 34, 49) There was a time, a few seasons ago, when a visit to all-conquering Teesside Mohawks was to be viewed with apprehension. For several seasons, Teesside won all the major trophies. That team is now history and coach Tony Hanson is in a rebuilding phase. "We suffered some heavy defeats at the beginning of this season, but gradually the team is coming together and beginning to win some games," said Hanson prior to to the start of their game with Solent. In turn, the Solent players did their best to make it look as if the good times had returned to Teesside with yet another woeful display that continued their run of league losses. Yet, at the start it looked as if Solent would make a fist of it as they took an early narrow lead with some enterprising play. David Butterworth, John Smith and Mark Jackson were Solent's scorers in an opening period that belied recent performances. True Solent were having difficulty containing 7' 6" Teesside centre Fingleton under the basket as he scored quite regularly, but at the ninth minute Solent only trailed by two points (17 - 19). Then two quick three pointers by an unguarded Teesside player followed by the trademark loss of possession by the Solent team, saw a nine point gap open by the end of the quarter. Solent continued to give the ball away under pressure - and sometimes even when not under pressure - as Teesside gradually increased their lead. Butterworth, having scored ten points in the opening minute, was unable to find the target regularly and only added four more points in the game. It was left for the other players to fill the gap and only Smith and Jackson responded with any points. With Butterworth blunted and Solent not able to raise their game, the scoring became a procession as Teesside increased their lead from ten to nineteen points in a matter of three minutes at the end of the half. There was to be no Solent revival in the third period. At one point, as Teesside piled on the agony, in part thanks to Solent's weak defending ability, coach Steve Chant took his senior players off-court, whether to save them further embarrassment or as a sign of his discontent with their performance was not quite clear. However, the less experienced players then turned the ball over twice in a period of 30 seconds, leaving coach Chant with no options at all. Further embarrassment was heaped on the Solent senior players when, with the game won, Teesside put their young players on court for the final three minutes. Although Solent were able to hold their own during this period it was still the home team who demonstrated the enterprise, athleticism and ability so lacking in the visitor's performance. Coach Chant will have a mountain to climb if he is able to turn the team around to face fellow-strugglers, London Capitals next Saturday (Fleming Park, 8pm). SCORERS John Smith 26 Mark Jackson 15 David Butterworth 14 Ollie Marsh 6 Anthony Rutter 4 Mark Steutel 3 Clayton Milner 2 w/e 22/01/06 Essex & Herts Leopards 81 (24,40,60) Reading Rockets 72 (24,39,54)
ERROL Seaman was in superb form as Leopards handed Reading Rockets' their first league defeat of the season, as Goresbrook on Saturday. Seaman finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and a block to lead the Big Cats to their fifth straight victory, and repeat their National Cup final victory against Rockets. Demetrice Williams (24) and Troy Selvey (14) also scored well for the home side, but the win was marred by the ejection of guard Steve Ogunjimi with under a second remaining after disputing a call with the referee. After Reading had opened the scoring through James Cook, Leopards took the initiative with a pair of Selvey scores and three-pointers from Williams and Dave Jones. Back-to-back treys from Williams saw Leopards extend their lead to 18-8 with six minutes gone, but with Selvey and Sam Salter both picking up two fouls, the visitors fought back, and a 14-4 run saw them grab the lead with 90 seconds of the first period remaining, before scores from Seaman and Williams leveled things at the first break. The game looked to be slipping away from Leopards as the visitors opened the second period with 10 unanswered points, EJ Harrison and Dan Sandall each scoring five points. Roger Lloyd broke the run, and as Leopards tightened up their defence a second Lloyd basket plus an Ogunjimi trey helped the Big Cats level the score before taking a one point lead thanks to a James Warwick free-throw. A Peder Madsen free-throw and a basket from former Leopard Lloyd Gardner gave Rockets a two-point advantage, but a trey from Brian Moore sent Leopards into the locker room with a one-point lead. Back-to-back baskets from Williams kept Leopards ahead in the early stages of the second half, but when the American point guard was clattered in the paint and Jon Burnell collected a technical foul after the incident was ignored by the referees. Harrison converted the free-throws and also scored from the inbound, but a score from Seaman and a Jones three restored Leopards' lead, and although Reading twice leveled the score, the visitors never led again. A double foul called on Roger Lloyd and Paul Tonokovich caused Rockets more problems for the visitors' big man as he was forced to sit down on his fourth foul, and although Sam Salter picked up his fourth foul for the home side, four points from Selvey sent Leopards into the final break with a six point lead. Tonkovich halved deficit with an and-one to open the four quarter, but after Brian Moore had drained a three, former Rocket Seaman took the game over with all of Leopards’ points in a 9-3 which put them in control at 75-60 with three minutes remaining. Selvey and then Seaman extended the lead, and although Tonkovich scored all the Rockets’ points in an 11-2 run, including four foul shots after Ogunjimi’s ejection, to cut the lead, but the Big Cats held on to wrap up another fine victory. Leopards: D Williams 24, E Seaman 22, T Selvey 14, B Moore 8, R Lloyd 6, D Jones 3, S Ogunjimi 3, J Warwick 1, M Eames, S Salter, E Gregory.
King's Lynn Fury
63 (17,28,39) For the second successive Sunday, all 11 Leopards players were on the scoresheet but once again their celebrations were muted by an ejection. Point-guard Demetrice Williams was dismissed four minutes into the third period for an offensive foul. The American now faces a suspension, but the Big Cats plan to appeal, and have received support from Fury as they attempt to get the decision overturned. Selvey scored five of the first six points as Leopards held the hosts scoreless for the first three minutes, and with Williams adding nine first period points, basement side Fury were never able to cope with the speed of the visitors three-guard line-up. A Dave Jones trey made it 24-10 in the visitors' favour with 90 seconds of the first period remaining, but a bizarre intentional foul followed by a technical on Roger Lloyd helped the home side reduce the arrears to eight at the first break. A pair of baskets from Fury coach James Bamfield halved Leopards' lead in the opening minute of the second period, but from there on it was all Leopards as they blasted the hosts with a barrage of three-pointers. Brian Moore and Williams both hit a pair of treys, and Jones drained another as Leopards hit the hosts with 14-2 and 16-0 runs to take the lead out to 30, and although Bamfield scored a three-pointer with the last shot of the half, Leopards reached half time with the game effectively sewn up at 55-28. Baskets from Selvey and Sam Salter took the margin to 29 before Williams' ejection took the gloss off a dominant performance. Selvey went on to score a total of ten points in the period, as Leopards extended their lead by five to 71-39 at the final break. Fury opened the fourth period with seven straight points, but Steve Ogunjimi added seven of his own, and scores from Matt Eames, James Warwick and Ed Gregory ensured that all the Leopards were on the scoresheet to complete a fine performance and a second successive weekend double. Leopards: T Selvey 25, D Wil |