18/11/07; 28/10/07; 21/10/07; 14/10/07; 07/10/07
w/e 02/03/08 Reading Rockets 84 Worthing Thunder 68 With an awesome team performance epitomised by Rich Wellings, Tintin Watts, Dan McKay and MVP Andy Harper, Reading Rockets retain their National Trophy title with a 16 points victory over Worthing Thunder. 'This was probably one of our better game performances,' said Rockets Head Coach Dave Titmuss. Top scorers for Rockets: Andy Harper 29, Tintin Watts 20, Dan McKay 10, Rich Wellings 9 and Tom Sadler 8 w/e 03/02/08 Barkers (Tarring) Worthing Thunder progressed to the National Trophy final with a 96-88 semi final victory over Manchester Magic in Worthing on Sunday afternoon. They will meet Reading in the final to be played in Manchester on the 2nd March. Having surprisingly been beaten by Derby on Saturday night, Thunder came storming out of the blocks, and despite 5 early points from former Thunder star Steven Gayle, found themselves 16-7 up midway through the first quarter. With Magic in the penalty early in the quarter, Thunder capitalised, scoring 11 of their 23 first quarter points from the foul line. A Ryan Marrast three followed by two "frees" from Demetrius Scott saw Thunder 28-13 up early in the second period. Worthing maintained the double-digit lead throughout the second quarter as the team worked well and kept finding the open man. Magic were being led by Duncan Ogilvie, who continued to trouble Worthing throughout and had 14 points at half-time as the home side went in 49-38 up. Magic chipped away at the lead in the the third, but were unable to make serious inroads and a Thunder 6-1 run to close the period had them 69-57 up going into the fourth quarter. James Mooney's basket midway through the period gave Thunder an 83-70 advantage, but any thoughts that the game were over were ended as a Manchester 10-2 run brought the gap down to 5 at 85-80. The run was marred by an incident between Ryan Marrast and Steven Gayle that saw both players ejected and sent to the locker rooms. With the game back on, Stefan Gill found his shooting range, scoring 7 quick points as the game came to anexciting climax. Thunder held their nerve however, and an emphatic Cleve Woodfork dunk (his fourth of the game) followed by two free throws from hometown hero Pat Bates ensured the victory.
Scorers: Thunder - Scott
21, Woodfork 2, Mooney 17, Bates 14, Hildreth 8, Brame 8, Marrast 6, Midgley 2,
Ugbana 0, Berry, Martin, Burns DNP. In a tough battle not for the purists, Rockets secured the opportunity to defend the National Trophy title by beating a spirited Sheffield team by 15 points. Rockets were only headed for 10 seconds throughout the game which was peppered with fouls. Harper began brilliantly, only to succumb to a foot injury early in the second quarter and having Sadler and Watts sidelined for the whole period on 3 fouls each, Rockets valued the 10 points lead at the interval (48 - 38). An outstanding third quarter from Watts who is in a rich vein of form and scored 16 personal points coupled to the emergence of Simon Kearney and the regular 25 points from Danny Carter, saw Rockets victorious 103 - 88. Top scorers were Tintin Watts 29, Danny Carter 25, Simon Kearney 14, with Tom Sadler and Andy Harper on 11 a piece. w/e 18/11/07Sunday saw Worthing Thunder travel to Sheffield, claiming a 98-79 victory to take first place in National Trophy Pool 2 and earning a home semi-final against Manchester Magic. In stark contrast to the previous night, Thunder stormed out of the blocks and led from tip to buzzer. Taking control from the off, Worthing led 30-15 after the first quarter and had extended that lead to 16 at 52-36 at the half. By the end of the third the lead had grown to 20 at 77-57. Cleve Woodfork led all scorers with 23, followed by James Mooney with 21. Dustin Brevard led the Arrows scoring with 21. Scorers:- Thunder - Woodfork 23, Mooney 21, Pat Bates 16, James Brame 15, Ryan Marrast 14, Demetrius Scott 7, Okolie Ugbana 2. Arrows - Brevard 21, Siddall 18, Rankine 16, Martin 12, Marsden 5, Swaby 5, Kelly 1, Bell 1. w/e 28/10/07 Barkers (Tarring) Worthing Thunder successfully progressed to the next stage of two competitions over the weekend, with comfortable wins over the Taunton Tigers in the National Trophy and Westside in the National Cup. Saturday night saw the Thunder guarantee qualification from Pool 2 of the National Trophy with a 110-71 win over Taunton Tigers, who were hampered by the loss of Matt Nolan early in the game. Despite missing Ryan Marrast and Adam Martin through injury, Worthing leapt out to an early 9-2 lead. They maintained the advantage through the first half until a 13-3 run for the visitors saw the gap closed to 4 at 46-42. Worthing's immediate 11-3 riposte to close the half ensured the hosts turned round 57-45 up. With Taunton struggling to stay in touch in the third the gap increased to 18 at 81-63 at the last break before a 13-0 run to start the fourth removed any lingering hopes the visitors had of forging a comeback. When Captain James Brame hit successive threes to bring up the 100, the Thunder fans were already celebrating reaching the Trophy semi-finals. The Pool winners will be decided when Thunder take on the other unbeaten team Sheffield Arrows in a winner takes all decider on Sunday 18th November in the Steel City. The winners face a home tie against Manchester Magic, the losers have to travel to the Reading Rockets. Personal highlights were Demetrius Scott's 28 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, James Mooney's 18 points and 10 steals, Dan Midgley's 17 points and 11 rebounds and James Brame's 16 points and 10 rebounds. For Taunton Paul Yabsley returned 20 points and 10 rebounds. BRISTOL ACADEMY FLYERS (40) 73 – COVENTRY CRUSADERS (29) 69Sunday’s game did not fair too much better for Crusaders although it was a closer match throughout, than the one against Manchester. Keith Sudler was on fire for Crusaders from the first whistle, scoring 11 of their 18 first quarter points. Although it was all tied at 18 with less than a minute, a Crusader foul on Streete allowed the Flyers an 18-20 advantage after the 1st. The second quarter started out with two quick baskets by Hutchinson, creating a 6-point lead early on, and one that continued to grow throughout the period, as 6 different players contributed to scoring for the Flyers. Crusaders, on the other hand, made a number of simple turnovers, which, in turn created more points for the happy home team. The visitors went into half-time down 29-40, knowing they had some work to do in the 2nd half. The 3rd quarter was Crusaders best one of the night, as both Ryan Luethy and Sudler went to work creating baskets and combining to make all 19 of Crusaders points for the quarter. Meanwhile, Bristol struggled to score 11 points – only managing to do that with several trips to the free throw line. They went into the last period hanging on to a 3-point lead 48-51. A basket by Ed Baynes Clarke in the opening minute of the last quarter allowed Crusaders a sniff of the victory that could be theirs, before Flyers took off running again, working hard to keep one step ahead. In spite of Baynes Clarke’s efforts and 11 points from him personally, Crusaders never managed to quite catch up to the home team, and ran out of time, still trying, at 69-73. Crusaders can be glad that they have had the opportunity to see half of the teams in the league now, prior to the league’s opening game next Saturday in Sheffield against the Arrows. The National Trophy competition has given them – and all the other teams as well – valuable practise time in seeing their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of some of their up-coming opponents. Although Crusaders have not progressed to the next round of the National Trophy, they have found by participating in it, that they will be better prepared for the league. Crusaders Scorers: Spare 1, Rob Clarke 7, Ben Clarke 8, Luethy 12, Baynes Clarke 14, Sudler 27 Flyers Scorers: Simpson 2, Watscon 2, Till 2, Dyer 4, Analts 5, Streete 11, Hutchinson 12, T. Treasure 12, Williams 23 MANCHESTER MAGIC (44) 87 COVENTRY CRUSADERS (34) 73The Coventry Crusaders played back-to-back road games this weekend and the results of both were similar, just not the way they’d planned. Manchester Magic was first on the board at the Amaechi Basketball Centre, and from the outset had Crusaders playing catch-up to them. Ogilvie and Dwyer did most of the scoring for Magic in the 1st quarter, putting in 16 of Manchester’s 26 points between them. Crusaders, who were down by five with just under 2 minutes in the 1st quarter, did not score again, allowing Manchester to go up by 11 by the first break 15-26. Ryan Luethy and Rob Clarke kept the Crusaders in the 2nd quarter throwing up 15 of Crusaders 19 points, and keeping Magic to 18 points for the period, in spite of plenty of turnovers from the visitors. At half time Magic led by ten, 34-44 thanks to Luethy’s buzzer beating 3 pointer which cut the gap a little, in time for the interval. The 3rd quarter was the Keith Sudler show, as he sunk 14 points in that period alone, and the Crusaders regrouped somewhat, keeping Magic to a 13 point quarter, and cutting the gap to just 5 before that period ended 52-57. The last quarter was again dominated by Manchester, however, and with balanced contribution coming from four of Magic’s players. They also had plenty of opportunities to go to the free throw line. The home side slid into a 73-87 victory over the Midlands team, and surely, a place in the National Trophy quarter final. Although Crusaders did have good periods when they surged forward, cutting the deficit to just 4-5 points a few times, Manchester would not allow them to get too close, and hung on to close it out. With their balanced scoring, they had too many options for the Crusaders to stop. Crusaders Scorers: Ben Clarke 3, Robert Clarke 16, Luethy 25, Sudler 29 Magic Scorers: Hilliard 2, Mackay 3, Adu 6, Boonham 9, Hastings 10, Jackman 12, Gayle 15, Ogilvie 15, Dwyer 15 Strong Display By Magic Reserves Crush Capable Crusaders Manchester Magic 87 – 73 Coventry Crusaders The Magic welcomed the Coventry Crusaders for their EBL trophy fixture. The home side opened the game with a 9 – 2 run capped by Duncan Ogilvie’s transition dunk and maintained their lead throughout. They benefited from a wholehearted display by their reserves, who outscored their Coventry counterparts by 31 points to 3. The majority of Coventry’s offence was provided by the triumvirate of Rob Clarke, Ryan Luethy and Keith Sudler who scored all but 3 of the visitors 73 points. An 8 – 0 run to end the 1st quarter gave the Magic a deserved 26 – 15 lead. The second quarter was a more even encounter as the visitors outscored the Magic 19 – 18 as a result of the smooth jump shooting display from their point guard Luethy. He nailed a 3-pointer just before the half time buzzer to narrow the deficit to 10 points at the interval. The 3rd quarter saw the Crusaders continue to work away at the lead and they again managed to outscore their hosts, who struggled to convert at the offensive end. Coventry closed to within 2 points on a Sudler 3-pointer but the Magic kept their composure and Orlan Jackman connected from beyond the arc to ensure they took a 5 point advantage into the final quarter. Jackman opened the final quarter with 2 dunks in as many minutes either side of a long range effort from Steve Gayle to push the Magic advantage to 10 points. The Magic also received important 4th quarter contributions from Steve Hastings and Patrick Dwyer, who hit a short jumper off the glass to extend the lead to 78 – 63 and effectively ended the Crusaders hopes of victory. The Magic once again produced a sterling team performance with 5 players scoring in double figures Steven Gayle snagged 8 rebounds and dished out 6 assists and Orlan Jackman starred in his role off the bench, gathering 8 rebounds to go with his 12 points. This victory puts the Magic in second place in their National Trophy pool and they will hope to continue their winning ways when they visit Taunton for their 1st League fixture on Saturday 3rd November. Top Scorers Magic: Patrick Dwyer 15, Steve Gayle 15, Duncan Ogilvie 15 Crusaders: Keith Sudler 29, Ryan Luethy 25, Rob Clarke 16 With a huge determined team performance in front of an appreciative crowd, Rockets maintained their unbeaten record with a convincing 15 point victory. This assured them of a home draw in the semi finals of the National Trophy of which they are the defending champions. Though Watts and Harper hadn't trained all week with leg and ankle injuries respectively, they played important parts as coupled to the sudden loss of the big centre Deas, Rockets harnessed a team energy and determination that Flyers just couldn't match. Vear had another outstanding game with Carter again topping the scorers' charts. Top scorers for Rockets Danny Carter 24, David 'Tintin' Watts 21, Steve Vear 21 w/e 21/10/07 Bristol off to a Flying start The Bristol Academy Flyers continued their successful start as a National league Division 1 side with another winning weekend. On Saturday the Flyers carried on their National Trophy campaign with an impressive 91 to 73 away victory against last year’s Division 2 league rivals, Derby Trailblazers while on Sunday, the Bristol team progressed to the Third Round of the National Cup by defeating the dangerous Clippers side in Cardiff, 96 -81.
For Saturday’s game against
The game started off well with the two teams
paying more attention to the offensive end to the delight of the fans.
The second half was a different story as the
Flyers would come out determined to regain the lead and the emphasis this time
was on defensive shutdown. Ryan Williams led the way in the third quarter after
a relatively quiet first half by scoring 14 of his 27 points. Despite the effort
of the Trailblazers,
Atlantis Reading Rockets travelled to Manchester on Saturday evening for the next game in the National Trophy and in spite of being down 40 - 51 at half time, came away with a great win 97 - 90. Top scorers were Steve Vear and Rich Wellings both on 23 and Clint Deas and 'Tintin' Watts both on 19. In a great advert for basketball at the highest level, Magic and Rockets entertained an appreciative crowd in a pulsating game that clearly was a game of two halves with Rockets eleven down at the interval but winning by 7. At one stage Rockets were 17 down and Harper who injured his ankle in training could only play less than 10 minutes, so a huge team performance created a thoroughly deserved victory and virtually assured them of a semi final place in the National Trophy. Tomorrow (Sunday) Rockets will be back in action at Rivermead Leisure Complex, with tip off at 4 pm, competing against Northampton Neptunes in the knock out National Cup competition. Magic Suffer Free Throw Blues As Rockets Race To Victory Manchester Magic 90 – 97 Reading rockets A combination of poor free throw shooting and an unusually high number of turnovers led to the Magic’s first loss of the season. It was a game which both teams started brightly with the visiting Rockets getting to the basket with ease and scoring their first 12 points on a combination of layups and points in the paint. The Magic were led by the free scoring Steven Gayle who came out firing from all angles and had 12 points in the first 6 minutes of the game. A deep 3-pointer and a layup by Andrew Mackay to close out the quarter gave the Magic a 5 point cushion at the end of the 1st. The start of the 2nd quarter was ‘the Stefan Gill show’ as the 5’7 guard used his speed and incredible leaping ability to score in a variety of ways as the Magic pushed their advantage to 9. Richard Wellings kept the Rockets close with a baseline jumper and two long range efforts in the quarter however the Magic appeared to be in control as they continued to run the floor with gusto which led to a fast break dunk for Patrick Dwyer and a two handed follow slam from Duncan Ogilvie which ignited the home crowd. As the half time interval loomed, US forward Clint Deas began to make his presence felt on the offensive glass and used his size and strength to convert inside. This seemed to lift the visitors going into break as they went into the locker room down 11, having trailed by 17 points at one stage. Stefan Gill was on fire for the Magic shooting a perfect 5 for 5 from the field including 2 buckets from beyond the arc. The 3rd quarter was a back and forth affair with both teams anxious to take the initiative as they attacked the rim and managed to convert despite swarming defensive pressure. It seemed as if every question the Magic put to their opponents was answered with a bucket as Wellings and Steve Vear both connected from long distance for the Rockets. Reading closed the quarter on an 8 – 0 run and would have been closer had Danny Carter not missed a pair at the foul line. The Magic lead had been whittled down to 5 points with all to play for in the final period. The 4th quarter started badly for the home side as the Rockets went on a 10 – 4 run which was punctuated by a ferocious tip dunk from Clint Deas who corralled 10 offensive boards in the contest. Reading took an 80 – 77 lead with 5:30 to play but the Magic drew level immediately on a base line 3 from the unassuming but highly effective Patrick Dwyer who quietly put up an inspiring 19 points and 7 boards. However Reading went on an 8 – 0 run over the next minute with Vear showing his quality from the free throw line as he calmly converted 5 of his 6 attempts in the period. The Magic fought to get back into the game but will look at their pool ball retention and missed foul shots as the main reasons for their defeat. The final score line was 97 – 90 to the Rockets who remain unbeaten this season. The Magic will hope to bounce back against Sefton tomorrow evening. Worthing Thunder 112 (25,55,83) Leopards 76 (21,41,61) A good performance by an undermanned and undersized Leopards team failed to prevent them ending their National Trophy campaign with a defeat on Saturday. Facing a Worthing Thunder side who won the league and play-offs last season, the Big Cats were without all three big men, Leigh Greenan, Nathan Wilson and Alex Scotland-Williamson, forcing coach Jon Burnell to field a small line-up, with small forward Fola Adeleke having probably his first start in his career as a centre. Despite that, the Leopards coach was delighted with how his team played: “I was really pleased with how they responded, especially in the first half. It would have been really tough even with the big guys, but I couldn’t have asked for anything more from them.” Deng Deng and Gareth Laws led the Big Cats’ scoring with 17 point apiece, with Carl Latham-Henry (14) and Adeleke (11) also scoring well. After Demetrius Scott had given the hosts the lead, Leopards proceeded to shock the home side as they went on a 11-7 run to take the lead, with Deng scoring nine of the points. Back-to-back three pointers from Laws kept the Big Cats in front, and although the hosts outscored Leopards 14-4 in the closing stages of the period, another Laws trey ensured that Leopards only trailed 25-21 at the first break. A poor start to the second period saw Thunder drain 14 straight points to effectively put the game beyond the visitors, but they continued to plug away, and a pair of Lukas Volskis free-throws sent the teams into the locker room with Worthing leading 55-41. With Leopards struggling from the free-throw line, Thunder continued to stretch the lead in the third period, and it took a Deng lay-up followed by Laws’ fourth trey of the game to cut the deficit to 83-61 at the final break. The fourth quarter saw the onslaught continue, as Leopards continued to struggle to grab rebounds, and although captain Sam Salter drained his second three-pointer of the night, it was left Latham-Henry to wrap up the scoring for the night. Despite the manner of the defeat, the performance and commitment of the players was far superior to the previous year, when a supposedly more experienced and better side crashed to a 45-point loss. MIXED FORTUNES FOR WARRIORS The two UH Warriors teams in action over the weekend experienced mixed fortunes. The men travelled to Bristol for a National Trophy pool game without the injured Sean Brown and Jo Perera, who suffered an ankle injury in his first practice session this season. The loss of two key guards ultimately proved Warriors undoing as they lost 83-63. The game had been close throughout but in a reversal of last weeks game, the wheels came off in the 4th quarter as Warriors, hit by an ankle injury to yet another guard, Steve Ogunjimi, turned the ball over, repeatedly giving uncontested lay ups to their opponents. Outscored 29-15 in this period condemned the team to their second straight defeat in pool A of the Trophy and ended hopes of progressing. The UH Warriors play away in the Trophy at Coventry on Saturday and have a home game at the Sports Village on Sunday versus Mansfield Giants in the National Cup. Tip off is 1.30pm and the Warriors are offering “kids for a quid” – all children under 15 years old can gain entrance for Ł1. Flyers top Warriors The Bristol Academy Flyers continued their National Trophy campaign with a convincing 83 to 63 victory against the UH West Herts Warriors. Bristol were coming from a narrow 5 point disappointing loss last week against Manchester and wanted to show their home crowd their performance last week was not a one off. Top scorers for the Flyers were Ryan Williams and Greg Streete with 23 and 12 points respectively. Young Tyrone Treasure was third top scorer with 9 points but also an amazing breaking record of 11 assists! On the defensive end, for one more time Arek Makowski and Gareth till were outstanding while Tom Hutchinson did a great job taking on the West Herts front court. The game was pretty much a story of two halves. In the first half, the Flyers started off well taking the early lead, 16- 10 midway through the first quarter. However, a lack of concentration from the Flyers and 10 consecutive points from West Herts Stephen Ogunjimi, permitted the West Herts team to come back to the game and go ahead, 18-21 at the end of the first quarter. The first 4 minutes of the 2nd quarter found the Flyers in shock as the West Herts team went on 17 to 4 run to extend its lead to 16 points, 22-38. That was the last time though that West Herts would score in the first half. The next 6 minutes was all Flyers basketball as the Bristol team stepped up its energy level with a full court defensive pressure that forced the warriors to numerous turnovers and a run of 18-0! This change of fortunes gave the Flyers the control of the tempo and the lead at halftime, 40-38. Second half was a different story as the Flyers retained the narrow lead through the whole of the 3rd quarter with Greg Streete making excellent decisions on the offensive end and the Flyers front court dominating in the paint. The 4th quarter would be a mere formality as the Flyers extended their lead with another run of 10-0 by playing really good pressure defense and keeping the Warriors to only 25 point in the whole of the second half. Coach Andreas Kapoulas was pleased with the performance of the team in the second half: ‘We started the game well however we lost our concentration at the start of the 2nd quarter. The team remained calm and our heads did not go down. We played our way out of it and tried to get everyone involved our offense. This team has great potential and today we showed that our performance last week against Manchester was not a one off but a continuous effort to play together and work hard.’ The Flyers will now have to get ready for their first double header weekend of their season as on Saturday their taking on last year’s league rivals, Derby for the national trophy competition and on Sunday they face the Cardiff Clippers for the second round of the National cup. Barkers (Tarring) Worthing Thunder got their season off to a winning start with a comfortable 99-69 win in Kings Lynn against the College of West Anglia Fury. Thunder settled into their stride in the second quarter with 8 points apiece from James Mooney and Demetrius Scott and led 42-30 at half time. A 33-12 third quarter including an 1-0 run and featuring 12 points from Cleve Woodfork took the game away from their Suffolk hosts. Thunder found themselves two players down late in the second quarter when Dan Midgley was knocked unconscious in an incident with West Anglia's Osemwegie, and Okolie Ugbana was disqualified in the resulting melee. Despite this being the team's first competitive outing they appeared to gel well and the scoring was well spread, which bodes well for the coming season.
Scorers: Thunder are at home to London Leopards this Saturday (8pm tip), before traveling to London to play Westside in the 2nd Round of the National Cup on Sunday. READING ROCKETS (56)100 – COVENTRY CRUSADERS (24) 56Crusaders Shot Down by RocketsCoventry Crusaders suffered a heavy road loss on Saturday when they travelled to Reading. A sluggish start was never going to make it easy for Crusaders to come back from, yet that was what happened. Rockets led the way from the outset, and five minutes into the game, were already into a 12- point lead. Crusaders struggled to make a basket, while Rockets, and Deas in particular came out firing on all cylinders, hitting13 of his 18 points in the first quarter. When the second quarter began, Crusaders had only managed 8 points on the board, to Reading’s 28. Rockets kept the pressure on, and Crusaders found it difficult to get the ball up court into field goal range. By half time the home side’s advantage had grown to a 56-24 lead. The second half was a mirror of the first. Crusaders were able to sink 11 points in the 3rd quarter, thanks to Simon Payne’s two 3-pointers and two free throws, but turnovers cost the visitors lost opportunities which then in turn became chances for Rockets to score. Cato from Reading had a scoring spree in the 3rd and 4th quarters bringing his total to 24, and top scorer for the game. Crusaders did finally start hitting their shots in the 4th, with newcomer Ryan Luethy hitting several treys, and Ben Clarke and Keith Sudler adding their bit, but the outcome had already been determined. Reading slid comfortably into another win in their National Trophy campaign with a 100-56 victory over their visitors from the Midlands. Crusaders Scorers: Linacre 2, Rob Clarke 2, Baynes Clarke 4, Ben Clarke 6, Payne 8, Sudler 13, Luethy 21 Rockets Scorers: McKay 2, Kelly 4, Kearney 6, Vear 7, Wellings 8, Watts 15, Harper 16, Deas 18, Cato 24 Leopards 83 (20,34,56)
A POOR defensive display saw
Leopards’ National Trophy hopes come to an end with a home defeat against
Carl Henry-Latham led the Big Cats’ scoring with 23 points, but Jon Burnell’s side showed only glimpses of the form that gave them victory in the first home game of the competition. “I really thought that our defence would win us the game, but we were very poor” admitted Burnell. “It doesn’t matter what level you’re playing at, if you don’t defend properly you won’t win the game.” Leopards round off the competition on Saturday with a trip to league champions Worthing Thunder, but even if they caused an upset and won the game, they would need a mathematical miracle to qualify for the semi-final stage.
With Nathan Wilson injured, coach
Burnell gave a first start to
Leopards started well, with Gareth Laws and Sam Salter both draining treys in an 8-2 opening run, but was as good as it got for the home side. Tigers leveled the score at eight, and although the Big Cats hit back through Latham-Henry and a second Laws’ three, the visitors slowly took control and only some good foul shooting from Latham-Henry, Laws and Deng Deng kept Leopard in touch as they went into the first break trailing 23-20.
That deficit grew to double
figures as
A Dan Howe basket put the visitors ahead by 12 with four first half minutes remaining before a Salter trey launched an 8-2 run to close the half out with Tigers leading 40-34.
In common with the loss at
This proved to be the best stage of the game for Leopards, despite Greenan’s continual foul trouble, and scores from Greenan and Laws kept them in touch before a pair of Latham-Henry baskets gave them a 48-46 lead at the midway stage of the game. The home side seemed to take their foot off the pedal having regained the lead, and Tigers hit back with an 11-2 run, and never trailed again.
With Tigers holding a 57-50 lead
with two minutes of quarter remaining, Laws scored back-to-back three pointers
to cut the deficit to one before a trey from Alistair Bird and a Tim Clifford
free-throw sent
The sides exchanged baskets during the opening stages of the fourth period, with Leopards showing little sign of a comeback, and a Joe Andrews basket with four and a half minutes of the game remaining put Taunton 74-63 ahead, This finally sparked the hosts into the life, and a trey from Salter sparked a 10-0 run to put them within a point. That proved to be as close as they came, as Andrew drained a pair of treys, and although a Laws three gave Leopards’ fans some hope in the final minute, the visitors closed the game out from the foul line. Leopards: C Latham-Henry 23, G Laws 20, F Adeleke 13, S Salter 11, L Greenan 6, L Volskis 5, D Deng 5, A Scotland-Williamson, M Jarvis (DNP), N Wilson (DNP), B Warden (DNP), M Johnson (DNP). Double Defeat for Derby Coventry Crusaders 82 (26, 48, 64) Derby Trailblazers 77 (22, 39, 58) and Reading Rockets 126 (27, 63, 96) Derby Trailblazers 96 (14, 35, 44) Derby Trailblazers always knew they would find the going tough, after winning promotion to National League Division One at the end of last season. After a narrow Cup defeat last weekend, the Trailblazers hit the road for two away fixtures in the pool stage of the EBL Men’s National Trophy. Whilst they managed to keep the Coventry scoreline respectable, there was no way their weakened line up could contend against a rampant Reading side that was eager to state its credentials as a serious league title challenger. Coach Clarence Wiggins had hoped to have added several new faces to his line up, but was only able to bring in Paul Bowen ahead of Saturday’s trip to Coventry. With veteran Tim Lascelles unavailable, it meant Wiggins again had to kit himself up for the match. Derby came out of the blocks in impressive style, racing to an early 15-7 advantage, with Simon Allaway netting 9 of those opening points. A Coventry time-out refocused the home side, who subsequently produced a barrage of three-pointers from Americans Ryan Luethy and Keith Sudler. Their sharp shooting helped them to a 26-22 first quarter lead. The home side consolidated their position in the second, holding Derby scoreless for over four minutes whilst hitting 11 points to lead 40-28 by the 17th minute. The Blazers then switched their defensive intensity towards trying to shut out the twin threat of Leuthy & Sudler, a tactic they deployed to great effect. By the mid point of the final quarter, Derby had closed the gap to a single point, at 69-68 and they had the chance to take the lead when Simon Spencer stole the ball. However, Jamie McGaffin’s three-pointer rimmed out, sparking an 8-0 run for the home side, effectively killing off the Blazers’ hopes of victory. The following day, an even more depleted Derby squad travelled to Reading, this time without captain Simon Spencer due to personal reasons and 16 year old Mikey Manghum, who was involved in Trailblazer II’s emphatic National Shield victory over Kings Lynn Fury II. With Reading having a full strength squad at their disposal, it was always going to be damage litigation as far as Derby were concerned. It didn’t take Reading long to start pulling away, an 8-0 run took the score to 23-10 after just seven minutes. 19 year old Danny Carter began to dominate for the Rockets in the second quarter, hitting 18 of his 31 points in that stretch. But it was the third quarter where the Rockets were most impressive, as fatigue began to set in for Derby’s beleaguered basketballers. A 27-4 close to the quarter would have been embarrassing to watch, had it not been for the sheer grit and determination the Trailblazers continued to show. They were battered and bruised, but they continued to fight, with Carl Pearson and Simon Allaway producing some huge plays in the final quarter. For the second night running, Allaway outscored both the opposition’s American players, although it probably counted for little, when faced with the final margin of defeat. Derby’s next action is at home to Manchester Magic, again in the pool stage of the EBL Men’s National Trophy. The game will see the return of a familiar face from Derby’s basketball past. Coach Jeff Jones had two successful spells in charge of Derby Storm in the 1990’s. Jones is now Head Coach of Manchester Magic. Scorers – against Coventry Coventry: Sudler 25, Luethy 18, B Clarke 13, R Clarke 12, Donaldson 9, Hudson 3, Payne 2. Derby: Allaway 27, Spencer 24, Slater 7, Pearson 6, Bowen 4, McGaffin 4, Manghum 3, Wiggins 2, Scott 0 Scorers – against Reading Reading: Carter 31, Deas 19, Watts 18, Wellings 17, Harper 14, Vear 7, Kearney 5, McKay 4, Kelly 4, Thorsby 2, Tollockzo 2. Derby: Allaway 21, Pearson 16, McGaffin 13, Slater 9, Bowen 8, Scott 0, Wiggins DNP. Sheffield Arrows 91 (22,47,54) Leopards 76 (13,25,46) A poor first half performance saw Leopards lose their second group game in the National Trophy, on Sunday. At a venue they have traditionally struggled at, the Big Cats were without point guard Carl Latham-Henry and their failure to put enough points on enough point on the board in the opening 20 minutes proved to be their undoing. “We know what we need to get, someone who can consistently score 20 points per game, and a big man” said coach Jon Burnell. “When we decided to go with youngsters we knew there would be night like this, and no doubt there will other similar nights. The kids are doing fine, but we need to give them some help from senior players.” The Big Cats only two players aged over 20, Gareth Laws and Sam Salter, led the scoring with 15 and 14 points respectively, with point guard Lucas Volskis adding ten points.
American centre Dustin Bevard
opened the scoring for the hosts, but a Salter three and five straight Laws
points saw the Big Cats open an 8-2 lead. That proved to be as good as it got
for the visitors, and Arrows scored the next 15 points as they opened a 17-8
advantage. Although Deng Deng ended the run with a lay-up and a single
free-throw, Arrows captain Andre Rankine sent his side into the first break with
a 22-13 lead thanks to a shot from the
Steve Jeffries became the fourth Arrows player on the scoresheet, and despite Salter draining another three, it was Bevard who wrapped up the first half scoring to send his side into the locker room with a commanding 47-23 lead.
Whatever Leopards coach Jon Burnell
said at half-time clearly had the desired effect for the visitors as they
started strongly, and eight straight Volskis points saw their deficit cut to
Rankine opened the four period scoring, but a single Leigh Greenan free-throw and three-from-four from Deng kept the margin at eight points. Laws and Rankine exchanged baskets, but the latter put his side back into a double figure lead with a three-pointer. Leopards continued to battle, and a pair of Volskis charity shots together with a jump shot from Nathan Wilson kept them in touch. With 90 seconds remaining Salter had a three-point effort rim out. Had it gone in, the margin would have shrunk to six points, but Bevard grabbed the rebound – one 11 to go with four blocks – and scored on the break to effectively wrap things up, and Sheffield put the game to bed from the free-throw line.
Leopards: G Laws
15, S Salter 14, L Volskis 10, D Deng 9,
UNDERSTRENGTH UH WARRIORS BEGIN SEASON WITH CLOSE LOSS When you have just lost a key sponsor, have your starting guard delayed in American and are one import short, you really don’t want to find yourself up against a team that has been one of the big success stories in the league, coached by an ex England coach from your own country! However, that was the task faced by UH West Herts Warriors on Saturday night as they took on the powerhouse that is Reading Rockets in the National Trpohy at the Sports Village. Warriors gave debuts to Antonio Bright and Steve Ogunjimi whilst Reading added two new Americans to their successful runners up team from last year, 6’8” Clint Deas from Sheffield Arrows and Andy Harper from Worcester Wolves. It’s always good to get off to a good start – but Warriors could only score 2 field goals in the first five minutes and managed only three in the first quarter. After 10 minutes they found themselves 24-10 down and looking at a long, long night. The second stanza was not much better and at half time the UH Warriors were 20 points adrift at 21-41. Welcome to the new season! “We had two choices at half time: feel sorry for our selves – and it has been a difficult week – or forget the scoreboard, set ourselves some team and personal goals and work like heck to achieve them” said new coach Neville Austin “And I think we can say we went some way towards achieving them”. Basketball is a game of two halves – and this one was. From the drubbing or the first half the Warriors took the third quarter by 19-11, led by the intelligent play of Steve Ogunjimi. Tough inside play from McCarthy, Quashie and Austin resulted in the dangerous Deas fouling out mid way though the fourth quarter, quickly followed by Harper. West Herts saw their chance and pushed on with Quashie particularly effective inside. They took the last period by 19-12 but ultimately the hole dug early on proved too steep to get out of and the game ended in a 5 point loss, but with plenty of positives for Austin to take: “We were as poor as we could be early on, but we steadied the ship and the guys deserve great credit for the guts and determination they showed to nettle back and cause Reading problems. We held Reading to 23 points in the second half, less than they scored in the first 10 minutes! If we can build on that desire and intensity then despite everything, we will be okay”. UH Warriors are away at Bristol next weekend. With an outstanding display against a depleted side, Atlantis Reading Rockets scored their highest points victory ever in a 126- 67 win. This was Rockets' second consecutive weekend win in the pool stage of the National Trophy which they are defending. Rockets' Head Coach, Dave Titmuss, gave court time to 2 Rockets' juniors, a 15 year old (Adam Thoseby) and a 17 year old (Steve Tolloczko) and both players scored in the final quarter, whilst 19 year old Danny Carter, who has just stepped up to the Senior team had a stellar performance contributing 31 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in just 18 minutes court time. Top scorers for Rockets - Carter (31), Deas (19), Watts (18) Unselfish Magic Open 07/08 Account With A Win Manchester Magic 79 – 74 Bristol Flyers A good crowd showed up to support the Magic in their season opener against the Bristol Flyers. From the opening tip it was clear that the Magic were willing to play for one another and sacrifice their individual statistics in exchange for team success. All the players in Magic colours were prepared to make the extra pass and as a result they got into good positions to convert on the inside or to draw fouls from their opponents. The Magic typified the word ‘team’ as they amassed 21 assists for their 22 field goals. They went to the free throw line 21 times in the first half alone as the Flyers were forced to foul, unable to keep up with the crisp ball movement and cuts to basket by the home side. The Magic backcourt pairing of Steve Gayle & Stefan Gill made their intentions clear immediately as they used their quickness to score the Magic’s first 7 points. Gill proving to be a thorn in the Flyers side all night, as his suffocating defensive pressure gained him 4 steals and helped to force Bristol into a ghastly 27 turnovers. The visitors made 61% of their first half field goals but due to poor ball retention found themselves trailing by 11 points at the half time interval. Bristol’s first half scoring load was shouldered by shooting guard Greg Streete & former Reading Rocket Ryan Williams. They scored 14 of Bristol’s 17 second quarter points and helped to narrow the visitors’ deficit. Tyrone Treasure also performed well for the Flyers securing 10 rebounds to go with his 15 points. The home team began to display their shooting touch in the third quarter with Taner Adu, Andrew Mackay & Duncan Ogilvie all connecting from long range as the Magic cantered towards the finish. The Flyers however refused to give up and used an 18 – 8 fourth quarter run to cut the Magic lead to 4 points. Ryan Williams continued his offensive onslaught with 10 more points to take his tally to a game high 31. Nonetheless the Magic finished strongly with Jamal Hilliard scoring 4 of his team high 12 points in the last 3 minutes. Coach Jeff Jones will also be proud of the fact that all of his Magic squad showed a willingness to crash the boards with 6 players corralling 4 or more rebounds. It was a high-quality performance by the Magic who visit Derby next Saturday before facing Reading at home on October 20th. Blazing the Trail into New Beginnings Coventry Crusaders (48) 82 vs Derby Trailblazers (39) 77Coventry Crusaders opened their 2007-08 campaign with a thrilling win over newly promoted Derby Trailblazers. With a new coach at the helm, new USA players, and all but three of the players new to the set-up, Crusaders have a clean slate with which to start a new season. Scott Neely is Crusaders new Head Coach, as Dip Donaldson takes a back seat from coaching and playing and has moved to the stands. Neely who has been part of the Crusader organisation for the past couple of years has taken up his new position, opting to coach instead of play this season. Changes only started, there, however, as Sydney Donaldson, who is the son of Crusader’s owner Dip Donaldson, was in the starting line-up for Crusaders for the first time, just two weeks shy of his 17th birthday. He came out wearing the same number his father wore up until the end of last season. The Crusaders started well, and led from the beginning. Keith Sudler, one of the new players from the USA who actually flew in from his home country on Saturday morning, hit 11 points in the first quarter, including three 3-pointers. By the end of the 1st quarter Crusaders had already dropped six 3-pointers into the basket, including two more by fellow USA newcomer Ryan Luethy, and one from Ben Clarke. Derby’s Simon Allaway did as much damage as possible, scoring 12 points in the 1st quarter alone, but the Crusaders still led the way 26-22. In the second quarter the Crusaders continued their run, leading by as much as 12 points. Luethy was the main offensive threat for Trailblazers, with good contributions from Donaldson and big man Robert Clarke who has returned to Coventry after a stint playing for Worcester Wolves. By half time the score-line had spread a little wider with the home side still ahead 48-39. The second half was better for Trailblazers. They outscored Crusaders 19-16 in the 3rd, with Allaway and Simon Spencer putting points on the board for them, and a big 3-pointer from youngster Mikey Manghum. Crusaders ex-Junior player, Kane Hudson, hit a three, along with threes from Ben Clarke, Donaldson, and Sudler, the Crusaders seemed to be on course for a new record of number of three’s in a game, hitting 17 in all, for the game. At the end of the 3rd Crusaders maintained their lead, although Derby were closing the gap, 64-58. It was in the 4th that things got really tight. Trailblazers continued to work hard and with Spencer going to the line at least ten times during the course of the game and shooting 10/10 of his free throws, the gap continued to decrease. Derby came within one point of catching the home team, and then both teams’ scoring capability seemed be momentarily suspended. The score line was too close to call, for a short while, then Neely made a couple of substitutes and Crusaders surged forward again. The final score was 82-77 with a very happy home crowd and a step in the right direction for a new season. Crusaders Sudler scored seven 3-pointers among his 25 debut points for Crusaders, complemented by Luethy’s 18, including four 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Derby’s Allaway scored six 3-pointers to bring his total to 28, closely followed by Spencer’s 27 points. Crusaders Scorers: Sudler 25, Luethy 18, B.Clarke 13, R.Clarke 12, Donaldson 9, Hudson 3, Payne 2.
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