Friday 26th February 2010

Everton Tigers  71 (14,36,53) (Davis 28, Sapp 20, Murray 15)  

Glasgow Rocks 90 (16,37,66) (Jones 18, Moore/Hymns 14)  

Glasgow Rocks maintained their stranglehold on third position in the BBL Championship table thanks to a comfortable 71-90 victory over the Everton Tigers at the Greenbank Academy on Friday night.  

Both sides traded baskets throughout much of the opening period but it was the Rocks who took control of the game as they held a slender two-point advantage at 14-16 at the end of the first quarter.  The second period followed much of the same pattern as the first with the teams trading baskets through the quarter as the visitors held an even slimmer one-point lead at 36-37 as the teams headed into the locker rooms at the half.  

The second half finally saw both sides began to score a little more freely, but the Rocks stepped up their intensity at both ends a bit more as they won the third period 17-29 to lead 53-66 heading into the final stanza.  

In the final period the Tigers tried valiantly to get themselves back into the game but to no avail as the Rocks ran out comfortable winners.  

Sterling Davis led all scorers in the game for the Rocks with 28 points while James Jones led the scoring for the home side with 18.

Thursday 25th February 2010

Sheffield Sharks   104 (32,52,78) (Cook 33, Toney 19, Lyons/Patton 14)

Marshall MK Lions 84 (21,43,60) (Harrison 17, Youngblood 16, Morris 15)

The Sheffield Sharks scored a crucial 104-84 victory over the Marshall MK Lions at the summit of the BBL Championship table on Thursday night. The win keeps them two points ahead of the Newcastle Eagles and is their ninth consecutive league victory.

Mike Cook led their scoring once more with 33 points, while Tafari Toney had 19. EJ Harrison led the visitors with 17 points. It was the third defeat in a row for the Lions, as they hang on to fourth place in the Championship table.

The Sharks did much of the damage early on and led 32-21 after the opening ten minutes. Cook scored the first seven points, and when Patton added a three- pointer a minute later the score became 12-4. The lead reached 21-9 before the Lions got going; they got to 26-20 but Perry Lawson’s triple halted their momentum and Cook added two more scores before the quarter was done.

The Lions made some headway in the second stanza as Maximillion Simon and Dawud Morris made triples within thirty seconds of each other to narrow the deficit to 48-42 just two minutes out from half time. But the Sharks still led 52-43 at the break.

The Sharks virtually settled the game after the half as Lyons and Cook shared six quick points, before a 10-2 burst midway through the third quarter stretched the lead to 73-54 with two and a half minutes left. The lead was pushed through the twenty point barrier in the fourth quarter and Toney made two big dunks in quick succession to make the score 84-64. The lead peaked at 102-78 on two Cook free-throws as the Sharks saw the game out.

Sunday 21st February 2010

Glasgow Rocks 95 (29,48,72) (Yanders 25, Parillon 15, Hanke 14)

Essex Pirates   77 (19,37,55) (Adu 25, George 19, Mumuni 9)

Glasgow Rocks leapfrogged over the Marshall MK Lions into third position in the BBL Championship table thanks to a comfortable 95-77 victory over the Essex Pirates at Kelvin Hall on Sunday afternoon.

In a game where the Rocks led from tip-to-buzzer, the home side started strongly and took control in the early going as a three-pointer from Jessie Sapp sparked a 14-4 burst for the home side to take the score out to 26-13. Despite four points from Alan Metcalfe to close the first period the Rocks held a comfortable 10-point lead at 29-19 at the end of the quarter.

In the second period the Rocks continued to keep themselves in front, despite valiant efforts from the Pirates to close the deficit, and 11 points from Rob Yanders in the quarter helped the home side take a 48-37 lead into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half the home side found their range and began hitting shots from outside of the arc and a Yanders three-pointer sparked an 11-0 run to take the score out to 69-46. The Pirates showed a great deal of resilience towards the end of the period and netted nine of the last twelve points of the third quarter to trail by 17 points at 72-55 heading into the final stanza.

In the final period an 11-3 burst from the Pirates trimmed the deficit to just nine points at 75-66, but eight points from Randall Hanke helped the Rocks end the Pirates resistance thanks to a 16-5 tear to take the score out to 91-71 with 90 seconds remaining, and despite the Pirates netting six of the final ten points of the game the Rocks held on for the all-important victory.

Yanders led the Rocks scoring with 25 points while the Pirates were led by Taner Adu with 25 points personal.

 

Guildford Heat 85 (21,44,62,79) (Joseph 25, Drakeford 17, Langhorne 14)

Cheshire Jets 88 (21,41,57,79) (Marks 20, O'Reilly 16, Myers 15)

(After overtime. Tied at 79-79 at end of regulation)

The Cheshire Jets kept up their pursuit of a top-four finish but needed an additional period to eventually see off the Guildford Heat 85-88 at the Guildford Spectrum on Sunday afternoon.

The Heat led 77-71 with four minutes remaining in the game, but three-pointers from James Hamilton and Colin O'Reilly bought the Jets level at 77-77 with less than two minutes left in the game. Kenny Langhorne gave the Heat the lead back with 90 seconds left, but a foul from Aaron Drakeford sent Paul Peterson to the foul-line and he held his nerve and made both his shots to level the game at 79-79 and send the game into overtime.

In the extra period, a Julius Joseph three-pointer for the Heat started the period but three Shawn Myers free- throws tied the game again at 82-82. A Langhorne bucket gave the home side the lead once more, but six successive points from Chez Marks in the final two minutes was enough to seal the game for the Jets.

Earlier in the game both sides traded baskets throughout much of the opening period with neither side able to open up any sort of a lead and the teams ended up level at 21-21 at the end of the opening ten minutes of basketball.

In the second quarter three-pointers from Shaun Gayle and Paul Peterson helped the Jets into a slender 24-28 lead at the start of the period, but the Heat came back at their visitors with three-pointers from Aaron Drakeford and Mike Martin to take the lead back to 30-28. The Heat extended their advantage to eight points off the back of a 12-4 burst towards the end of the first half to take the score out to 44-36, but another three-pointer, this time from Shawn Myers, kept the Jets in the game as they trailed by three points at 44-41 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half the Heat opened the third period with a 9-4 burst to take the score out to 53-45, but three points from Chez Marks in response closed the gap once again for the Jets to leave them trailing by five points at 53-48. The Heat extended their lead once again thanks to a 7-0 tear to lead 60-48, but a 9-2 finish to the third quarter for the visitors kept them in the game as they headed into the final stanza trailing by five points at 52-47.

In the final period the home side extended their lead to nine points thanks to successive three-pointers from Joseph, but they could not shake off a resilient Jets outfit as they started to trim back the deficit before the fireworks of the final moments of the game occurred.

Marks led the scoring for the Jets with 20 points, but it was Joseph who led all scorers in the game as he bagged 25 points for the Heat.

 

Marshall MK Lions  87 (12,42,63) (Harrison 30, Spinks 18, Morris 13)

Newcastle Eagles 101 (35,53,75) (Sullivan 25, Jackson 24, Chapman 18)

The Newcastle Eagles moved themselves level on points with the Sheffield Sharks at the top of the BBL Championship table thanks to an 87-101 victory over the Marshall MK Lions at the Centre MK on Sunday evening.

The Eagles made their intentions clear from the outset as they exploded out of the blocks and took an early 4-15 advantage inside the opening four minutes of the game. Some exceptional shooting from beyond the arc from the Eagles, most notably Joe Chapman and Andrew Sullivan, continued to extend the visitors advantage and they lead 12-35 after the opening period.

In the second quarter the home side the Lions began to close the deficit and get themselves back into the game as they outscored the Eagles 30-18 in the second period to trail by 11 points at 42-53 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half both teams traded baskets throughout the majority of the third period but it was the visitors who continued to hold onto the lead as they led 63-75 heading into the final stanza.

In the final period the Lions came right back into the game once again and six points from Dawud Morris and an EJ Harrison three-pointer trimmed the deficit back to just seven points at 81-88 with two minutes remaining on the clock. This was however as close as the home side would get in the remainder of the game as the Eagles held their nerve and scored their next twelve points from the foul-line to walk away with the all-important victory.

Sullivan led the scoring for the Eagles with 25 points, but it was Harrison who led all scorers in the game with an impressive 30-point haul for the Lions.

Saturday 20th February 2010

Worcester Wolves 77 (22,43,59) (Disy 21, Gilbert 15, Normantas 15)

Newcastle Eagles 82 (25,46,58) (Jackson 16, Stewart 16, Chapman 15)

Newcastle Eagles fought off a resilient Worcester Wolves 77-82 on the road to keep within striking distance at the top of the BBL.

With Great Britain captain Andrew Sullivan back in Eagles player-coach Fab Flournoys rotation the north- east club shared around the offence with Reggie Jackson (pictured) and Lynard Stewart leading the way with 16 points.

The match was tight throughout. Eagles led by three at the end of the first two quarters (22-25, 43-46) but Wolves took a one point (59-58) advantage into the final stanza.

Newcastle edged back in front with a 4-0 run to start the fourth quarter and stretched out to 65-73 with four minutes on the clock and held on to close the gap on Sheffield Sharks at the top of the table to two points.

Worcester Wolves coach Paul James said: It was a tough game for us again but a better performance than last Tuesday at Milton Keynes.

"We gave ourselves a good chance after the third quarter but at the start of the last ten minutes Newcastle’s offence and defence was much better than ours. We replied with some individual plays, not team plays and when we got back to team ball we gave ourselves a chance. In the end Newcastle are a very tough team to beat.”

 

Cheshire Jets 70 (14,35,53) (Marks 21, OReilly 16, Myers 15)

Glasgow Rocks 75 (22,35,59) (Yanders 37, Davis 10, Parillon 10)

Glasgow Rocks point-guard Rob Yanders guided his team to a tough 70-75 win at Cheshire Jets to maintain their grip on fourth place.

Yanders (pictured) scored a game-high 37 points and hit the go-ahead three pointer to make it 70-71 with 46 seconds remaining. After Paul Peterson had missed two free throws Yanders and Jessie Sapp then iced the match from the line.

In a see-saw match Rocks had led 11-22 near the end of the first quarter before Chez Markss three on the buzzer reduced the deficit to 14-22.

Markss three started a 17-5 run for Jets which saw them take a 28-27 lead with 5.39 to play in the second. By half time the teams were locked at 35-35.

Rocks had the better of the third quarter to take a 53- 59 advantage into the final stanza. An 8-0 Jets burst restored the home teams lead before Rocks once again went in front at 63-68 on the back of a 5-0 tear.

Jets responded with a 7-0 run of their own to take the lead for the final time at 70-68 until Yanders’ three.

 

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 94 (24,46,75) (Wierzbicki 25, Johnson 20, I Westbrooks 10)

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 93 (25,53,71) (Martin 20, Horton 17, Lasker 15)

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders needed a basket nine seconds from the buzzer by veteran Tony Windless to see off Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 94- 93.

The win for Riders ensures they join three other teams on 28 points in the BBL as the race of home play-off berths heats up.

Leicester held an 86-81 lead with just over three minutes to play when Raiders Florentino Valencia began the visitors fight back with a three. Two Bradd Wierzbicki free throws and one from Shaun Durant put Riders back on top 89-83.

However, after Wierzbicki had drained a three to make it 92-85 Plymouth responded with an 8-0 burst to take the lead at 92-93. Drew Lasker blew the chance to extend Raiders advantage when he missed two free throws.

After a timeout with 22.5 seconds on the clock Windless pulled up for a jumper from the free throw line to give Riders the lead for the last time.

Raiders Anthony Martin couldn’t connect on a last ditch three and time expired as the players battled for the rebound.

Raiders had enjoyed the better of the first half with their dominance on the offensive boards giving them a 46-53 half time lead. Riders battled hard in the third quarter to take a 75-71 advantage into the final stanza.

 

Worthing Thunder 82 (  8,22,58)

Everton Tigers       90 (27,43,67)

Everton Tigers managed to hold off Worthing Thunder after blowing a 21 point half time lead to clinch an 82- 90 win on the south coast.

Tigers, coming off a big win on Friday night, carried on their good form with a 23-5 run to start the match. Adam Williams, Trey Moore and Olu Babalola (pictured) were all to the fore as Everton ended the first quarter 8-27 in front.

The lead was extended out to 8-30 on Moores free throw before Thunder began to match their visitors. The margin hovered around the 20 point mark until half time with Tigers leading 22-43.

Worthing controlled the third quarter with Reggie Bratton making two early threes to begin a run that eventually pulled Evertons lead back into single digits (54-63).

Sherrad Prezzie-Blue drained another three to close within seven (58-65) before a Williams bucket ended the period 58-67 in Tigers favour.

Thunders comeback was complete when Sam Cricelli levelled the match at 71-71 and Evaldas Zabas capped an 8-0 run with two free throws to give Worthing their first lead of the night at 73-71.

The lead changed hands several times after that before former Newcastle Eagles team-mates Moore and Babalola combined for 10 points in a 14-5 finish to the match by Tigers.

 

Friday 19th February 2010

There were wins for the Sheffield Sharks and the Everton Tigers in important games at the top of the BBL Championship on Friday night.

Sheffield Sharks 99 (32,55,72) (Cook 33, Toney 26, Patton 21)

Guildford Heat   88 (21,42,73) (Langhorne 21, Sandell 19, Joseph 14)

The BBL Championship leaders and the leagues form team, the Sheffield Sharks, made it 8 league wins in a row as they overcame the Guildford Heat by 99-88 to remain unbeaten in the league in 2010.

Mike Cook led the way with 33 points and he and Ryan Patton (21 points on the night) shared 11 three-pointers between them; Tafari Toney also had a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The Sharks scored in bunches as they dominated a first stanza in which they hit four three- pointers. Cook made the first two of those, but when Julius Joseph responded in kind the game was close at 10-9. But the Heat would only score four points in the next four minutes, while Ryan Patton’s triple sparked the hosts to 14 points in the same spell and, when he added another one, the score was 27-15. The Sharks led 32-21 after the opening ten minutes.

It was a similar story in the second period as Cook and Dan Sandell exchanged triples, before a 6-1 burst got the Heat back into the game at 36-30. The teams remained close until Toneys dunk capped five straight points for the Sharks and put the lead back into double-figures at 49-38. Patton, with a three, and Cook scored the final points of the half to keep the lead at 55-42, with the latter scoring twenty first half points.

Sheffield had to survive a major scare as the Heat turned the game around in the third stanza with a 30+ quarter of their own. Tayo Ogedengbe scored back-to-back baskets as they set the tone with the first six points, but they didn’t really get close until the final three minutes. They held the Sharks scoreless for the final 3.36, while scoring 10 points of their own as they took the lead at 72-73 on Langhornes three-pointer.

But the Heat, who haven’t won on the road in the league since the opening game of the season, couldnt build on that momentum as the Sharks regained the lead in the decisive fourth quarter. Cook hit his final triple of the game to tie the teams at 82 entering the final five minutes, but they didnt take the lead again until three minutes later. Toney top and tailed a 12-0 surge within the last two minutes that sealed the game.

 

Marshall MK Lions 82 (18,31,51) (Morris 16, Dupuy 12, Y. Williams 12)

Everton Tigers      122 (32,64,95) (Moore 31, Jones 27, A. Williams 27)

The Everton Tigers shocked the Marshall MK Lions with an amazing 82-122 win at Middleton Hall on Friday night. The Tigers recorded their fourth win in the last five games in all competitions and are now on the verge of cracking the top four in the BBL Championship; while the Lions are hanging on to third place.

Trey Moore led all scorers with 31 points, while Brits James Jones and Adam Williams had 27 each. The Tigers shot 11/21 from three-point range; they also had 17 steals and scored 39 points off turnovers.

The Tigers dominated the first quarter as they did most of the damage early on, despite the Lions opening the stronger. Everton asserted themselves on their hosts as Adam Williams hit 6 points in a row to make the score 8-11, before Yorick Williams and James Jones exchanged three-pointers as the Tigers maintained an edge. They made their move over the last three and a half minutes of the first stanza with a 15-5 push, in which Jones had 7 points, to go in 18-32 up at the end of the first.

Jones opened the second with another triple as the Tigers opened 12-4, meaning that they outscored the Lions by 27-9 over the first quarter break. The Tigers pushed the lead through the thirty-point barrier as Moore kept the scoreboard ticking over for his team - the guard had 24 first half points.

It wasn’t long before the lead was more than 40 as Adam Williams hit 8 early points to open the second half and the Tigers led 39-80 after five minutes. And thats pretty much where it stayed for the remainder of the game as the Lions failed to make much headway and the visitors saw the game out.

Tuesday 16th February 2010

Marshall MK Lions 97 (27,50,70) (Harrison 28, Holmes 19, Williams 14)

Worcester Wolves 90 (14,42,56) (Middleton 25, Disy/Gilbert 20)

Marshall MK Lions moved into third place on their own thanks to a 97-90 victory over the Worcester Wolves in front of a sell-out crowd for the third successive occasion at Middleton Hall on Tuesday night.

The Wolves start the stronger and opened up an early 4-11 lead, but the Lions responded with seven unanswered points to tie the game up at 11-11 and then they continued to stretch out their lead throughout the remainder of the first period to lead 27-14 at the end of the opening quarter.

The second period opened with the Wolves closing the deficit significantly, thanks in no small part to Daniel Gilbert, as he bagged nine points in an 11-0 Wolves burst to get the score back to 27-25. The Lions kept their noses in front for the remainder of the half and with three three-pointers from Yorrick Williams helping the home side on their way they took a 50-42 lead into the locker rooms at the half-time interval.

In the second half the Lions defense stepped up their intensity and restricted the Wolves to just fourteen points in the period whilst netting twenty points of their own the home side were able to take a 70-56 lead into the final stanza.

In the final period the Wolves tried valiantly to get themselves back into the game but despite winning the final quarter 20-34 they could not close the gap enough to overturn the deficit as the Lions ran out eventual winners.

EJ Harrison led all scorers in the game bagging an impressive 28 points for the home side, while Rod Middleton led the scoring for the Wolves with 25 points personal.

Sunday 14th February 2010

Glasgow Rocks    93 (24,46,67) (Yanders 22, Sapp 17, Davis 15)

Sheffield Sharks 100 (29,57,81) (Toney 31, Patton 28, Gorman 18)

Sheffield Sharks secured a vital win in their BBL title challenge with a 93-100 victory at fourth placed Glasgow Rocks.

Without BBL leading scorer Mike Cook due to a foot injury the Sharks turned to the inside-outside combination of Tafari Toney (pictured) and Ryan Patton who scored 31 points and 28 points respectively.

Toney also pulled down 15 boards and went a perfect nine from nine at the charity stripe. Point guard Patton was six from nine beyond the arc as Sharks moved two points clear at the top of the league table.

Rocks were quickest to build up a lead with former Shark Rob Yanders’ three making it 14-9. Sheffield responded through a combination of Ryan Patton and Tafari Toney with a 10-3 run to go ahead 17-24. Two Jessie Sapp free throws trimmed the gap to 24-29 after ten minutes.

Threes by Yanders and Mike Crowell brought Rocks back to within one (30-31) of Sheffield before Matt Gorman and Patton connected from beyond the arc for Sharks.

Gorman was in good form for Sheffield as he drained another three and a two to give his team their largest lead of the first half (42-55). Yanders and Gareth Murray reduced the arrears back to single digits before Adrian Anderson beat the buzzer to put Sheffield 46-57 on top at the interval.

Toney extended Sharks lead back to 13 to open the third quarter. Patton, twice, and Gorman kept the Sheffield lead in double figures as Rocks looked to fight back through Sterling Davis and Steve Parillon from the free throw line.

Another Patton three was the start of a 14-7 run up to the end of the period, which gave Sheffield a 67-81 lead heading into the final quarter.

An 8-2 start to the fourth quarter gave Sharks an unassailable 20 point lead (69-89). Despite threes from Murray, Davis, Yanders and Sapp which brought Rocks back to nine (81-90) a 7-0 Sheffield burst put the result beyond doubt.

 

Cheshire Jets             112 (31,64,92) (Marks 33, Young 19, OReilly 15)

PAWS London Capital 68 (14,30,50) (Janusauskas 32, Gariba 30, Jivens 3, Offiah 3)

Cheshire Jets moved level on points for sixth in the BBL after a comfortable 112-68 win over bottom placed PAWS London Capital.

Chez Marks (pictured) led Jets scorers with 33, including six of nine from the three point line as the home side unleashed 15 long range bombs on the visitors. Colin OReilly weighed in with 15  all scored in the first nine minutes of action.

Jets began the match with a 9-0 run and were soon 13-2 on top with OReilly contributing eight. By the end of the first quarter Cheshire were well on top at 31- 14.

A James Hamilton three put Jets up by more than 30 (52-21) as the home side went in at half time 64-30 in front. The damage was made worse in the third quarter with the gap heading over the 40 mark (92-50).

And it became a 50 point game midway through the final stanza at 105-54. Capital, through Ibrahim Gariba (30 points) and Tomas Janusauskas (32 points), never gave up and ended the match with a 14-7 run.

Saturday 13th February 2010

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 89 (27,48,71) (Johnson 28, L Williams 17, Wierzbicki/Durrant 13)

Worthing Thunder                             80 (16,33,61) (Makalainen 20, Bratton 16, Richard 12)

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders moved back into the BBL Championship top five with a well-earned 89-80 home win over Worthing Thunder.

It took Riders a while to break free from Thunder in the opening exchanges but thanks to an 8-0 run they led 16-9 midway through the period. Jason Johnson (pictured) took over from there as he scored nine of his 13 first quarter points as Leicester took a 27-16 advantage into the second quarter.

Thunder trimmed the gap back to 29-22 on two Ville Makalainen free throws before Johnson started a 13-2 run with a dunk to give the home team their biggest lead of the half (42-24).

After a brief Worthing fightback a 4-1 burst to close the first half gave Riders a 48-33 lead.

Leicester maintained a healthy cushion throughout the third quarter with their lead peaking at 61-43 before a 6-0 run to end the period brought Thunder back within 10 (71-61).

Worthing kept their mini-revival going early in the final stanza as they twice got back to seven down, the second time being at 75-68. A Riders 9-0 run, though, put an end to any feint hopes the visitors had.

Johnson ended the match with a double-double of 28 points and 13 boards  the double-double was actually safe midway through the second quarter when he picked up his 10th rebound.

 

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 92 (19,37,62) (Valencia 23, Gall 17, Hilleary 16)

Cheshire Jets                       84 (20,35,58) (Marks 30, O’Reilly 14, Myers 12)

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders secured a much needed 92-84 win over Cheshire Jets on Saturday night thanks an excellent all round team display.

The Raiders made 17 free throws in the final quarter to hold off a Jets team that was led by Chez Marks with a game-high 30 points.

The Jets put behind them any effects of the long journey to Devon with a blistering 16-4 start to the match. Marks connected on two three pointers to give the visitors the best possible start.

However, four straight free throws by Florentino Valencia (pictured) calmed Raiders nerves and an 11- 0 run to end the first quarter brought Jets lead down to just one (19-20) after ten minutes.

An Allister Gall three capped a 7-0 burst at the opening of the second quarter as Raiders went 26-20 ahead. Back came the Jets with an 11-2 burst to move 31-28 ahead.

Plymouth levelled the match at 31-31 on a Terry Horton three and didn’t allow Jets another basket from the floor as they went in 37-35 up at half time.

Jets quickly tied the match in the third quarter and led 44-46 on a Jerrah Young bucket before a 14-3 run by Raiders gave them a healthy 58-49 lead. Chez Marks began the comeback for Cheshire by scoring all the points in a 9-4 ending to the period, which brought the score back to 62-58.

Free throws became crucial in the final stanza as Raiders were repeatedly sent to the line by Cheshire. Matt Hilleary, Anthony Martin, Drew Lasker, Valencia and Anthony Rowe all remained calm to keep Jets no closer than six points (82-76) over the last three minutes of action.

 

Essex Pirates         70 (11,30,48) (Adu 18, Rodrigo 17, Mumuni 14

Worcester Wolves 75 (12,28,50) (Gilbert 26, Middleton 18, Normantas 9)

Worcester Wolves closed the gap on the top eight with a 70-75 win on the road at Essex Pirates.

The Wolves had to work hard for their victory though as a seemingly comfortable fourth quarter lead was cut back to just two before a 5-2 run over the final 18 seconds clinched the points.

Daniel Gilbert was the main contributor for Wolves with 26 points while Rod Middleton weighed in with 18. Tanner Adu (pictured) led Pirates scoring on 18.

An uninspiring first quarter where neither team made a basket over the opening five minutes of play ended 11-12 in Wolves favour thanks to a Gilbert three on the buzzer.

Pirates fell 17-23 down before an 8-2 run levelled the match and a 5-0 close to the half gave them a 30-28 interval advantage. Four successive threes by Wolves in the third quarter helped the visitors to lead 48-50 heading into the final stanza.

And when Worcester had put together a 10-2 run to take the score to 50-60 and then to their biggest lead of the night at 54-65 it looked like a comeback was beyond Pirates.

A 9-2 burst brought Essex within two (68-70) with 18 seconds on the clock, but a foul sent Wolves to the line where Middleton and Gilbert kept their cool to keep Worcester in touch with the play-off positions.

Friday 12th February 2010

Everton Tigers gave their form a boost tonight as they moved up to 5th place in the BBL Championship table, thanks to a 94-87 win over Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, whilst the Newcastle Eagles kept up the pressure at the top with a 110-83 triumph over Guildford Heat.

Everton Tigers 94 (30, 56, 76) (Moore 23, Gumbs 18, Babalola 17)

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 87 (24, 45, 66) (Wierzbicki 28, Westbrooks/James 12)

Everton Tigers gave their form a boost tonight as they moved up to 5th place in the BBL Championship table, thanks to a 94-87 win over Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.

Both sides had four players in double figures, as former BBL MVP Trey Moore had 23 points, to lead the Tigers, Jerome Gumbs had 18, Olu Babalola 17, and Andrew Thomson added 16. It was Bradd Wierzbicki for Leicester however, who led all scorers with a 28 point haul, whilst Isaac Westbrooks and Duane James added a solid 12 points each for the visitors, and Jason Johnson had 10 points.

Although it was the Riders who got off to the better start, as they went 4/6 from deep to lead 19-9 after five minutes, the Tigers then took control, as the East Midlands outfit struggled to put the ball in the basket for the second half of the period, and Everton went up 30-24 after ten minutes.

The second quarter was then a case of Trey Moore doing some damage, as he scored four points in a Tigers burst which took them nine points ahead after an Olu Babalola free throw. The Riders were not down and out however, as Lataryl Williams, Jason Johnson, Isaac Westbrooks and Bradd Wierzbicki, all found a way to score, meaning that the Riders were only 37-32 behind with just over five minutes left in the half. The sides exchanged baskets from there, but towards the end of the quarter, 2/2 from former Rider Adam Williams from the line, Olu Babalola doing the same, and Darrell Bethune knocking down a three ball, meant the scoreboard read 56-45 in the Tigers favour at the interval.

The third quarter was a similar story, although the Riders actually outscored their Merseyside counterparts 21-20, the fact that the first half had given the Tigers a cushion lead meant that they were still 76-66, and despite a late Riders resurgence, they held on to record a 94-87 home court win.

 

Newcastle Eagles 110 (18, 44, 74) (Chapman 26, Jackson 21, Smith 19)

Guildford Heat       83 (25, 47, 58) (Joseph 27, McKnight 16, Ogedengbe 15)

Newcastle Eagles kept up the pressure at the top of the BBL Championship, making for an exciting run in to the end of season play offs, as they are now tied with league leaders, Sheffield Sharks, on 38 points.

The Eagles comfortably overcame Chad McKnight's Guildford Heat team tonight, the end scoreline reading 110-83, and were led by the explosive Joe Chapman, who posted 26 points, whilst point guard Reggie Jackson had 21 points, and Charles Smith scored 19. The Heat were led from the front by former GB International Julius Joseph, who led all scorers in the game with 27 points, McKnight had 16 points and Tayo Ogedengbe (15 points) was also in the mix.

After a relatively tight first period, in which the Heat looked as if they had control of the game, they were 25-18 after ten minutes.

The Eagles then came soaring back, much inspired by Chapman, but were still trailing 44-47 at the half. It was only down to a massive penultimate stanza that the Eagles secured a comfortable victory, as they pulled away to lead 74-58 going into the final ten minutes.

Sunday 7th February 2010

Sunday was a good night for teams contending at the top of the BBL and those wanting to move clear of the bottom.

Title challengers Marshall MK Lions and Glasgow Rocks both kept the pressure on the top two in the league with wins at Cheshire Jets and home to Worthing Thunder respectively.

And basement side Essex Pirates enjoyed moving from the foot of the table with a victory at 11th placed Airwaves Plymouth Raiders. In the other games Guildford Heat beat PAWS London Capital (85-75) and Worcester Wolves won at Everton Tigers (67-76).

Glasgow Rocks 106 (22,51,77) (Yanders 25, Hanke 23, Davis 14)

Worthing Thunder 68 (22,35,53) (Bratton 23, Makalainen 16, Richard 7, Zabas 7)

Glasgow Rocks reaffirmed their title credentials with an excellent 106-68 home win over Worthing Thunder.

The teams put together a see-saw first quarter which saw the lead change hands nine times. Worthing held the largest advantage at 3-9 but needed an Evaldas Zabas basket to level the score at 22-22 after ten minutes.

A three-point barrage awaited Thunder in the second quarter as Rob Yanders (pictured) connected four times from beyond the arc and Gareth Murray once. A 20-2 run put Glasgow 42-24 on top before Worthing began to find their range as well.

Ville Makalainen hit three long range bombs and Sherrad Prezzie-Blue one before Yanders rounded the stanza off as it had began to give Rocks a 51-35 half time lead.

Rocks continued to dominate after the interval with Yanders in vintage form. The point guard scored five more points and dished out three assists as the Glasgow lead peaked at 74-57 before Thunder trimmed it slightly to 77-53 at the end of the third quarter.

Glasgow never allowed Thunder the chance to get back into the match as they quickly turned a 30 point lead (91-61) into a 41 point margin (106-65) before a late Worthing three.

 

Guildford Heat             85 (25,37,60) (Joseph 23, McKnight 16, Sandell 13)

PAWS London Capital 52 (12,22,34) (Janusauskas 20, Gariba 14, Offiah 10)

Guildford Heat kept themselves in the hunt for a play- off berth with a straightforward 85-52 home win over PAWS London Capital.

Heat looked to impose themselves quickly on the match and they got off to the perfect start with a 12-1 burst. Capital, through ten points from Tomas Janusauskas, kept Guildford within site as the first quarter ended 25-12 to the home team.

Neither side could maintain much momentum in a low scoring second quarter. Captial trimmed the gap to 25-16 before Heat gradually extended their lead to 37-22 at half time on a Kenny Langhorne three.

A three from Julius Joseph set the tone for a dominating third quarter from Guildford. Chad McKnight and Langhorne both scored four points in a 12-0 run midway through the period, which helped Heat to a 60-34 lead with ten minutes remaining.

Guildford player-coach Chad McKnight had the luxury of running his bench in the final period and was rewarded with three threes by Daniel Sandell to push the final margin beyond 30.

McKnight said: “It was a good win with all the guys contributing. We played well on defence for the full 40 minutes and now our focus is fully on next the Trophy quarter final next week.

“Capital played hard despite missing key players. It is always a tough match and they played us hard all the way through the game.”

 

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 75 (18,32,53) (Valencia 24, Martin 12, Lasker 11)

Essex Pirates                        79 (21,39,60) (Adu 25, George 16, Metcalfe 12)

Essex Pirates moved off the bottom of the BBL table to with hard fought 75-79 win in Devon over Airwaves Plymouth Raiders.

Essex controlled large parts of the first quarter to lead by five on three occasions before Plymouth went in front for the first time at 16-15. Tanner Adu (pictured) and Alan Metcalfe scored the final five points of the half for the visitors to give Pirates an 18-21 advantage.

The visitors gradually built on their lead as they put together a 13-5 run midway through the second quarter to move ahead 28-37. Four quick points by Raiders cut the gap but Adu had the last score before half time to give Essex a 32-39 half time lead.

A 10-6 start to the third quarter brought Raiders back to within three (42-45) but again it was Adu who kept Essex on top. Eight points in an 11-4 burst saw Pirates lead grow to 10 (46-56).

Anthony Martin and Terry Horton combined for four points for Raiders before a Randy George two gave Essex a 53-60 advantage heading into the final stanza.

On five occasions in the fourth quarter Plymouth worked themselves back within one shot of tying the match, but couldn’t quite keep the momentum going. In the end two free throws from Dean Williams to make it 74-79 proved to be decisive.

 

Everton Tigers       67 (12,28,48) (Babalola 19, Moore 11, Larkai 10, Williams 10)

Worcester Wolves 76 (18,31,55) (Middleton 21, Normantas 12, Gilbert 11)

Worcester Wolves secured a superb win on Merseyside as they beat Everton Tigers 67-76 to keep alive their play-off hopes.

A 9-0 Wolves burst, began with a Modestas Sidlauskas three, was all Paul James team needed to control the first quarter. Everton made only one basket in the final eight minutes of the period to trail 12- 18.

Thunder stretched out to 14-23 on a Rod Middleton three early in the second quarter and still led by nine (22-31) after Daniel Gilbert laid one in. Tigers rallied late in the half with a 6-0 burst to trim the gap to 28- 31.

Everton pulled back to within two (33-35) on a three by Andy Thomson (pictured) but Wolves immediately responded with a 10-0 run including threes from Middleton and Gilbert.

Tigers battled to stay in contention and reduced the lead to 44-48 before a 7-4 run to close the third quarter put Worcester 48-55 up.

The match was in the balance until very late on as Thomsons three cut Wolves lead to 67-69. However, once Kastytis Normantas had put Worcester back up by four Middleton and Sidlauskas closed the game out from the free throw line.

 

Cheshire Jets         70 (21,35,55) (Marks 19, Young 12, Myers 8, O’Reilly 8, Hamilton 8, Peterson 8)

Marshall MK Lions 71 (23,35,55) (Harrison 16, Holmes 11, Morris 9, Spinks 9)

Marshall MK Lions secured a valuable away win at Cheshire Jets to keep the pressure on the two in the BBL Championship.

Lions had to hold on to a slender advantage as Jets had the last shot of the match. However, tough defence by the Milton Keynes players ensured that Jets Colin OReilly could not get off a quality attempt.

In a tight, scrappy match the biggest lead of the night was held by Jets (16-11) in the first quarter. The opening ten minutes ended 21-23 to Lions and the next two quarters finished level (35-35 and 55- 55).

In the final stanza Jerrah Young gave Jets their first lead of the period at 68-67 before Dawud Morris made back-to-back baskets to put Lions 68-71 on top with 90 second to play.

O’Reilly drained a long two to cut the gap in the final minute but once Jets got the ball back again there was only 4.3 seconds remaining and it did not give the home team enough time for a good possession.

Saturday 6th February 2010

There was significant movement in the BBL Championship playoff positions on Saturday night as the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders moved up to fifth, as one of three teams on 24 points, and the Everton Tigers moved up to seventh, as one of three teams on 22 points.

Essex Pirates 83 (20,38,65) (Adu 21, George 17, Williams 13)

Everton Tigers 95 (22,42,66) (Jones 30, Babalola 21, Moore 17)

The Everton Tigers consolidated their position in the BBL Championship playoff places as they beat the Essex Pirates for the second time this season, 83-95. It snaps a run of back-to-back league defeats for the Tigers, while condemning the Pirates to their tenth straight loss, with their last win coming in mid- December.

James Jones led the scoring with 30 points, while Olu Babalola added 21 as the Tigers moved up to seventh and became one of three teams tied on 22 league points. Taner Adu led the Pirates with 21 points.

The Tigers held narrow leads at the end of the first (20- 22), second (38-42) and third (65-66) periods. But they came through late in the game as they demonstrated their credentials, winning the final period by 29-18 to see the game out. They remain just one win behind the third-placed Marshall MK Lions.

 

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 100 (22,41,64) (Wierzbicki 26, Johnson 15, Williams 14)

Marshall MK Lions                              85 (21,45,67) (Harrison 28, Morris 18, Williams 16)

The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders narrowed the gap on the top four in the BBL Championship as they overcame the third-placed Marshall MK Lions by 100-85 in the East Midlands. Bradd Wierzbicki led their scoring with 26 points, while Jason Johnson had 15 and 14 rebounds.

Games between these two sides are always intriguing, with both being founder members of the BBL in 1987, and this one was no different. Prior to tonight, the teams had won 37 games each in head-to- head clashes since that time, with the Riders now taking the edge. It is their third win in four games and sees them join the Lions on 24 league points.

The Riders had established a strong position in the first quarter as Jason Johnson scored four in an 11-3 opening. But that run was stopped by a Yorick Williams three-pointer, and the Lions took the lead after an 11-4 burst was capped by Harrisons triple to make the score 16-17. Five lead changes ensued as the teams played out the first period, with the hosts taking the edge at 22-21 as Duane James scored the last basket of the quarter.

The pattern continued in the second period as there were a further five early lead changes. The Lions established a slight advantage midway through as Harrison netted five in a 7-2 tear that made the score 32-37. He had nine points in the final 5.40 of the half as the Lions maintained their lead at 41-45 going into the break.

The Riders went about narrowing the gap immediately in the third period and the teams became tied at 53. But the Lions scored the next 5 points to keep a narrow lead at 64-67 going into what became an ill-tempered fourth quarter.

The teams were tied again at 73 in the fourth, with the Riders taking charge soon afterwards. They posted a 14-3 run to take a commanding 90-78 lead with 1.35 remaining, with key plays including a three-pointer from Tony Windless and two offensive rebounds and put-backs from Shaun Durant. But the game got out of hand as Dawud Morris fouled Bradd Wierzbicki going to the basket, with Robert Youngblood and LaTaryl Williams getting involved in a confrontation. Players poured off both benches, for which Barry Lamble (Riders), Maximillion Simon and Guy Dupuy (both Lions) were all ejected. The game continued in a similar vein with fouls on both sides as the Riders saw it out from the free-throw line.

 

Worcester Wolves                84 (23,47,67)

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 80 (20,39,59)

The Worcester Wolves took a step closer to the BBL Championship playoff places as they beat the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 84-80, hitting thirteen three-pointers on the way. Back-to-back wins for the Wolves keep them in tenth place, with this being only the third time in three years that they have beaten their South Coast rivals, who have now lost five games in a row.

The teams were close during the opening exchanges, until a rapid 8-0 run in less than a minute gave the Wolves a 14-6 lead with Middleton hitting consecutive three-pointers. Valencia halted the run with consecutive scores of his own for the visitors, but they succumbed to a further 7-2 tear, capped by a Normantas triple, to see the lead reach 21-12. But the teams ended the opening ten minutes much closer, at 23-20, after Anthony Martin made two assists and scored a three-pointer in an 8-0 response for Plymouth.

It was a similar pattern in the second as Middleton connected on another pair of treys within the opening 1.15 to help the score out to 33-24. The teams traded baskets before the lead reached double-figures for the first time at 41-31 on Harry Disy’s dunk. But the Raiders trimmed it to eight as the teams went into the locker rooms with the hosts leading 47-39.

After the break, the Wolves continued to connect from long range as the lead peaked at 56-41 after a pair of triples from Gilbert and one from Middleton within the first three minutes. But the Raiders stayed in touch with a 9-2 run, capped by a three from Allister Gall to return the deficit to eight at 58-50. And that is where it remained as the teams exchanged scores up to the end of the third at 67-59, with Gilbert connecting on his third trey of the third quarter.

The Wolves looked as though they had killed the game off in the fourth quarter, as they forced their way out to a 16-point lead. However, the Raiders came storming back to make it tight down the stretch, and that was a source of frustration for Wolves coach Paul James, who said:

“We made it hard for ourselves. Im trying to develop a killer instinct into my players so we can turn winning positions into actual wins. Tonight we had a 16 point lead with less than seven minutes left, but our indiscipline let them into the game and we had to hang on to get the win.”

Friday 5th February 2010

It was as you were at the top of the BBL Championship table after the two games on Friday night ended with victories for the top two sides in the League as both the Sheffield Sharks and the Newcastle Eagles picked up victories over the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders and PAWS London Capital respectively as their quest for the title continued in earnest.

Newcastle Eagles 112 (16,43,80) (Smith 29, Chapman 27, Glen 21)

PAWS London Capital 66 (17,28,44) (Gariba 23, Mills/Janusaukas 14)

Newcastle Eagles kept up the pressure on the Sheffield Sharks at the top of the BBL Championship table thanks to a convincing 112-66 victory over the PAWS London Capital at the Metro Radio Arena on Friday evening.

Both sides traded baskets throughout much of the first period, but it was the visitors who ended the quarter on top as they led by a single point at 16 -17 at the end of the first.

In the second period however the Eagles took control of the game and began to extend their lead throughout the majority of the period before a 10-3 run from the Eagles to close out the first half helped them into a 43-28 lead heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half the Eagles started with a 14-4 burst to take the score out to 57-32 midway through the period. The home side extended their lead out to 40 points at 80-40 towards the end of the quarter, but the Capital bagged the final four points of the period to leave themselves trailing 80-44 heading into the final stanza.

In the final quarter the Eagles continued to extend their lead and enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at 112-64 as the game headed in the closing stages and the Eagles held on for the comfortable victory.

Charles Smith led all scorers in the game as he netted 29 points for the Eagles, while Ibrahim Gariba led the scoring for the Capital with 23 points personal.

 

Sheffield Sharks                               100 (21,45,64) (Cook 31, Patton 22, Toney 15)

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 86 (30,53,65) (Wierzbicki/Johnson 21, James 20)

Sheffield Sharks maintained their slender two-point advantage at the top of the BBL Championship table thanks to a come- from-behind 100-86 victory over the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday evening.

Both sides traded baskets in the opening stages of the first period, but with the scores tied at 18-18, the Riders finished off the period with a 12-3 burst to take a 21-30 lead into the second quarter.

In the second period the home side got themselves back into the game after back-to-back three pointers from Mike Cook and Mike Tuck instigated a 16-6 burst, including twelve points from Cook personally, to give the Sharks a slender one-point lead at 41-40, but a 9-1 tear from the visitors handed back the lead to the Riders as both teams headed into the locker room with the visitors leading 45-53 at the half.

In the second half the Riders started strongly and extended their lead out to eleven points at 52-63 midway through the third period, but they could not break the resilience of the home side as a three-pointer from Ryan Patton sparked a 12-2 finish to the quarter to leave the home side trailing by a single point at 64-65 heading into the final stanza.

In the final period the Sharks took the lead at 73-67 early in the final period thanks to a succession of three three-pointers, but the Riders came back immediately with six points of their own to get the score back to 73-71, but the Sharks broke the game open thanks to a 16-2 burst to take the score out to 89- 73 heading into the closing stages of the game. A further 9-2 run for the Sharks as the game headed into the final minute made the game safe for the home side as they took the score out to 98-79 to seal the victory.

Cook led all scorers in the game with 31 points personal for the Sharks, while a combination of Bradd Wierzbicki and Jason Johnson led the Riders scoring with 21 points a-piece.