Sunday 27th December 2009

Guildford Heat 75 (28, 46, 63) (Martin 23, Langhorne/McKnight 12)
Newcastle Eagles 82 (18, 45, 62) (Chapman 18, Smith/Jackson 13)

The BBL Championship Table now looks a lot tighter at the top, with the Newcastle Eagles just two points behind league leaders the Sheffield Sharks, whilst the Guildford Heat sit on the edge of the play off places in joint eighth position with the Worthing Thunder.

The Eagles visited the Heat tonight, and the scores were neck and neck from the opening tip, until baskets from Mike Martin and Julius Joseph gave the Heat a 13-8 lead with 6:21 left in the period. They then split another four points between them to take the home side's advantage out to 17-8, with five points from Kenny Langhorne then putting the Heat ahead 22-18. For the next two minutes however, the Eagles, who looked to be in trouble, made a commendable charge, outscoring the home side 8-2 until with under a minute to go in the first, a field goal from Joseph and two free throws from Tayo Ogedengbe put the Heat up at a comfortable 28-18.

The second period was to be a completely different story, as it finished 46-45 in the Heat's favour, but they did go as many as 14 points ahead, 40-24 with 8:07 remaining. The Eagles outscored Chad McKnight's men 11-6 for the rest of the period to keep in touch at the half by a single point.

With the third period finishing 63-62 to the Heat, there was everything to play for in the final ten minutes, which was nip and tuck throughout.

The turning point in the game for the Eagles particularly, was the score lines being level at 72-72 with four minutes to go, only for the Tyneside outfit to go on a 10-3 burst, despite missing four free throws.

This proved to seal the game for the Eagles, leaving player-coach Fabulous Flournoy a satisfied man: 'We played a good game but struggled in the first quarter' he said: 'The Heat played very well, with a lot of energy, and they beat us last time we were here in a very similar game' he added: 'We needed to pick up our defence in the second half which we did. We cleaned up on the boards - Lynard (Stewart), Charles (Smith) and Darius (Defoe) all got lots of offensive rebounds. It was a case of matching their energy rather than doing anything different.'

 

Sunday 20th December 2009

It was a successful day for away teams in the BBL Championship on Sunday as the Sheffield Sharks won in Scotland for the first time in two years and the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders won their first road game of the season.

Guildford Heat 71 (24,46,60) (McKnight 22, Ogedengbe 17, Joseph 12)
Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 78 (17,38,64) (Valencia 23, Lasker 22, Rowe 14)

The Airwaves Plymouth Raiders shocked the Guildford Heat by handing them their second defeat of the weekend, 71-78 in Surrey. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Heat, but marks the end of an eight-game losing streak for the Raiders with back-to- back wins this week. It was also Plymouth's first away win of the season.

The day didn't start so well for the South Coast team, as Head Coach Gary Stronach explained in his post- match analysis: "It was a very professional win and a very good team performance. It was a bad start to the day as James Noel was injured in a car crash - he is suffering from whiplash. It took the team a while to get into the game, but when they did they played very well and especially to limit the Heat to 25 in the second half."

The numbers demonstrate the accuracy of Stronach's analysis. The Heat led 24-17 after the first ten minutes and pushed further ahead in the second period to take a 41-25 lead. However, the Raiders posted a 13-4 burst to finish the first half, narrow the gap to 46-38 and set the tone for what would ensue in the second half of the game.

The visitors picked up where they left off and scored the first eight points of the third quarter to tie the game at 46. By the end of the period they had the lead at 60- 64 after closing with a further burst of 8-2. The game remained close, and the Heat reclaimed the lead at 69-68 with five minutes to go. But the Raiders secured the win as they held the Heat to just two points from that point to the end. Four points for Tino Valencia and a triple from Allister Gall helped them to finish with a 10-2 surge to secure their first road win of the 2009/10 campaign.

Valencia led the way with a double-double for the Raiders of 23 points and 16 boards, while Anthony Rowe scored 12 points in that strong second half to finish with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Heat, who were missing Mike Martin through illness, were led by 22 points from Chad McKnight.

 

Glasgow Rocks 67 (19,33,40) (Sapp 19, Copeland 17, Crowell 13)
Sheffield Sharks 77 (26,45,60) (Cook 25, Toney 20, Cauthorn/Tuck 12)

The league-leading Sheffield Sharks beat the Glasgow Rocks 67-77 in this game between the league's two form sides. The Sharks have now posted five straight wins against the Rocks in 2009, although it was their first win north of the border in two years, since November 2007.

Mike Cook led their scoring again with 25 points and 8 rebounds, while Tafari Toney had a double-double of 20 points and 10 boards. Jessie Sapp was close to a triple-double in leading the Rocks with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

It was a tight opening to the game as the teams were tied at 6, and then again at 14 after the first seven minutes. Crowell and Cook were exchanging blows as the former hit consecutive triples and the latter scored back-to-back baskets for the Sharks. The visitors pushed away at the end of the opening stanza as Tuck's three-pointer sparked a 10-3 finish, during which Cook added a further five points.

The Sharks edged further ahead, despite the Rocks scoring the first five points of the second; they were down by two at 29-31 with five minutes remaining. But the Sharks finished strongly again, with a 14-4 surge, as Cook scored 5 more and Gorman scored 6 - the Sharks led 33-45 at the half.

The Sharks all-but sealed the game with a defensive shut down in the third period that saw them hold their hosts to just 7 points. The Sharks scored 15 points of their own, spread around the team, to lead by twenty at 40-60.

Atiba Lyons opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer as the Sharks seemed to be cruising towards the victory. But the Rocks came back strongly late in the game. Crowell and Sapp scored 5 points each in a 10-0 burst that made the score 61-71, and they were within single digits at 64-73 as Sapp hit another three-pointer with 2.14 remaining. But the Sharks kept them at arm's length as Cook scored again, followed by a Toney score to see the game out.

 

Saturday 19th December 2009

Worthing Thunder 90 (19, 41, 68) (Zabas 20, Cricelli 20, Makalainen 18)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders (18, 39, 64) (Wierzbicki 24, Johnson 23, L. Williams 10)

In a tight encounter this evening, the Worthing Thunder seized a 90-87 win over the visiting Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, in both sides' last game before the Christmas break.

The Thunder started with Sherrad Prezzie-Blue, Sam Cricelli, Kadari Richard, Ville Makalainen, and new signing Evaldas Zabas. The Riders began the game with Isaac Westbrooks, Bradd Wierzbicki, Lataryl Williams, Jason Johnson and Shaun Durant.

Makalainen grabbing a steal and giving Zabas the ball for the first points of the ball game signalled the Thunder's intensity from the start, as a Kadari Richard foul shot then put them up 3-0, with the visitors yet to put the ball in the basket. Opening the Riders scoring was Jason Johnson, who also netted one of his two free throw attempts. Westbrooks then went 2/2 from the line to put the Riders level with Worthing at 3-3 early doors. The teams then exchanged scores, with the scoreline being level at several points in the last few minutes of the opening period, as the Thunder were just one point ahead, 19-18 going into the second quarter. This ten minutes was a similar story, as a Prezzie-Blue three pointer gave the Thunder a slightly larger lead at 41-39 going into the locker rooms at half time.

The third stanza was an interesting one, as Prezzie Blue continued his hot form to knock down another triple, thanks to a Makalainen pass, which took the Thunder's advantage out to 44-39. A field goal from new signing Zabas then stretched this to seven points. The sides were then fairly even for the next couple of minutes, until when the scores read 57-54 in Worthing's favour, the home side went on an 8-2 run to put them up 65-56, their largest lead of the night. An Adam Williams three pointer fortunately closed the gap for Leicester, who then trimmed the deficit to 68-64 at the end of the third, thanks to a 6-3 run of their own.

A thrilling fourth quarter then followed, as Makalainen stepped up in the dying moments from the charity stripe, to put them ahead 88-87. Zabas then did the same, as he knocked down both of his free throws to seal a 90-87 win.

The Lithuanian marked his debut for the Thunder with a 20 point performance, matched by Sam Cricelli, and Makalainen supported them with 15 points. For the visitors, Bradd Wierzbicki can be proud of his 24 points to lead all scorers on 6/6 free throw shooting, and Jason Johnson had a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Friday 18th December 2009

The gap at the top of the BBL Championship has closed with league leaders Sheffield Sharks losing at Everton Tigers while there were wins for Newcastle Eagles and Marshall MK Lions in second and third places respectively.

Everton Tigers 73 (19,39,54) (Larkai 26, Babalola 18, Thomson 10)
Sheffield Sharks 61 (15,32,49) (Cook 22, Toney 16, Cauthorn 12)

Everton Tigers displayed their title credentials with a convincing 73-61 win over league leaders Sheffield Sharks at the Echo Arena.

The Tigers held Sharks to just 12 fourth quarter points as they gained revenge for a BBL Cup quarter final loss in Sheffield last month.

In the first league meeting of the season between the two teams it was Everton who began brightest. Olu Babalola scored seven points in a 9-0 as it took Sheffield until 6.26 left in the quarter to get on the scoreboard.

Sharks levelled the match at 11-11 thanks to five points from Mike Cook, but Tigers finished the period the stronger side to lead 19-15.

Flo Larkai (pictured) was instrumental in Everton's excellent second quarter. He scored 11 points in a 12-8 burst to put the home side 31-23 on top. Sharks closed the gap to 35-30 on Ryan Patton's three but two Andrew Thomson free throws and a Larkai basket made it 39- 32 at half time.

Sharks worked had to get back into the match but throughout the third quarter could get no closer than four points. Tigers used an 8-2 run to move ahead 51- 41, however led by Mike Cook free throws and a Tafari Toney bucket Sheffield pulled it back to 51-47.

Thomson drained a three for Tigers before Todd Cauthorn ended the scoring the keep Sheffield in touch at 54-49.

It looked like Sharks were taking control when Cauthorn sank a three to pull his team within two (56- 54) but from there it was Everton who made the big plays. Back-to-back threes from Babalola and Kevin Rush helped push the lead to 67-56.

Although Cauthorn hit another from beyond the arc the Sharks couldn't get close enough to challenge Everton's superiority.

 

Marshall MK Lions 98 (26,58,71) (Harrison 25, Williams 16, Holmes 15)
Guildford Heat 97 (18,36,68) (Martin 28, Joseph 22, Langhorne 21)

Marshall MK Lions said farewell to Bletchley Leisure Centre in style with a nail-biting 98-97 last second win over Guildford Heat.

The Lions are set to move to Centre MK for their home games and they signed off in style after blowing an 18 point half lead only to fight back in the final minute to snatch the victory on Robert Youngblood's (pictured) free throw.

Michael New scored six points in the opening quarter as Lions led 26-18 after ten minutes. Ten from Dru Spinks in the second period helped his team to a 58- 36 half time advantage.

After the break though it was all Heat as runs of 12-4 and 10-4 brought them back to 63-57. Yorick Williams and Frank Holmes combined for six points for Lions, but a 9-2 burst by Guildford saw them trail by just three (71-68) heading into the final stanza.

Heat went ahead on a Mike Martin three at 74-75 and they backed that up with a further five unanswered points. Lions responded with a 7-0 run to re-take the lead at 81-80 but they couldn't sustain it and were down 89-96 in the last minute.

Williams' three began the revival and the same player calmly sank three free throws to tie the match at 97-97 with six seconds remaining.

On the next possession Martin fouled Youngblood and after missing the first free throw the veteran drained the second to secure a memorable victory for a happy Vince Macaulay.

The Lions coach said: "The belief of the players pulled the game out of the bag. I'm delighted we gave the old place a good send off."

 

Essex Pirates 46 (11,22,33) (Rodrigo 10, Adu 7, Mumuni 7, Toulwase 7)
Newcastle Eagles 97 (25,49,73) (Chapman 22, Jackson 22, Defoe 15)

Newcastle Eagles maintained the pressure at the top of the BBL with a comfortable 46-97 win in Southend against Essex Pirates.

From 3-2 down the Eagles went on runs of 8-0 and 9- 0 in the first quarter to lead 11-25 after ten minutes.

A 12-0 burst early in the second saw them go 13-37 up and a 6-0 close to the half, with skipper Andrew Bridge hitting a three on the buzzer, made it 22- 49.

After an even beginning to the third quarter Eagles' Reggie Jackson (pictured) nailed three consecutive three-pointers to put his team up by the 30.

And the margin was 40 at 33-73 when Bridge and Joe Chapman connected from long range to end the stanza. Newcastle didn't relent in the final period, keeping Pirates from racking up 50 points while taking their lead beyond the half century.

Chapman and Jackson led all scorers with 22, with Darius Defoe chipping in with 15.

Wednesday 16th December 2009

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 77 (16,32,57) (Valencia 24, Lasker 13, Rowe 12)
Glasgow Rocks 74 (18,42,58) (Crowell 17, Yanders 15, Sapp 15)

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders secured their second league win of the season with a 77-74 victory over Glasgow Rocks in Devon.

Gary Stronach's (pictured) team held the Rocks scoreless over the last two minutes to post an 8-0 run which clinched them the points.

Raiders, who desperately wanted to win to close the gap on the teams above them, started brightly with an 11-4 run. Two Rob Yanders threes for Rocks formed the backbone of a 9-0 burst which gave Glasgow the lead.

A further three from Steve Parillon and two Yanders free throws kept the visitors in front 16-18 at the end of the first quarter.

Jessie Sapp set the tone for a Rocks three-point barrage in the second period. The former Georgetown University star connected once from long range as did Yanders, but it was Michael Crowell's three bombs that did the damage as Rocks led by 10 (32-42) at half time.

After Mike Copeland had extended Rocks' lead to 12 (32-44) the Raiders came storming back inspired by Drew Lasker. The guard scored nine in a 10-0 run to trim the lead to two.

And he notched another four in an 8-3 burst which gave Plymouth the lead at 50-49. After exchanging baskets Rocks eventually put together a 6-0 tear, which helped them enter the final stanza with a slim 57-58 advantage.

An 8-2 run by Rocks gave them a 65-71 lead, but despite a 12-3, including the final eight points of the game was enough for Plymouth to celebrate victory.

Sunday 13th December 2009

PAWS London Capital 68 (21, 36, 48) (Gariba 13, Ivanov/Knysas 11)
Newcastle Eagles 89 (24, 49, 67) (Defoe 26, Bridge/Jackson 16)

The Newcastle Eagles kept up their assault on the title tonight with a 68-89 win over PAWS London Capital. The game was played at the Capital City Academy, as Milek Jivens' struggling side were victims of the backlash of the Eagles surprise league defeat to Worthing Thunder last weekend.

After a close first period which finished 21-24 in the Eagles favour, the Capital found it difficult to make an impact on the game, as they finished the second and third quarters 36-49 and 48-67 down respectively.

The Capital were led by Ibrahim Gariba (13 points), who continues to have a fine season, whilst long range specialist Dian Ivanov and Lithuanian inside monster Giedrius Knysas had 11 points each.

The Eagles meanwhile, were led by a strong 26 point performance from British Forward Darius Defoe, whilst fellow Brit Andrew Bridge and American Point Guard Reggie Jackson had 16 points each.

 

Cheshire Jets 85 (15, 34, 56) (Marks 25, Peterson 18, Gayle 16)
Guildford Heat 84 (19, 40, 65) (Langhorne 27, Martin 18, McKnight 14)

The Cheshire Jets secured an emphatic 85-84 victory at the Northgate Arena tonight over the Guildford Heat as the BBL Cup Finalists continued their fine form. A Chez Marks three pointer with 0.6 seconds put the game in the Jets hand, as they took a one point lead, and this was the third time that such a feat has occurred on the Jets home court, and they were led tonight by Marks, who had 25 points, whilst Paul Peterson had 18 and Stephen Gayle had 16 points thanks to an awesome third quarter display. Kenny Langhorne led all scorers in the game for the Heat with 27 points personal, whilst Mike Martin scored 18 points and player-coach Chad McKnight had 14 points of his own.

The first quarter saw the Heat lead by four points, and the second quarter saw this lead extended to six points. However, the third quarter could have been pivotal in the game, as the Heat led by as many as 16 points, thanks to an 18-8 run during the first six minutes of the stanza. The Jets finishing the penultimate period with a 16-7 burst however was where their fightback started from, as they then bagged the last nine points of the period to leave the scoreline at 68-71 in the Heat's favour.

It was the fourth quarter that was full of drama, as the Heat had managed to hold onto their 15-16 lead with 2:30 to go in the first period until 1:55 left in the game. A Jets score broke that lead, as the home side took an 81-79 advantage.

A dramatic last minute and thirty seconds then ensued, as the Jets' Stephen Gayle fouled Mike Martin, who made one of his two free throws. The Heat then stole the ball, with Julius Joseph breaking away to score and put them back in the lead. 'LA' Aaron Drakeford then fouled James Hamilton, as the BBL veteran knocked down just one of his two charity shots to tie scores at 82 a piece. Kenny Langhorne then stole the ball from his man, going full court for an unopposed layup to put Heat up 84-82, but Marks nailed the decisive three ball to leave the scores at 85-84 with 0.6 seconds left, meaning it was 'all she wrote' for Guildford fans and players.

Jets playcaller Paul Smith said he was 'proud' of his team's fighting spirit tonight: 'I was very proud of my team, they fought all the way and after being very down after the Essex Pirates defeat last night, and arriving back at five o clock in the morning, I think this win is a tribute to their character' he added: 'One thing is for sure, that Jets fans are getting their money's worth at the Northgate this year!'

 

Marshall MK Lions 108 (30, 42, 71) (Williams 25, Harrison 22, Holmes 18)
Airwaves Plymouth Raiders (24, 52, 68) (Lasker 25, Valencia 21, Gall 12)

The Marshall MK Lions got back to winning ways this evening, as they triumphed over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders with a hard fought 108-93 victory in BBL Championship action.

The Lions got off to a great start, thanks to the scoring prowess of Robert Youngblood, Yorick Williams, Frank Holmes and EJ Harrison. These four players combined to give the home side a 9-1 lead early on. The Lions continued to dominate the opening stanza, with the scoreline reading 20-10 with just 3:42 to go, but the Raiders fought back, as a 14-10 run from the visitors, including ten points combined from new signings Drew Lasker and Anthony Rowe, bought the scoreline to 30-24 at the end of the first.

The second period began ferociously, but the Raiders continued their momentum, as they outscored the hosts 28-12 in the period, to finish ten points up (52-42) at half time.

The teams came out after the break full of hunger, and the Lions outscored the Raiders 14-6 in the opening five minutes, to take the scores level at 58-58. The sides then traded baskets for much of the way, until two Mike New free throws gave the Lions a four point lead, at 64-60. New then gave Harrison an assist for an easy layup, meaning the Lions were up 6 points, and they built on this lead, to go up 71-64 after a Harrison field goal. However, Terry Horton and Anthony Martin both notched baskets for the Raiders, meaning that there was little separating these sides going into the fourth quarter, as the scoreboard read 71-68 to Milton Keynes.

A massive 37-25 fourth quarter from the home side then proved to seal them the well deserved win, and Lions coach Vince Macaulay was keen to express how important this victory was for his side: 'We are all glad to back on the winning track' he said: 'We are now really looking forward to the next double header, our last set of games before the (Christmas) break.'

Drew Lasker (Raiders) and Yorick Williams (Lions) jointly led the scoring in the game with 25 points each, whilst EJ Harrison bagged 22 points for the home side, and Florentino Valencia impressed for the Raiders with 21 points personal.

 

Glasgow Rocks 103 (27, 48, 69) (Sapp 26, Copeland 19, Crowell/Yanders 18)
Worthing Thunder (17, 34, 56) (Bratton 31, Makalainen 19, Prezzie-Blue 13)

After an encouraging win over BBL powerhouse Newcastle Eagles last weekend, Dave Titmuss' will be disappointed with his side after the Thunder went down 103-85 to the Glasgow Rocks this evening.

It was the Rocks 20-8 run for the first six minutes of the opening period which put them ahead enough to gain a 27-17 lead at the end of the first period.

The second quarter was then a case of the teams exchanging baskets, as the Thunder generally kept the gap to within ten points. The Thunder did trim the deficit to just nine points at 39-28, only for the Rocks new signing Michael Crowell to knock down a long ranger off a pass from Rob Yanders. Ville Makalainen sunk two free throws for the visitors, only for Yanders to find Gareth Murray for an easy layup to extend the Rocks' lead to 15 points at 45-30. The Thunder then struggled to make inroads into such a deficit, as the Rocks shaded a half-time scoreline of 48-34.

The third quarter then saw the Rocks keep their distance between twelve and fifteen points, only for the Thunder to battle back. The Rocks led by as many as 16 points in the quarter, but some good work from imports Reggie Bratton and Sherrad Prezzie-Blue cut the gap to just ten points at 59-49, with 3:38 left in the period. The teams were then fairly even, as a Ryan Marrast basket with four seconds took Worthing to 69-56 down going into the fourth quarter.

The final period belonged to the Rocks, as they out scored their opponents 34-29 to seal a comfortable win.

They were led by a fine display from American guard Jessie Sapp (26 points), whilst Rob Yanders and Mike Copeland had 18 points each, and Copeland added 9 boards to his tally, whilst Yanders dished out 10 assists for an inspiring double-double. Reggie Bratton led the Thunder scoring with 31 points.

Saturday 12th December 2009

Essex Pirates 80 (17,37,61) (Adu 30, Rodrigo 15, Sing 15)
Cheshire Jets 72 (18,36,49) (Hamilton 21, Peterson 16, Myers 12)

Essex Pirates comfortably saw off the high-flying Cheshire Jets 80-72 in Southend.

The Pirates used an excellent 24-13 third quarter to break open the match. It is the Pirates' third win in the Championship since joining the BBL this season and left coach Tim Lewis a happy man: "It was a good display by the team," he said. "We bounced back well from last week's defeat against Glasgow Rocks and performed well in all four quarters.

"Cheshire Jets are a strong team but I have to give my guys credit. Tonight we made good decisions, moved the ball and were confident down the stretch."

Jets, who had veteran James Hamilton leading their scorers with 21 points, shaded the first quarter 17-18, before Pirates edged the second to go in 37-36 up at half time.

With Tanner Adu (pictured) in excellent form and leading the match with 30 points the Pirates dominated the third period to take a 61-49 lead into the final stanza. Cheshire worked hard but couldn't recover as Essex sealed the win to move six points off a play-off berth.

Friday 11th December 2009

Everton Tigers 99 (23,43,70) (Gumbs 28, Bell 20, Thomson 17)
Marshall MK Lions 87 (25,40,62) (Harrison 25, Holmes 17, Williams 13)

An excellent second half display moved Everton Tigers into seventh place with a 99-87 home win over Marshall MK Lions.

Lions enjoyed the better of the first quarter action as an 8-0 run put them 15-25 on top. Tigers fought back with Kevin Bell and Jerome Gumbs (pictured) sharing the points in a 6-0 end to the period.

An 8-1 burst to begin the second quarter soon had Everton ahead for good. The home side's lead peaked at 41-30 on James Jones's three-pointer before Lions battled back to trail by just three (43-40) at half time thanks to good work by Frank Holmes.

Lions, through Holmes, cut the gap to one (43-42) on the first bucket of the third quarter, but it was as close as the visitors would get as an 11-0 run, with six points from Gumbs, opened up a 67-54 lead. Heading into the final stanza Tigers led 70-62.

Everton controlled the fourth quarter with threes by Andrew Thomson and Bell keeping Lions at bay. A 9-2 finish to the match put the result beyond doubt.

Sunday 6th December 2009

Glasgow Rocks 88 (22,43,70) (Yanders 19, Copeland 18 Crowell 14)
Essex Pirates 54 (22,29,42) (Rodrigo 17, Adu 9, Metcalfe 8)

The Glasgow Rocks leapfrogged over the Everton Tigers and Worthing Thunder up into seventh position in the BBL Championship table thanks to a comfortable 88-54 victory over the Essex Pirates at Kelvin Hall on Sunday evening.

Both sides traded baskets throughout the early exchanges with neither side able to put their mark onto the game and this was shown in the scoreline as the teams could not be separated at the end of the first quarter as the score was level at 22-22.

The second quarter saw a Dean Williams basket for the Pirates open the scoring to give the Pirates a 22 -24 lead, but this only sparked the Rocks into action as a Mike Copeland free-throw instigated a 15-0 run to take the score out to 37-24 midway through the second period. A further 6-0 run, including four points from Rob Yanders, for the Rocks took the score out further to 43-26 and despite a three-pointer from Pablo Rodrigo for the visitors to end the scoring in the first half the Rocks headed into the locker room 43- 29 up at the half.

The second half saw the Pirates attempt to trim the deficit and a Taner Adu three-pointer saw them take the score back to 50- 36, but the Rocks extended the lead once again thanks to a 18-4 burst to take the score out to 68-40. The Rocks maintained their 28-point advantage heading into the final stanza as they led 70-42 at the end of the third period.

In the final period the Rocks continued to extend their advantage with a 12-5 burst to take the score out to 85-47 midway through the quarter. Four more points from Copeland as the game drew to a close handed the home side their biggest lead of the game at 86-49 and the Rocks held on for the comfortable victory.

Yanders led all scorers in the game with 19 points for the Rocks, while Rodrigo led the scoring for the Pirates with 17 points personal.

Saturday 5th December 2009

Sheffield Sharks extended their lead at the top of the BBL to six points after an 86-97 win on the road at Guildford Heat.

That, coupled with Newcastle Eagles losing 104-90 at Worthing Thunder, gives the Sharks a bit of breathing room having lost one game fewer than the Eagles, Marshall MK Lions, Cheshire Jets and Glasgow Rocks.

Sharks were made to work hard for their win, with a 19- 1 run over the end of the third quarter and into the fourth breaking the match open 65-83 in their favour. Backcourt duo Mike Cook and Ryan Patton were once again on form for Sheffield scoring 29 points and 22 points respectively.

Second placed Newcastle Eagles couldn't shake off a gritty Worthing Thunder side as the hosts pulled away to victory with an 11-0 run to end the match. Thunder's Reggie Bratton led all scorers with 32 as the south coast club moves into the final play-off spot.

History was made in the East Midlands as Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders equalled the highest ever winning margin in a BBL contest with a 110-38 win over PAWS London Capital.

The September 1987 match between Crystal Palace and Livingstone in which Palace were crushed 37-109 is the only other game with a 72 point differential. Riders had many runs in the match of which a 23-6 burst in the third quarter made the match absolutely safe at 72-22.

In Devon it was Everton Tigers who took home the points with a 69-84 win at Plymouth Raiders. The hosts never led as Tigers held them at bay with an excellent team effort.

 

Guildford Heat 86 (29,50,65) (Langhorne 23, Martin 19, Drakeford 17)
Sheffield Sharks 97 (24,46,77) (Cook 29, Patton 22, Cauthorn 17)

Sheffield Sharks extended their lead at the top of the BBL to six points after an 86-97 win on the road at Guildford Heat.

Sharks were made to work hard for their win, with a 19- 1 run over the end of the third quarter and into the fourth breaking the match open 65-83 in their favour. Backcourt duo Mike Cook (pictured) and Ryan Patton were once again on form for Sheffield scoring 29 points and 22 points respectively.

Guildford enjoyed the better of the first ten minutes with an 8-0 run, including two Kenny Langhorne threes, to close the quarter putting them 29-24 up.

Heat's lead peaked at 33-26 before Sharks quickly tied the match at 34-34 and then went in front 41-46 on the back of good work by Todd Cauthorn and Cook. Guildford again finished well though to take a 50-46 lead into the interval.

Two Ryan Patton threes and one from Tafari Toney set the scene for an excellent third quarter by Sheffield. They took the lead for good at 57-58 and another Patton three capped a 10-0 run to make it 63- 74.

Taking a 65-77 lead into the final stanza, the Sharks rammed home their advantage with threes by Patton and Cook to give them their biggest margin of the night at 65-83.

There was no way back from that for Heat although they did manage to trim the score to single digits before Cauthorn's final score capped a good night for Sheffield.

 

Worthing Thunder 104 (22,46,76) (Bratton 32, Makalainen 23, Prezzie-Blue 15)
Newcastle Eagles 90 (21,49,72) (Smith 19, Bridge 17, Jackson/Chapman 15)

Worthing Thunder moved back into the play-off positions with a well-earned 104-90 win over reigning BBL champions Newcastle Eagles.

The defeat for Eagles leaves them six points adrift of Sheffield Sharks at the top of the table, although Fab Flournoy's team have two games in hand.

Newcastle controlled the first quarter and led by six (15-21) on Reggie Jackson's two. A 6-0 burst by Thunder capped by a Prezzie-Blue three put the home team on top 22-21.

Eagles again put themselves on top to take a 33-40 lead midway through the second quarter and they stretched it out to nine (39-48) before Thunder responded to close to 46-49 at half time.

Thunder were making a habit of ending quarters well and they did it again in the third with an 8-0 tear taking them into the final stanza 76-72 in front. That momentum was carried into the early stages of the fourth quarter with Reggie Bratton's (pictured) three putting Worthing 85-78 up.

Eagles fought hard to trim the gap and were back at three (93-90) on Charles Smith's free throw before an 11-0 run by Thunder to end the match made the victory safe.

 

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 110 (19,49,84) (A Williams 22, Johnson 21, Wierzbicki 17)
PAWS London Capital 38 (9,16,29) (Ataha 11, Gariba 9, Offiah 9)

History was made in the East Midlands as Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders equalled the highest ever winning margin in a BBL contest with a 110-38 win over PAWS London Capital.

The September 1987 match between Crystal Palace and Livingstone in which Palace were crushed 37-109 is the only other game with a 72 point differential. Riders had many runs in the match of which a 23-6 burst in the third quarter made the match absolutely safe at 72-22.

Capital led once at 6-7 but once LaTaryl Williams had put Riders back in front they surged away to 19-9 at the end of the first quarter. Two Adam Williams (pictured) threes closed the second period and capped a 19-0 run to take it to 49-16.

A further 10 unanswered points began the third quarter before back-to-back Santa Ataha three pointers broke the drought for Capital. The lead was 84-29 at the end of three quarters.

Riders continued to score heavily in the final stanza with LaTaryl Williams dunk giving Leicester their biggest lead to end the contest.

 

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 69 (14,34,58) (Lasker 23, Valencia 17, Hilleary 14)
Everton Tigers 84 (16,39,65) (Babalola 18, Gumbs 16, Bell 15)

Everton Tigers took home the points from the south west with a 69-84 win at Plymouth Raiders. The hosts never led as Tigers held them at bay with an excellent team effort.

Tigers held a slender lead throughout the first quarter as both sides struggled to find any offensive rhythm. Darrel Bethune's (pictured) bucket gave them a 14-16 advantage after 10 minutes.

After Raiders tied the match for the final time at 26-26 a 5-0 Tigers burst put the visitors in charge. The five point gap was maintained to half time as Everton went into the locker room 34-39 on top.

Two Andrew Thomson free throws helped Tigers to a double-digit (47-57) lead midway through the third quarter. Raiders returning guard Andrew Lasker scored seven points to help trim the gap to 58-65 heading into the final stanza.

Everton totally dominated the fourth quarter with a 13-3 start to the period handing them their biggest lead of the match at 61-78.

Friday 4th December 2009

Essex Pirates                                     81 (24,37,59) (Adu 26, Rodrigo 19, Hundert 16)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 84 (16,34,48) (Minor 31, Wierzbicki 21, Johnson 15)

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders were made to work hard for their 81-84 win at Essex Pirates in Southend on Friday night.

The Riders led only once early in the match before Barry Lamble put them ahead for good with just 14 seconds remaining. Bradd Wierzbicki then sealed the win with two free throws to leave coach Rob Paternostro a relieved man.

"It was a great effort by the Pirates," he said. "They were very well coached and had the best tactics of any team we have played this season. They really slowed us down. All credit to my guys though. They made the big plays when it counted."

Pirates had threatened to shock the BBL Cup semi- finalists as they dominated the first three quarters of the match.

A 24-15 first period lead was relinquished to allow Riders to move in front 29-30 midway through the second quarter. By half time Essex were once again on top at 37-34.

After the interval a 13-6 Pirates run stretched out their advantage to 59-48 heading into the final stanza.

Riders gradually eroded the Essex lead to 71-70 with just over two minutes remaining. A 5-0 Pirates burst seemed to finally broken the visitor's resistance but it wasn't to be as a 12-5 burst saw Leicester go in front for good.