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December 2006 |
Past Reports: October; November; BBL Cup; BBL Trophy;
3
0-12-06
Springfield Honda Newcastle
Eagles 93 (21,46,74) (Robinson 22, Babalola 13, Bridge/Flournoy 12)
Worcester Wolves
59 (17,37,49) (Harper 16, Collins 14, Perkes 10)
The most successful club of 2006 finished the year on a high as the Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles defeated the Worcester Wolves 93-59 at the MetroRadio Arena.
The game was tight throughout the early exchanges until the Eagles opened it up with a 6-0 run late in the second quarter, to take a 46-37 lead into the half-time break.
The Wolves came out fighting in the third period and scored the first 5 points to narrow the gap to 46-42 before the home side posted the defining run of the game. Shawan Robinson and Fab Flournoy each scored a three-pointer as part of an 8-0 burst that was swiftly followed by 9 unanswered points, including 4 from Tom Sherlock coming off the bench, as the Eagles took a commanding 63-46 lead.
The third frame was closed with a further 8 consecutive points for the Eagles as they led 74- 49.
Newcastle sealed their third win on the bounce with two 8-0 runs in the fourth, the latter included a pair of triples from Brian McCotter.
Shawan Robinson led the scoring with 22 points, whilst Olu Babalola (pictured) netted 13 for the Eagles. The Wolves were led by Andy Harper's 16 points.
28-12-06
Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks
101 (31,58,83) (Yanders 25, Murray/Sterk 23)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 99
(26,54,78) (Lasker 24, Beasley 21, Moore/Aaron 15)
Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks finished off the year 2006 moving into fifth position in the BBL Championship table after a hard-fought 101-99 victory over the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders at the Braehead Arena on Thursday evening.
In a close game throughout, the Rocks led from start to finish, and enjoyed a 7-3 tear in the opening period to take the score out to 31-26. The Raiders came back strong, and got to within four points at 58-54 off the back of a 6-0 burst to close out the first half.
In the second half, the Rocks took control of the game and opened up a twelve point lead midway through the third period thanks to back-to-back three pointers from Julius Joseph, and another one from Hugo Sterk. The visitors got themselves back in the game, and took the lead at 90-89 with five minutes remaining, but the Rocks came back and tied the scores at 94-94 with 3:02 remaining before local boy Gareth Murray netted for the home side to give the Rocks the lead at 97-95 with 2:42 left in the game. The visitors tried to get back into the game, but the Rocks proved too strong and sealed the game from the foul line.
It was Rob Yanders who led all scorers in the game netting 25 points, while Andrew Lasker led the Raiders scoring with 24 points personal.
22-12-06
There were important wins for the Sheffield Sharks and Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles in the BBL Championship on Friday night.
The Sharks bolstered their position in the BBL Championship table, and moved level on points with the Poujoulat Heat Guildford at the top, after a 110-98 defeat of the third placed Kularoos Plymouth Raiders in overtime.
Meanwhile the Eagles overcame the Chester Jets at the MetroRadio Arena. Nine late points from Andrew Bridge secured an 89-83 victory for the Tynesiders.
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 89 (31,47,71) (Robinson 24, Bridge 23,
Flournoy 18)
Chester Jets
83 (19,46,67) (Cowan 24, Singleton 20, Virgil 16)
The penultimate game of the most successful year in the Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles' history finished with an 89-83 success over the Chester Jets at the MetroRadio Arena.
This was the first time that the teams have met this season and puts Newcastle on a positive 7-6 record; good enough to move equal in fifth place with the Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks.
Fab Flournoy's Eagles were keen to impress in front of their hometown fans and an early 8 unanswered points saw them leading from the early stages. That was followed by some excellent defensive work from Flournoy and a trio of three-pointers from Shawan Robinson, as part of a comprehensive 15-2 burst, that meant the Eagles led 31-19 by the first quarter break.
The Jets could do little to break down the lead until late in the second stanza. Richard Murphy netted two triples of his own as the Jets rattled off 12 consecutive points to make it a one-point ball game at 47-46 going into the half-time break.
Neither side could stamp their authority on the game as this one went into the final quarter with a four point differential at 71-67 in favour of the home side.
The Jets quickly took control in the final stanza as a 6-0 tear put them up 73-75. They led 76-81 before the home side's resurgence: Andrew Bridge (pictured) scored 9 points in the last 4:00 minutes as the Eagles posted a game-winning 13-0 run to lead 89-81.
Shawan Robinson led the scoring with 24 points, whilst Bridge's late heroics helped him to 23 for the night. The game-high total was matched by Jaz Cowan, the BBL's leading scorer also netted 24 points.
Sheffield Sharks
110 (22,44,66,90) (Shelton 30, Bonds 25, Cage 25)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 98 (24,44,70,90) (Moore 26, Love 24, Aaron/Lasker 20)
(After Overtime)
The second placed Sheffield Sharks scored a crucial victory over the third placed Kularoos Plymouth Raiders, as they won a thrilling last game of 2006, 110-98 after overtime.
The game was tight throughout and it was the home side that had the early advantage as they led 15-9. However, the Raiders netted 6 unanswered points to tie the game and they led by the first quarter break after a Dru Lasker triple, on the buzzer, made the score 22-24.
They proceeded to score the opening 7 points of the second frame to lead 22-31. However, a Blake Shelton inspired 15-8 surge closed the half and knotted the teams at 44, the guard (pictured) scored an amazing 14 of those points on his way to 30 for the night.
Yet the Raiders looked to have seized the advantage again in the third as a 7-0 tear gave them a 55-60 lead and Lasker again scored a late basket; this time running the length of the floor with 3 seconds left to put his side 66-70 in front.
The home side shifted the momentum in the decisive stanza and Eddie Cage started a 9-2 run, that culminated in a Jeff Bonds score and an 83-77 lead that looked to have the game won. The Raiders left it late but a 5-1 finish, and an Allister Gall basket with 14 seconds remaining, tied it at 90 and forced the extra period.
Once in overtime the Sharks dominated. They scored the opening 9 points, Cage making the first 5 of those, to lead 99-90 and when Lasker, Gavin Love and Gaylon Moore all fouled out for the visitors the came was all but over. Bonds added 9 points in overtime to help the Sharks strengthen their position in second in the BBL Championship table.
Shelton's 30-point haul led all scorers, whilst Cage and Bonds had 25 each on the night. The Raiders were led by Gaylon Moore's 26 and 24 from Gavin Love.
16-12-06
Reining champions Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles bounced back from defeat last night to win at London United 75-74 and last season’s runners-up Scottish Phoenix Honda Record Rocks moved into fourth after an easy 93-62 win at bottom placed Worcester Wolves.
Worcester Wolves
62 (23,36,47) (Sheard 18, Harper 17, Perkes 13)
Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks 93 (19,41,69) (Yanders 27, Joseph 21,
Murray/Hampton 16)
Scottish Phoenix Honda Record Rocks have moved up to fourth in the BBL Championship after a convincing 93-62 win at Worcester Wolves.
Inspired by Rob Yanders’ game-high 27-points the Rocks are level with Milton Keynes Lions six points behind league leaders Poujoulat Guildford Heat. The Wolves remain bottom with just one win from 15 matches.
It was a positive start to the game by Worcester though as they opened up an early 10-4 lead only to be pegged back to 23-19 at the end of the first quarter.
Rocks began to turn on the style in the second period. A 7-0 burst provided the backbone of a 41-36 half time advantage. This was extended thanks to a 12-0 opening to the third quarter and from that point on there was no way back for the Wolves.
London United
74 (15,34,55) (Johnson 20, Perre 19, Haslem 12)
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 75 (19,38,59) (Walker 17, Hyatt 16, Robinson
14)
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles and London United swapped places in the league table after the Eagles hung on in the capital to win 75-74.
It was a much needed victory for last season’s clean sweep winners after they went down just 24 hours previous at home against Poujoulat Guildford Heat. The Eagles are now sixth with United in seventh.
After a 15-2 run in the first quarter handed them a 17-6 lead, Newcastle were in front at the end of every period. United fought hard and a 6-0 burst in the final 90 seconds of the match drew them within one but they couldn’t find the decisive score.
15-12-06
The Poujoulat Heat Guildford moved on top of the BBL Championship table after a comfortable 85-66 victory over the Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles at the Metro Radio Arena on Friday night. Dan Wardrope led the Heat scoring on the night with 16 points for the visitors.
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 66 (23,41,56) (Flournoy 19, Walker 13,
Hyatt 10)
Poujoulat Heat Guildford
85 (19,37,64) (Wardrope 16, Gilbert 15, Dux 14)
The Poujoulat Heat Guildford went level on points at the top of the BBL Championship table thanks to a comfortable 85-66 victory over the Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles at the Metro Radio Arena on Friday night.
After a close first two quarters where the Eagles led 41-37 at the half, they stormed out of the blocks in the third quarter with a 8-0 tear to take the score out to 49-37. The Heat instantly responded in kind with a 8-0 burst of their own to get back to within four points at 49-45, but a game- breaking 14-5 run from the Heat midway through the third period took the score out to 59-54 in the visitors favour.
The fourth quarter saw the Heat continue to extend their lead, and despite a valiant attempt from the Eagles to get back into the game, the visitors held on for the comfortable victory.
Dan Wardrope led the Heat scoring with 16 points, but it was Eagles' player/coach Fabulous Flournoy who led all scorers netting 19 points for Newcastle.
13-12-06
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 82 (12,40,58) (Lasker 29, Beasley 18, Moore 16)
London United
74 (19,38,62) (Johnson 17, Haslem 16, Perre 14)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders moved into a tie for first place with Sheffield Sharks in the BBL Championship following a 82-74 win at home against London United.
It is Plymouth’s eight successive win in all competitions and their eighth successive league victory – a run which started back on October 21 against Chester Jets. It is almost two months since Newcastle Eagles on October 15 were the last team to beat the Raiders in the league.
After numerous lead changes throughout the match including a different team leading at the end of each quarter the Raiders finally made the match safe with 21.4 seconds left.
An Alistair Gall three-point play made the score 82- 74 and there was no way back for a hard working London side that had led at the end of the first (19- 12) and third (62-58) quarters.
Andrew Lasker top scored with 29 for Plymouth while Tarick Johnson (pictured) with 17 was London’s leader.
10-12-06
Chester Jets
67 ( 4,23,43) (Cowan 26, Virgil 14, Singleton 9)
DMU Leicester Riders 112 (32,54,86) (Williams 38, Myers 22, Alleyne 15)
An incredible first quarter led to an easy win on the road for DMU Leicester Riders over Chester Jets.
The Riders shot out to a 13-0 start and backed it up with another 14-0 run to take the first 10 minutes 32- 4.
A shellshocked Jets team rallied slightly in the second as the half closed 54-23 in Leicester’s favour.
There was more heavy scoring from the visitors in the third quarter as a 14-2 burst opened up a 68-25 lead with seven minutes of the period to play. A weakened Jets team battled on but couldn’t get any kind of momentum and were soundly beaten by a rampant Riders squad led by 38 points from Yorick William
09-12-06
Sheffield Sharks kept hold of top spot in the BBL Championship table thanks to an 85-72 victory over the DMU Leicester Riders at the John Sanford Centre on Saturday evening. Jeff Bonds was the star man for the Sharks netting 23 points personal.
The race for top spot is also hotting up with two of the contenders picking up important victories on Saturday night as well. Guildford Heat defeated the Milton Keynes Lions 94-85 at the Spectrum, while the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders enjoyed a comfortable 98- 78 victory over the Worcester Wolves at Worcester University.
In other Championship action, the Chester Jets picked up a crucial 112-86 victory over London United at the SPACE Centre.
London
United 86 (18,40,62) (Perre/Capers 17, Johnson 15)
Chester Jets 112 (36,58,87) (Cowan 41, Virgil/Hamilton 25)
Chester Jets picked up their third victory of their BBL Championship campaign thanks to a 112-86 victory over London United at the SPACE Centre on Saturday evening. The Jets led from start to finish, and led by eighteen points at 58-40 at the end of the first half. The third quarter saw the Jets continue to extend their lead, and enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at 77-47 midway through the period off the back of a 14-0 tear. London valiantly attempted to get back into the game, but the Jets saw them off to pick up the all important victory. Jaz Cowan led all scorers netting a highly impressive 41 points for the Jets, while a combination of Phillip Perre and Marlon Capers led the London scorers with 17 points each.
DMU
Leicester Riders 72 (20,42,58) (Myers 25, Williams/Alleyne 15)
Sheffield Sharks 85 (22,35,57) (Bonds 23, Shelton 17, Cage 15)
Sheffield Sharks maintained their place at the top of the BBL Championship table thanks to an 85-72 victory over the DMU Leicester Riders at the John Sanford Centre on Saturday evening. The Sharks started the stronger leading 22-18 at the end of the first quarter, but the Riders came back in the second, and led by seven points at 42-35 going into the second half. In the second half, the Sharks trimmed the deficit to a single point at 57-58 going into the final stanza. In the final period, the Sharks stepped up their intensity at both ends of the floor, and defeated 28-14 in the quarter to secure the all important victory. Jeff Bonds led the Sharks scoring with 23 points, but it was Riders' Shawn Myers who led all scorers with 25 points personal.
Guildford
Heat 94 (22,42,68) (Wardrope 22, Williams 19, Gilbert 18)
Milton Keynes Lions 85 (19,38,58) (Jamison/Windless 20, Brown 11)
Guildford Heat kept up their pursuit of top spot in the BBL Championship thanks to a 94-85 victory over the Milton Keynes Lions at the Guildford Spectrum on Saturday evening. The Heat started the stronger, and a 9-4 tear to start the second period took the score out to 31-25. The Lions stayed in contact with their opponents and were down by four points at 38-42 going into the second half. The Heat took control in the second half, and bursts of 11-4 and 8- 2 in the third quarter took the score out to 64-48. A 13-2 run at the start of the fourth period gave the Heat an 81-60 lead, and despite a 15-4 close from the visitors, Guildford held on for the victory. Dan Wardrope led all scorers with 22 points for the Heat, while a combination of Shawn Jamison and Tony Windless led the Lions scoring with 20 points each.
Worcester
Wolves 78 (15,31,48) (Harper 27, Perkes 18, Sheard 11)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 98 (20,51,62) (Aaron 31, Love 24, Lasker/Moore 12)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders kept up the chase on the summit of the BBL Championship table thanks to a 78- 98 victory over the Worcester Wolves at Worcester University on Saturday evening. The Raiders took control in the opening half, and opened up an early 34-17 lead off the back of a 14-2 run at the start of the second period. The second half saw the Wolves get themselves back in the game through a combination of tough defense and good execution allowed them to outscore their opponents 17-11 in the third quarter to trail 48-62 going into the final stanza. In the final quarter, the home side got to within thirteen points at 58-71 with six minutes remaining, but the Raiders picked up the intensity at both ends of the floor to secure the all-important victory. Carlton Aaron led all scorers in the game with 31 points for the Raiders, while Andy Harper led the Wolves scoring with 27
08-12-06
Sheffield Sharks 84 (20,42,53) (Bonds 31, Shelton 21, Cage 10)
Guildford Heat 89 (21,44,75) (Martin 27, Dux 24,
Wardrope/McKnight 10)
Guildford Heat moved into second place in the BBL Championship thanks to a comfortable 89-84 victory over the Sheffield Sharks at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday night.
A close first half saw both sides trading baskets, with the Heat coming out on top taking a slender 44-42 lead into the second half.
The Heat came storming out of the locker room and broke the game open with a 23-0 burst to start the second half to lead 67-42.
The home side got themselves back into the game in the final stanza and runs of 8- 2 and 9-1 got them to within eight points at 70-78. Jeff Bonds brought the Sharks level at 82-82 with eleven seconds remaining, but a combination of Michael Martin and Brian Dux secured the victory for the visitors.
Bonds led all scorers for the Sharks netting 31 points, while the Heat scoring was led by Martin with 27 points personal.
05/12/06
Milton Keynes Lions 71 (17,42,53) (Windless 14, Baker 13, Brown 11)
Guildford Heat 88 (12,32,63) (McKnight
21, Dux 17, Gilbert 15)
Guildford Heat followed up their Cup semi-final success at the weekend with a comfortable 88-71 victory over the Milton Keynes Lions at the Bletchley Leisure Centre on Tuesday night to move into joint second place in the BBL Championship table.
The Lions leapt out to an early 12-2 lead in the opening period, before the Heat got themselves back in the game with a 9-4 burst to tie the game at 21-21 midway through the second quarter. The home side instantly responded with an 11-2 tear of their own to retake the lead at 32-23, and ultimately led 42-32 at the half.
A 13-0 Heat opening to the third quarter and another 11-3 burst midway through the period saw the Heat take a 59-49 lead with three minutes to go in the third.
The Lions came back in the final stanza, and got to within eight points at 66-74, but they were unable to fully close the deficit as the visitors ran out the comfortable winners.
Chad McKnight led all scorers in the game netting 21 points for the Heat, while Tony Windless led the Lions scoring with 14 points personal.
03/12/06
The top of the BBL Championship saw the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders leapfrog into second place behind the Sheffield Sharks thanks to a 97-87 victory over the Chester Jets at the Northgate Arena on Sunday evening. Andrew Lasker was their star man netting 26 points personal.
In other Championship action, the Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks got back to winning ways thanks to an 84-72 victory over the DMU Leicester Riders at the Braehead Arena on Sunday night, and London United picked up a double success over the weekend. An 80-72 victory over the Milton Keynes Lions at the SPACE Centre on Saturday night was followed up by a hard-fought 75- 74 victory over the Worcester Wolves at the SPACE Centre on Sunday evening.
London United 75 (13,35,54) (Johnson 22,
Capers 11, Perre 10)
Worcester Wolves 74 (13,32,54) (Perkes 29, Urbonavicius 12, Harper/Sheard 9)
London United picked up their sixth victory of their BBL Championship campaign thanks to a thrilling 75- 74 victory over the Worcester Wolves at the SPACE Centre on Sunday evening.
With the scores tied at 54-54 going into the final stanza, the home side made the first break to lead 67-60 off the back of a 5-2 run, but a Worcester 7-0 tear saw them take the lead at 71-69 with less than two minutes remaining.
Marlon Capers and Chris Haslam then restored United's lead at 73-71 with less than a minute left, but a three-pointer from Valdas Urbonavicius with five seconds remaining gave the Wolves a 74-73 lead. However, a full court pass to Haslam to lay the ball in on the buzzer stole the victory for the home side.
Tarrick Johnson led the London scoring with 22 points, but it was Tom Perkes
who led all scorers netting 29 points for the visitors.
Chester Jets
87 (17,35,54) (Cowan 31, Hamilton 19, Virgil 11)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 97 (32,54,73) (Lasker 26, Moore 24, Love 14)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders kept up their chase for the summit of the BBL Championship table thanks to a 97- 87 victory over the Chester Jets at the Northgate Arena on Sunday evening.
After a close opening to the game, the visitors opened up a commanding 21- 11 lead off the back of an 11-4 burst midway through the quarter, before a further 9-2 Raiders tear at the end of the opening period gave them a comfortable 32-17 lead.
The Raiders continued to extend their lead, but could not fully kill the Jets resilience off as they responded with a 7-0 run to get the score back to 35-52 going into the half.
The second half saw the Raiders open with a 9-4 run to lead 63-39, before a 15-7 Jets tear got the deficit back to sixteen points at 54-70.
The final period saw the Raiders continue to hold on, and despite the Jets enjoying a 7-0 run midway through the quarter, and a 10-2 to close out the game, the visitors held on for the all important victory.
Andrew Lasker led the Raiders scoring with 26 points personal, but it was Jets Jaz Cowan who led all scorers in the game with an impressive 31 point haul.
Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks 84 (22,42,65) (Davis 25, Yanders 22, Joseph
12)
DMU Leicester Riders
72 (15,31,51) (McGee 20, Y Williams 13, A Williams 11)
Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks picked up their sixth win of their BBL Championship campaign with a hard- fought 84-72 victory over the DMU Leicester Riders at the Braehead Arena on Sunday evening.
After a close opening quarter that saw the lead change hands three times, the Rocks began to move away from their opponents and led 42-31 at the half.
The second half saw the Rocks continue to extend their lead slowly, but surely, and led by fourteen points at 65-51 going into the final stanza.
The final quarter saw the Riders valiantly attempted to close the deficit, and got to within 7 points at 70-77 off the back of a 7-0 burst midway through the period, but they could not get any closer as the Rocks held on for the victory.
Sterling Davis led all scorers with 25 points for the Rocks, while Terrence
McGee netted 20 points for the Riders against his former club.
02-
12-06
London United 80 (16,36,53) (Perre
21, Johnson 18, Lawson 12)
Milton Keynes Lions 72 (19,39,54) (New 17, Windless 13, Brown 12)
London United moved into a share of fifth place in the league after a 80-72 home win against second place Milton Keynes Lions.
In what was to become a hotly contested match it was the Lions that led for long periods. They held a slim advantage at the end of the first three quarters, but went behind for good at 64-63 following two Chris Haslem free throws with six minutes remaining in the fourth.
Both sides made repeated visits to the foul line during the final stages and
in the end it was a valuable win for United. Philip Perre led the way for the
hosts with 21 while Michael New notched 17 for Lions.