Marshall MK Lions 69 (9,33,57) (Griffin 24, Windless 22, Williams 9)
Newcastle Eagles 66 (13,28,45) (Smith 21, Bridge 18, Stewart 12)

Marshall MK Lions secured the first piece of silverware of the season with a 69-66 triumph over Newcastle Eagles in the BBL Cup Final at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on Sunday afternoon.

Lions' Kevin Griffin was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in this most anticipated of matches that pitted the BBL's top two teams against each other. Griffin's award came thanks in no small part to his 24 points and five three pointers.

It was a low-scoring start to the game, particularly from the Lions. Eagles took advantage to post an 11-0 tear and lead 13-3. Although Milton Keynes rallied with the next six points, they still trailed 9-13 at the end of the quarter.

In fact it was not until the second quarter that the Lions' shooting bore fruit, particularly from distance. Trailing 20-12, the Lions took the lead by a single point on the back of three consecutive three-pointers from Yorick Williams, Tony Windless and Kevin Griffin. In fact, Lions hit six three pointers in the second quarter alone, as they led 33-28 at the interval.

Kevin Griffin broke the game open in the third stanza with a series of three pointers that saw Lions into a sizable lead, the biggest of which was at 57-41, following an 11-3 tear. Eagles hit back in the remaining seconds of the quarter and cut Milton Keynes lead to 12 points at 57-45.

Star man Griffin was subbed out and Eagles made the most of his absence to battle their way back into the game. Charles Smith led the charge and when Andrew Bridge netted a long range shot with five minutes remaining the deficit to reduced to just three points at 60-57 to the Lions.

Bridge was once again on target as the Eagles cut the gap still closer - he scored with 1.17 to go to get the Eagles to within one point at 67-66.

The final 30 seconds saw the ball largely in Lions hands. They ran down the clock, before Eagles were forced to foul them with five seconds left. Veteran forward Michael New cooly dispatched the two resulting free throws to re-establish a three point lead at 69-66 and force Eagles to try for a three to tie the game and force overtime. Lynard Stewart was the man with the ball in his hands, but his buzzer shot fell short and Lions won their first piece of silverware.

Griffin was the game's leading scorer with 24 personal points; Charles Smith added 21 for the Eagles.

15-12-07

The Newcastle Eagles and the Marshall MK Lions will contest for the first piece of silverware of the 2007/8 BBL campaign as both sides won through their respective semi-finals of the BBL Cup at the K2 Arena in Crawley.

The Newcastle Eagles defeated their northern rivals SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 75-69, while the MK Lions defeated the holders Poujoulat Heat Guildford 91-80. The BBL Cup Final takes place on Sunday 13 January 2008 at the NIA, Birmingham.

SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 69 (19,32,56) (Hampton 15, Wohlers 14, Yanders 13)
Newcastle Eagles                    75 (20,40,59) (Smith 20, Bridge/Stewart 16) 

The Newcastle Eagles secured their BBL Cup Final berth thanks to a hard-fought 69-75 victory over the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks at the K2 Arena in Crawley. 

The Rocks started the game the stronger team and leapt out to an early 10-3 lead, but the Eagles responded with a 7-3 run of their own to get back to within a point at 13-12.  The Eagles then stepped up their intensity at both ends of the floor, and a 19-4 run across the first-quarter break took the score out to 21-33. 

The Rocks closed the gap to eight points at the half after netting six of the last eight points of the second quarter to trail 32-40 going into the locker rooms.

The second half saw the Rocks again start strongly, and a 15-4 run took them into a three-point lead at 50-47 midway through the third period.  The Eagles immediately responded netting twelve of the last sixteen points of the quarter to lead 56-59 going into the final stanza. 

In the final quarter, the Eagles started with an 8-4 run to lead 60-67, but five points from Julius Joseph bought the Rocks back to within two points at 65-67.  Both teams traded baskets throughout the closing stages, but it was the Eagles who remained strong, and sealed their place in the Final from the foul-line. 

Charles Smith led all scorers in the game with 20 points for the Eagles, while Maurice Hampton led the Rocks scoring with 15.

Marshall MK Lions            91 (25,57,73) (Y Williams 26, New 21, Windless 18)
Poujoulat Heat Guildford 80 (22,45,64) (Dorsey 20, Harrison 19, Martin 11)

Marshall MK Lions joined the Newcastle Eagles as the finalists in the BBL Cup after a 91-80 victory over the defending Cup holders, the Poujoulat Heat Guildford at the K2 Arena in Crawley on Saturday evening. 

Both sides traded baskets throughout the opening quarter, but a 10-4 burst from the Lions gave them the early advantage at 15-8.  The Heat steadily closed the gap, but still trailed by three points at 25-22 at the end of the first quarter. 

The second period saw the Heat tie the game at 38-38 midway through the period, but the Lions immediately responded with a 19-4 tear to take the score out to 57-42.  An E.J. Harrison three-pointer on the half-time buzzer took the Heat into the locker rooms trailing by twelve points at 57-45. 

The second half saw the Heat close the deficit to six points at 59-53 off the back of an 8-2 start to the third period, but a three-pointer from Tony Windless and two from Yorick Williams set the Lions off on a 13-4 tear to take the score out to 72-57.  A 7-1 finish to the third period for the Heat trimmed the deficit back to nine points at 73-64 going into the final stanza. 

In the final quarter, the Heat opened with the first seven points to get back to within two points at 73-71.  The Lions responded with eight of the next ten points to take the score out to 81-73, before the Heat got back to within four at 81-77 with 3:08 remaining.  The Lions broke the game open with an 8-0 to take the score out to 89-77 with 1:09 left in the game, and then held their nerve to secure the victory from the foul-line. 

Williams led the scoring in the game with 26 points for the Lions, while Tony Dorsey led the Heat scoring with 20.

23-11-07

The SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks became the first side to qualify for the semi-finals of the BBL Cup thanks to a comfortable 73-59 victory over the Sheffield Sharks at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday night. Sterling Davis was the star man for the Rocks, netting 26 points against his former club.

Sheffield Sharks                59 (22,39,48) (Graham 14, George 12, Chaney 11)
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 73 (10,37,60) (Davis 26, Hampton 14, Joseph 9)

The SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks became the first team to progress through to the semi-finals of the BBL Cup thanks to a comfortable 73-59 victory over the Sheffield Sharks at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday night.

It was the Sharks who started the stronger, and bursts of 6-0 and 7-0 in the opening period helped them to a 22-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Rocks fought their way back into the game in the second period, and a 15-2 burst towards the end of the quarter bought the score back to 35-30. The Sharks held a slender two-point advantage at 39-37 at the half.

The second half saw the Rocks break the game open with a 10-0 start to the third period to take the score out to 39-47. The Rocks continued to extend their lead as the second half continued, and enjoyed their biggest lead at the end of the game with the score at 73-59.

Sterling Davis led all scorers in the game with 26 points for the Rocks against his former club, while the Sharks' scoring was led by Justice Graham with 14.

04-11-07

It was 'Knockout Sunday' in the BBL as the quarter- final line-up was completed for the BBL Cup. The PAWS London Capital pulled off the shock of the first round defeating the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders by a score of 83-74 at the Plymouth Pavilions. A 16-4 tear across the third quarter break broke the game open in the Capital favour.

In other BBL Cup action, the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets had to come from behind to beat the Everton Tigers 93-80 at the Northgate Arena, and the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks picked up a comfortable 84-55 victory over the Worcester Wolves at the Braehead Arena.

BiG Storage Cheshire Jets 93 (29,45,62) (Obazuaye/Myers 23, Walker 18)
Everton Tigers 80 (31,50,60) (Haslam 23, Davis 19, Robertson 13)

BiG Storage Cheshire Jets had to come from behind to secure their place in the quarter-finals of the BBL Cup, picking up a 93-80 victory over the Everton Tigers at the Northgate Arena on Sunday evening. 

A close game throughout saw both sides trading baskets throughout the first half, but it was the Tigers who led 50-45 going in at the half-time interval. 

The second half saw the Jets net the first six points of the half to lead 51-50.  The Jets also stepped up their intensity on the defensive end, restricting the visitors to ten points in the third period, and netting seventeen points themselves to lead 62-60 going into the final stanza.

In the final quarter, the teams were tied 71-71 with 6:30 remaining, but the Jets broke the game open with a 17-5 tear to take the score out to 88-76 with 1:40 remaining.  The Tigers tried desperately to claw themselves back into the game, but the Jets held on and secured the victory from the foul line. 

Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 74 (16,41,54) (Durham 16, Lasker/Moore 15)
PAWS London Capital        83 (14,39,55) (Bradley 28, Miller 18, Ataha 11)

PAWS London Capital pulled off a big shock on Sunday afternoon as they defeated the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 83-74 at the Plymouth Pavilions in the first round of the BBL Cup. 

As a result of this, the Capital now face a trip to Bletchley to face the Marshall MK Lions in the Quarter finals. 

In a close game throughout, the first half was evenly spread, with both sides trading baskets.  It was the Raiders who had the upper hand throughout however, as they went into the half-time break leading by two points at 51-49. 

The second half saw the teams trading baskets again to start the third period.  The game was broken open towards the end of the third quarter.  The Raiders led 52-47 with three minutes left in the period, but a 16-4 tear stretching across the third quarter break for the Capital took the score out to 63-56 with six minutes remaining in the game. 

The Raiders attempted to get back into the game, but were unable to do so as the visitors secured the all-important victory from the free-throw line. 

SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks comfortably made it through to the quarter-finals of the BBL Cup to face the Sheffield Sharks after an 84-55 victory over the Worcester Wolves at the Braehead Arena on Sunday evening.

The Rocks raced out to an early 16-11 in the opening period, and never looked back. A 10-2 burst to close out the first half saw them lead 46-29 at the half.

The second half was much the same as what had gone previously, with the home side continuing to extend the lead, and lead by as many as twenty-seven points at 65-38 midway through the third period.

The Wolves valiantly attempted to get themselves back into the game, but the Rocks held them off to secure the comfortable victory down the stretch.

Maurice Hampton led all scorers in the game netting 17 points for the Rocks, while Antony Paez led the Wolves scoring with 16.