BBL Reports - November 09

B.B.L. MATCH REPORTS - NOVEMBER 2009

Sunday 29th November 2009

Sheffield Sharks' Ryan Patton turned on a shooting master-class to lead his team to an 89-108 victory at Cheshire Jets.

Patton's 10 of 14 from beyond the three-point line helped him to a team high this season of 44 points and ensured the Sharks would remain four points clear at the top of the BBL at the end of the weekend's action.

Sharks had an excellent second quarter to give them a 43-57 lead and they never looked troubled after.

The improving PAWS London Capital moved onto the fringes of the play-off race with a convincing 70-48 win over south-east neighbours Essex Pirates.

After a tight first quarter, which the visitors shaded 14- 16, the Capital seized control in the second ten minutes of action. A 7-0 run gave them a 25-18 lead that they maintained to half time (29-22).

There was more to come in the third quarter with Capital taking a 38-26 advantage out to their biggest lead of the night at 55-31 before ending the stanza 55- 32 up.

Glasgow Rocks turned on the style with a handsome 111-59 home win over a depleted Worcester Wolves to move back into the play-off places.

Rocks new signing Michael Crowell was quickly into his stride as he sank three three-pointers and scored 12 of Glasgow's first 17 points as they opened up a 21-5 lead.

A 17-0 start to the third quarter. Which was bookended by Rob Yanders' threes, pushed the margin to beyond 50 (80-26) and confirmed Glasgow's dominance.

PAWS London Capital 70 (14,29,55) (Gariba 18, Ataha 18, Janusauskas 12)
Essex Pirates 48 (16,22,32) (Rodrigo 11, Mumumi 9, Adu 9)

The improving PAWS London Capital moved onto the fringes of the play-off race with a convincing 70-48 win over south-east neighbours Essex Pirates.

There was more to come in the third quarter with Capital taking a 38-26 advantage out to their biggest lead of the night at 55-31 before ending the stanza 55- 32 up.

Pirates could only chip one point off the deficit during the final quarter as 18 points each from Ibrahim Gariba (pictured) and Santa Ataha saw home London.

Glasgow Rocks 111 (33,63,94) (Sapp 31, Copeland 26, Crowell 17)
Worcester Wolves 59 (16,26,43) (Stewart 18, Disy 15, Owen 12)

Glasgow Rocks turned on the style with a handsome 111-59 home win over a depleted Worcester Wolves to move back into the play-off places.

Rocks new signing Michael Crowell was quickly into his stride as he sank three three-pointers and scored 12 of Glasgow's first 17 points as they opened up a 21-5 lead. Gareth Murray drained another three on the buzzer to give the home team a 33-16 advantage after ten minutes.

Glasgow continued to dominate in the second quarter with the lead quickly ballooning to 31 (51-20) on Jessie Sapp's layup. A 12-6 run completed a splendid half for Rocks as they took a 63-26 lead into the locker rooms.

A 17-0 start to the third quarter. Which was bookended by Rob Yanders' threes, pushed the margin to beyond 50 (80-26). It took an Owen three as time expired in the period to reduce the gap slightly to 94-43 heading into the final stanza.

The lead remained around the 50 point mark in the fourth quarter with Mike Copeland's final basket of the night rounding off a superb performance from Glasgow.

Cheshire Jets 89 (31,43,74) (Hamilton 24, Marks 21, Myers 19)
Sheffield Sharks 108 (27,57,84) (Patton 44, Cook 30, Toney 14)

Sheffield Sharks moved four points clear at the top of the BBL thanks to an excellent 89-108 win at fourth placed Cheshire Jets.

The Sharks' backcourt duo of Ryan Patton and Mike Cook were both in outstanding form with Patton scoring a team season high of 44 points and BBL leading points scorer Mike Cook weighing in with 30.

Patton was unstoppable from beyond the three-point line as he drained 10 of 14 attempts and overall was 16 of 20 from the floor.

Jets actually led at the end of the first quarter 31-27 before Patton's 16 in the second period helped his team a 43-57 half time lead. Cheshire repeated the first quarter score in the third to trim the gap to 74-84 with ten minutes remaining.

However, Sheffield quickly stretched out to 78-92 and then to 80-99 to put the match beyond the home team. Patton scored ten in the final quarter to pace his team to victory.

Saturday 28th November 2009

On another exciting night of BBL Championship action there were victories for the Newcastle Eagles and Guildford Heat over the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders and Marshall MK Lions respectively.

The Eagles leapfrogged over the Lions into second place in the Championship table thanks to a 94-102 victory over the Leicester Riders at the John Sanford Centre on Saturday evening. Charles Smith led the scoring for the Eagles in what was a hard-fought contest, especially after the Riders tied the game up at 84-84 with four minutes remaining in the game.

The Eagles responded with a 9-1 tear to take the score out to 85-93 and they were able to secure the victory from the free-throw line.

In the other game on Saturday night, the Heat maintained their 100% home record as they picked up a closely fought 93-82 victory over the Lions at the Guildford Spectrum. In a game which neither side could open up a commanding advantage over the other, the Lions had the deficit trimmed down to just a single point at 76-75 midway through the final period.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Heat's player/coach Chad McKnight helped the Heat take the score out to 82-76 and a further 11-0 run from the Heat took the score out to 93-80 and they secured the all-important victory.

Guildford Heat 93 (20,46,69) (Martin 26, Drakeford 19, McKnight 18)
Marshall MK Lions 82 (20,41,64) (Morris 29, Harrison 23, Williams 10)

The Guildford Heat kept up the pressure on the top four in the BBL Championship thanks to a 93-82 victory over the second-placed Marshall MK Lions at the Guildford Spectrum on Saturday evening.

After an even start the visitors made the first break in the game with a 9-2 run to take the score out to 10-17, but a 10-3 finish to the quarter for the Heat tied the game up at 20-20 at the end of the opening period.

In the second quarter, Tayo Ogedengbe bagged the first five points for the Heat as they opened out an early 25-22 lead, but the Lions kept the game close and a three- pointer from Yorrick Williams tied the game up once again at 35-35 midway through the quarter. A basket from Mike Martin instigated an 11-4 tear for the home side to give them a 46-39 lead, but a basket from Mike New trimmed the deficit to five points at 46-41 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half both sides traded baskets throughout much of the third period as the Heat attempted to extend their lead but they could not shake off a resilient Lions outfit and a Dawud Morris three- pointer and EJ Harrison basket trimmed the deficit back to just two points at 62-60. The Heat responded with a 7-2 run of their own to take the score out to 69-62 but a further basket from Morris kept the Lions in touch at 69-64 heading into the final stanza.

In the final stanza the Lions began the stronger and a 9-3 tear got them to within a single point at 76-75, but back-to-back three-pointers from Heat's Chad McKnight helped the home side re-establish the lead at 82-76. Four points from Morris again had the visitors get themselves to within a score of their hosts at 82-80, but Martin sparked an 11-0 run for the Heat to take the score out to 93-80 and give the home side the all-important victory.

Mike Martin led the scoring for the Heat with 26 points, but it was Dawud Morris who led all scorers in the game with 29 points for the Lions.

At the end of the game, Guildford's head coach Chad McKnight was pleased with his team's performance. "By far this was our best performance of the season. This was an incredibly tough and very physical game but was pleased with the way we stuck it out and maintain our 100% home record."

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 94 (16,41,69) (Minor/Johnson 29, Wierzbicki 21)
Newcastle Eagles 102 (29,56,74) (Smith 21, Stewart 20, Chapman 19)

The Newcastle Eagles leapfrogged over the Marshall MK Lions into second place in the BBL Championship table thanks to a 94-102 victory over the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders at the John Sanford Centre on Saturday evening. Both sides traded baskets in the opening exchanges, but it was the Eagles who made the first break in the game as a Lynard Stewart basket sparked a 12-2 burst for the Eagles to take the score out to 22-10. The Eagles maintained their advantage for the remainder of the opening period as they ended the quarter leading 16- 29.

In the second quarter the Riders attempted to get themselves back into the game and were able to reduce the deficit to eleven points at 32-43, but a Joe Chapman three-pointer instigated a 9-0 Eagles burst to take the score out to their biggest lead of the first half at 32-52. The Riders kept themselves in contention at as they bagged nine of the last thirteen points of the first half to trim the score back to 41-56 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half the Riders started the stronger with a 14- 6 start to trim the gap to seven points at 55-62. The Eagles bagged the next four points before Tack Minor and Jason Johnson combined for a 10-2 Riders burst to trim the deficit to just three points at 65-68. The sides stayed close but the visitors held onto the advantage at 69-74 heading into the final stanza.

In the final quarter both sides traded baskets in the early stages before a three-point-play from Tony Windless and four points from Minor allowed the Riders to tie the game up at 84-84 with four minutes remaining in the game. The Eagles then broke the game open with a 9-1 run to take the score out to 85-93 with ninety seconds remaining. Despite the Riders trimming the deficit to four points at 89-93 the Eagles were able to close out the game from the foul-line.

Charles Smith led the scoring for the Eagles with 21 points, but it was a combination of Minor and Johnson who led all scorers in the game with 29 points a-piece for the Riders.

Friday 27th November 2009

In the absence of the Jets and Lions from BBL Championship action, the Newcastle Eagles leapfrogged the former and drew level with the latter in second place in the league table as they beat the Everton Tigers 88-82 at the MetroRadio Arena.

The Tigers had led for much of the first half until Andrew Bridge, who scored 19 points on the night, sparked a third quarter comeback for the Eagles that was complete when he hit consecutive three- pointers to put the Eagles into a 58-57 lead. They wouldn't relinquish that, although they had to hold their nerve at the free-throw line as the Tigers kept it close up to the final minute.

Elsewhere, in the race for the BBL Championship playoff places the Worthing Thunder scored a significant 77-88 win on the road at the Essex Pirates, resulting in them leapfrogging the Scottish Rocks into eighth place and avenging a previous defeat to the Pirates this season. Reggie Bratton scored 31 points for the visitors.

Essex Pirates 77 (24,38,58) (Rodrigo 22, Adu 20, Hundert 12)
Worthing Thunder 88 (17,39,63) (Bratton 31, Cricelli 23, Prezzie-Blue 18)

In the race for the BBL Championship playoff places the Worthing Thunder scored a significant 77-88 win on the road at the Essex Pirates, resulting in them leapfrogging the Scottish Rocks into eighth place and avenging a previous defeat to the Pirates this season.

The Thunder were led by 31 points from Reggie Bratton, while Sam Cricelli had 23 and Sherrad Prezzie-Blue added 18. Pablo Rodrigo led the hosts with 22 points.

The Pirates actually held a strong 24-17 lead at the end of the first ten minutes. However that was overturned in the second period as the Thunder held their hosts to just 14 points and took a lead into the locker rooms at 38-39.

Bratton took over in the second half as the Thunder eased away, winning both the third and fourth quarters to take the game 77-88. That leaves the Pirates in eleventh place, currently six points away from the playoff places.

Newcastle Eagles 88 (18,40,60) (Bridge 19, Chapman 15, Defoe/Jackson 12)
Everton Tigers 82 (19,43,57) (Jones 20, Bell 16, Babalola 14)

The Newcastle Eagles took a share of second place in the BBL Championship after beating the Everton Tigers 88-82 at the MetroRadio Arena. It is the second time that the Eagles have overcome the Tigers this season, whom they also beat to the league and playoff titles last year.

Andrew Bridge led the hosts with 19 points, supported by 15 from Joe Chapman and 12 each for Darius Defoe and Reggie Jackson. James Jones led the Tigers, and all scorers, with 20 points.

The Eagles had the better of the early exchanges and after a tight opening they managed to edge into a 16- 11 lead. However, the Tigers came back with the next six points to take the lead, which they held at 18-19 after the opening ten minutes.

The Tigers continued their run with the first five points of the second quarter, meaning that they went 13-2 around the quarter break. Everton's lead reached double-figures when Bell's three-pointer made it 22- 32 midway through the period. But the Eagles came back with an 8-3 push to make it 30-35. Just as the Eagles looked as they were getting close, Chris Haslam and James Jones hit back-to-back three- pointers and the Tigers led 35-43. But the Eagles did score the last five points of the half, including a buzzer- beating triple from Andrew Bridge, to go into the locker rooms just 40-43 in arrears.

The Eagles found themselves trailing 40-48 early in the third, until they mounted their charge. The hosts narrowed the gap through the next six minutes, and got the lead back with consecutive three-pointers from Bridge at 58-57. The Eagles took a 60-57 lead into the decisive quarter. They completed the turnaround early in the fourth as they edged their way out to a 73-64 lead, but the Tigers had one last go within the final minute. It was back to a one possession game as back-to-back baskets made it 81-78 but Stewart, Flournoy and Chapman kept their cool at the free- throw line late on to see the Eagles to the win.

Friday 20th November 2009

Newcastle Eagles 101 (16,44,77) (Smith 23, Defoe 17, Chapman 16)
Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 87 (20,44,63) (Martin 22, Valencia 19, Roe 15)

Newcastle Eagles moved themselves level in second place with the Marshall MK Lions in the BBL Championship table thanks to a 101-87 victory over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders at the Metro Radio Arena on Friday evening.

It was the visitors who started the game the stronger, and a 10-2 burst in the opening period gave them an early 10-18 lead and the Raiders held their advantage through until the end of the opening quarter where they lead 16-20.

In the second quarter the visitors continued to open out a slight advantage and lead by six points at 25-31 off the back of a 9-2 burst, but the Eagles came back into the game as they chipped away at the Raiders advantage and eventually tied the game up at 44-44 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half Darius Defoe bagged the opening basket of the third period and the Eagles were never to trail in the game from that points onwards. A 9-2 run for the Eagles began to hammer home their advantage taking the score out to 67-56 midway through the third period and the Eagles continued to extend their lead and headed into the final stanza ahead by fourteen points at 77- 63.

In the final period the Eagles continued to press home their advantage and a further 9 -2 tear in the closing stages of the contest gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game at 99-80. The visitors battled hard in the closing stages to get themselves back into the contest, and despite a 7-0 burst to trim the deficit back to 99-87, the Eagles held on for the comfortable victory.

Charles Smith led all scorers in the game with 23 points for the victorious Eagles, while Anthony Martin led the scoring for the Raiders with 22 points of his own.

Wednesday 18th November 2009

Marshall MK Lions 102 (35, 56, 84) (Holmes 32, Morris 23, Harrison 13)
PAWS London Capital 54 (12, 31, 41) (Gariba 25, Ataha 12, Knysas 8)

he Marshall MK Lions had no trouble overturning PAWS London Capital tonight, as Vince Macaulay's side raced to a 102-54 win at home against the Capital.

Frank Holmes continued to make a noise around the league with a double-double of 32 points and 13 rebounds, Dawud Morris scored 23 points, including 4/4 three pointers, in 18 minutes of action, and EJ Harrison ensured that the Lions Atlantic contingent dominated, as he quietly went about his business for 13 points and 9 assists.

The Capital were led by the irrepressible Ibrahim Gariba, who posted 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Yorick Williams was the man to get the Lions offense going early on, as he fired from downtown to get the scorers working. Frank Holmes and EJ Harrison then chipped in to take the Lions lead to 9-1 early on, as the home team were firing on all cylinders. The first quarter finished 35-12 in the Lions' favour.

The second quarter was a similar story, other than the Capital having a much better start, as Ibrahim Gariba scored six quick points without reply. However, Holmes continued to dominate in a quarter that finished 56-31 to the Lions.

The third quarter belonged to Dawud Morris, who netted all four of his three point attempts, whilst the Lions kept the visitors down to just 10 points in the period, a decisive point in the game. They then had no trouble converting this into a 102-54 victory, as all ten of the Lions' players had time on court.

Whilst the Lions sat ten places above the Capital before tonight's contest, Macaulay was keen to stress that every win is valuable. He said: 'I was very pleased with my team tonight. Dawud Morris scored his twenty three points in only eighteen minutes, which was great to see, and it is encouraging to see Frank Holmes finding his feet over here. In terms of the importance of tonight's win, we will take a win over the Boy Scouts, and by this, I mean that every win you can get is important in this league.'

Sunday 15th November 2009

Glasgow Rocks 84 (23,33,58) (Sapp 21, Copeland 21, Yanders 21)
Everton Tigers 69 (21,43,55) (Gumbs 19, Thomson 15, Bell 13)

Glasgow Rocks won the mid-table battle with Everton Tigers 84-69 north of the border after an excellent fourth quarter effort saw them home.

Rocks shared their offence with Jessie Sapp, Mike Copeland and Rob Yanders all scoring 21 points - Yanders (pictured) hit 12 in the final stanza, which proved to be crucial.

The home team also had to do without player-coach Sterling Davis for the second half after the play caller was disqualified from the match late in the second quarter by the officials. Without an assistant coach the Rocks players took over and led themselves to victory.

Earlier in the match the Rocks had opened a 10 point lead in the first quarter (16-6) only to see Tigers whittle it back to 23-21 at the break thanks to three-pointers by Andrew Thomson, Steven Rush and Chris Haslam.

Tigers dominated the second period keeping Rocks at bay with some tough defence. A 9-2 run saw their lead peak at 31-43 before Gareth Murray trimmed the gap to 33-43 at half time.

Without Davis the Rocks dominated the opening part of the third quarter. A 15-0 beginning, with buckets by Copeland, Yanders, Steve Parillon, Sapp and Murray, put them 48-43 up.

The lead switched hands as Tigers began to find their rhythm again but once Copeland put Glasgow in front at 54-53 they never trailed again.

Taking a 58-55 advantage into the fourth quarter the Rocks steadily increased the margin as Everton struggled to get their shots to fall.

A Copeland free throw made it a double-digit (74-64) lead with two minutes remaining and from there the home team kept their composure from the foul line to see the job through.

Saturday 14th November 2009

Tonight has been a night full of excitement in the BBL, as the Cheshire Jets beat the Glasgow Rocks 88-83 in overtime after being tied at 74-74 in regulation, the Worcester Wolves sneaked a 92-91 win over the Marshall MK Lions, PAWS London Capital got their second win of the season, 84-77 over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders, and the Essex Pirates were comfortably beaten 57-74 by the Sheffield Sharks.

Although the game between the Jets and the Rocks was nip and tuck in the first two quarters, the third stanza finished 66-43 in the Rocks favour. Cheshire then made 23-7 run, to slice the visitors' lead to just seven points, and outscored their opponents 31-10 in the period to draw level for the first time in the game, 74-74, with just fourteen seconds left in regulation. This forced overtime, and as the Jets turned up the pressure on defence, the Rocks were forced to foul sharpshooter Chez Marks, who managed to drain free throw after free throw to give his team an 88-83 advantage with five seconds left, simply too much for the Rocks to overcome.

Less dramatic was the Sharks 74-57 win over the Essex Pirates. Despite a second quarter where they scored 23 points and bought the scoreline to 31-34 in the Sharks favour, the Pirates lacklustre first period, in which they scored just nine points, and poor free throw shooting throughout the game, cost them the win tonight.

PAWS London Capital came out on top tonight in the 'basement battle' with an 84-77 win over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders at the Capital City Academy. After a close first quarter, in which the Capital edged it 18-17, the Raiders got to work in the second quarter, as Terry Horton helped fire them to a 44-41 advantage as the teams went into the locker rooms at half time. The Capital scoring the first six baskets of the third stanza to take a 49-44 lead proved to be decisive in the game, as they then carried that momentum forward to take a 54-48 lead with 5:54 left in the quarter. Despite a slight Plymouth resurgence, the Capital were up 65-59 at the end of the third period. The fourth quarter saw the Capital close out the game to secure their second win of the season in the BBL Championship.

Another team that ended their losing streak was the Worcester Wolves, who beat the Marshall MK Lions 92-91. There was hardly anything separating these two high scoring sides in the game, as the first quarter finished 24-25. The second quarter was not much different, finishing 48-45 to the Wolves. The third quarter was similar to the first, a single point separating the two sides heading into the fourth, 72-73. With the scores level at 89-89 with just 1:15 left in the game, EJ Harrison edged the Lions ahead from the free throw line, only for Evaldas Zabas' charity shot to tie the scores again at 90 a piece. Harrison kept his cool once more from the line to edge the Lions ahead 90-91, but a last gasp shot from Zabas with just two seconds left secured a 92-91 win for Worcester.

Cheshire Jets 88 (After OT) (20, 32, 43, 74) (O'Reilly/Myers 20, Marks 19)
Glasgow Rocks 83 (After OT) (19,39, 64, 74) (Yanders 26, Copeland 18, Sapp/Murray 12)

Shawn Myers and Colin O'Reilly led the Cheshire Jets to an emphatic 88-83 victory over the Glasgow Rocks tonight, after one period of overtime. Both bagged 20 points, with Chez Marks stepping up when needed to finish with 19 points personal. The Rocks were led by Rob Yanders, who had 26 points to his name.

After a first quarter in which there was little to tell between the sides (20-19), the second quarter saw the Rocks take a slight lead, as they were 32-39 ahead going into the locker rooms. The third stanza was then a miserable one for the Jets faithful, as the Rocks blasted the home side away meaning that thirty seconds into the final period, the Jets were 23 points down, at 66-43.

Cheshire then made a brave 23-7 run, to slice the visitors' lead to just seven points, and outscored their opponents 31-10 in the period to draw level for the first time in the game, 74-74, with just fourteen seconds left. This forced overtime, which proved to be the most lively part of the match, as the Rocks went into the lead straight away via a Mike Copeland score. BBL veteran Shawn Myers then drained a three for the home side to put them up 77-76. Paul Peterson then took the ball to the rack to stretch his side's lead to 79-76, only for the Rocks point guard Rob Yanders to tie it at 79 a piece with a long ranger. Irish International Colin O'Reilly then replied in the same fashion for the Jets with a trey of his own, to nose them ahead 82-79.

Intense defensive play then became a deciding factor for the Jets, who ensured that the Rocks failed to score in a 24 second offense. This meant that they had to foul Jets' talisman Chez Marks, who nailed both of his freebies to put the Jets five points ahead. Yanders, who was basically the only scoring threat for the Rocks at this point, then slotted one home from behind the arc to trim the deficit to 84-83 with ten seconds left. Copeland then got himself a technical, meaning two free throws, which Marks put away. Marks was fouled again on the next play, hitting both free shots again with ease, leaving the scoreline at 88-83. With five seconds left, there was simply too much for the Rocks to do in too little time.

Smith commented on the game: 'I am both delighted and mightily relieved to have got this result, which is a reward for the team that never gave up. It will no doubt set us up well for the important games we have coming up in the next few weeks.'

Essex Pirates 57 (9, 31, 42) (Mumuni 18, Adu/Sing 11)
Sheffield Sharks 74 (16, 34, 52) (Cook 25, Patton 16, Lyons/Toney 12)

The Sheffield Sharks continued their excellent form tonight with a hard fought 74-57 over the Essex Pirates at Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre. A bad start from the Pirates (9 points in the first quarter) and some poor free throw shooting compared to their opponents, appear to have been too significant a set of errors for the BBL's newest franchise to have any chance of winning the game.

The Sharks outscored the Pirates 9-16 in the first stanza, but the Pirates can take a lot from a great second quarter, in which they scored twenty three points to take the scoreline to 31-34 in the Sharks favour, and give themselves a real chance to compete in the game. Mike Cook helped fire the Sharks to a ten point advantage at the end of the third however, which Yorkshire based club then had no trouble converting to a 57-74 victory in the first meeting of the two sides this season.

The Pirates were led in vain by Walid Mumuni, who continues to get noticed around the league, as he scored a solid 18 points. He was ably supported by Tanner Adu and Colin Sing, who both had 11 points. For the Sharks, American Mike Cook was once again in unplayable form with 25 points personal, Ryan Patton was second with 16 points, and player coach Atiba Lyons scored 12 points, along with Team GB call up Tafari Toney.

Lyons was particularly pleased that his side were able to grind out the win, without the influential Matt Gorman, as the American big man continues his rehabilitation from injury: 'It was a tough game tonight' he said: 'We had a key player missing, but I think our experience, along with our winning mentality saw us through' he added.

PAWS London Capital 84 (18,41,65) (Knysas 22, Gariba 14, Ataha 14)
Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 77 (17, 44, 59) (Horton 36, Valencia 11, Rowe 10)

PAWS London Capital won a battle tonight between two sides who are desperately trying to improve their win-loss records, with an 84-77 win over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders at the Capital City Academy.

After a close first quarter, in which the Capital edged it 18-17, the Raiders got to work in the second quarter, as Terry Horton helped fire them to a 44-41 advantage as the teams went into the locker rooms at half time.

The third period was a different story, as the Capital scored the first six baskets to take a 49-44 lead. It was then a combination of Darren Mills, Santa Ataha and Ibrahim Gariba that took them to six points up at 54-48 with 5:54 left in the quarter. Plymouth then came back and closed that gap to just three points, at 58-55, but the Capital netted a free throw to take a 59-57 lead with 1:36 remaining. The Raiders then scored two more points to leave the scoreboard reading 65-59 at the end of the penultimate stanza.

The fourth quarter saw the Capital close out the game, as the closest the Heat got was to within five points, at 78-73. Capital coach Milek Jivens was pleased with what he saw from his side tonight, particularly in terms of their basketball intelligence. He said: 'It was an odd game, a game of emotions because of both teams seeing it as a chance to improve their record. Plymouth usually have a good outside shooting percentage, but we were able to shut down their shooters today until the third quarter, when we went into a zone, but their shooters were then fatigued so our plan worked' he added: 'We were able to establish an inside presence today which was very important, but were also helped by some unforced turnovers from the Raiders, which gave us a lot of fast break baskets, particularly in the second half, when were stamped our authority on the game.'

Worcester Wolves 92 (24, 48, 72) (Zabas 30, Harker 27, Christie/Disy 14)
Marshall MK Lions 91 (25, 45, 73) (Williams 34, Harrison 25, Holmes 15)

The Worcester Wolves ended their own losing streak in the process of ending the winning run of the league's form team, the Marshall MK Lions, tonight.

Although there was a good spread of scoring through both teams, Yorick Williams led all scorers with an outstanding 34 points, on a super 7/10 from behind the arc. EJ Harrison had an impressive 25 point haul for the Lions, whilst Frank Holmes scored 15. The Wolves led by a fiery Evaldas Zabas, who notched up 30 points on 11/13 shooting from the field, and Skouson Harker had 27 points, whilst Chey Christie and Harry Disy had 14 each.

There was hardly anything separating these two high scoring sides in the first quarter, as it finished 24-25, and second quarter was not much different, as the Lions had the better start to the period. Yorick Williams netted two long rangers to put the Lions 27-31 up early on in the second, and a basket from Mike New pushed their lead out to five points at 27-33 after just two minutes of the second period. Threes from Dru Spinks and Evaldas Zabas then meant that the Lions led by only four points, at 36-32, but a 9-5 run from the Wolves tied the scores at 41 each. Big men Harry Disy and Skouson Harker combined to score the next five points and put the Wolves up 46-41. The Lions then scored a few of their own, and the half finished 48-45 to the Wolves.

The third quarter was similar to the first, a single point separating the two sides heading into the fourth, 72-73. Christie started the fourth by striking from three point to take the Wolves' lead to 75-73. Christie and Zabas then led a Wolves charge to take a 81-73 lead with just under eight minutes remaining.

However, the Lions were not about to lay down and die, as three pointers from Harrison and Williams cut the deficit to just two points, at 81-79. The sides then exchanged baskets until seven points from Harrison took the scoreline to 83-88. It was the Wolves turn to fightback now, as Christie, Harker and Zabas led a 6-1 run which took the scores level once again at 89-89. Harrison then edged the Lions ahead from the free throw line, only for Zabas' charity shot to tie the scores again at 90 a piece. Harrison kept his cool once more from the line to edge the Lions ahead 90-91, but a last gasp shot from Zabas with just two seconds left secured a 92-91 win for Worcester.

Friday 13th November 2009

There were no nasty surprises on Friday 13th as the BBL Championship's top four all secured victories. The league-leading Sheffield Sharks beat the Guildford Heat for the first time since January 2008, by 97-83. It was their third straight win and keeps them atop the BBL Championship table, as Mike Cook scored 32 and Ryan Patton added 27.

The Marshall MK Lions, the BBL's form team, made it eight wins in a row in all competitions after beating the Worthing Thunder 100-85. The Lions have now won the last four games between these sides, and remain unbeaten against the Thunder on their home court. Frank Holmes dominated the game with 28 points and 15 rebounds.

The Newcastle Eagles, reigning BBL champions and currently in third place, ended a three game losing streak by beating the Worcester Wolves 87-63 in the North East, after surviving a first half scare. British big man Darius Defoe led their scoring with 20 points, and it was a 13-2 surge in the third quarter that helped them recover from a half time deficit.

In fourth, the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders beat the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 78-90 for their fourth win in the last five games. It is only the second time in the last three years, or fourteen games, that the Riders have beaten the Raiders. The visitors were led by 31 points from Tack Minor and a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds for Jason Johnson.

Elsewhere, the Everton Tigers forced their way into the top six as they made it three wins in a row as they downed the PAWS London Capital 84-60 on Merseyside.

Everton Tigers 84 (15,38,58) (Bell 19, Thomson 16, Gumbs 15)
PAWS London Capital 60 (16,24,41) (Janusauskas 18, Gariba 14, Knysas 13)

The Everton Tigers made it three wins in a row as they downed the PAWS London Capital 84-60 on Merseyside. The Tigers have now won the last four games between these sides; for the Capital it is their fourth consecutive defeat and leaves them rooted to the bottom of the BBL Championship.

Kevin Bell led the hosts with 19 points, while Andrew Thomson had 16 and Jerome Gumbs scored 15.

The visiting Capital raced into a 2-11 lead after six points from Gariba and four from Darren Mills. After a timeout, the Tigers responded with a 9-2 run, capped by Bethune's three-pointer, but the Capital held onto their lead at 15-16 after the first quarter.

The hosts took control in the second stanza as Thomson scored their first seven points and his triple gave them a 22-18 edge. Midway through the period they scored 13 straight points, including two three- pointers from Bell and one from Babalola for a 38-24 half time lead.

The Capital soon had the deficit down to single digits after a score from Gariba and a Dasilva triple made it 42-35. The Tigers came back with an 8-2 burst, capped by another three-pointer from Thomson and Babalola's score to end the quarter made it 58-41 and comfortable for the Tigers once more.

They saw out the game without any scares. A 10-3 run, capped once more by Thomson's three-pointer, made the score 70-48. Bell and Agusio added further three-pointers to keep the lead above twenty until the end of the game.

Marshall MK Lions 100 (24,53,83) (Holmes 28, Morris 19, Harrison 18)
Worthing Thunder 85 (17,37,58) (Makalainen 18, Cricelli 13, Richard 13)

The Marshall MK Lions, the BBL's form team, have made it eight wins in a row in all competitions after beating the Worthing Thunder 100-85. The Lions have now won the last four games between these sides, and remain unbeaten against the Thunder on their home court. Frank Holmes dominated the game with 28 points and 15 rebounds.

The hosts looked like the form side as Morris opened the game with a three-pointer, and the first seven points. The Thunder settled in as Richard scored all of the points in a 7-2 response that made the score 15- 11. But the Lions were stronger to close the period as Mike New scored three consecutive baskets and Morris added another triple to make the score 24-17 after the first ten minutes.

They pushed the lead into double digits with the first four points of the second period, and Frank Holmes added five points in a row to make it 32-21. Triples from Williams and Harrison contributed to a 10-3 run, for a 47-29 lead, before the lead reached its first half peak at twenty points (53-33) when Williams connected from long range once more. The Lions led 53-37 at the half, after Zafirov and Marrast scored the last two baskets.

The Lions kept their visitors at arm's length in the second half as an 8-0 burst, including five for Holmes, halted a Thunder come back and kept the lead above twenty at 68-47. That was followed by another 8 in a row, in what became a 16-2 run, and when Holmes made the final basket of the quarter the score was 83- 58 and the game was beyond the visitors. Worthing did narrow the gap in the fourth period, but never threatened the Lions' ascendancy.

Newcastle Eagles 87 (17,37,64) (Defoe 20, Chapman/Jackson/Stewart 14)
Worcester Wolves 63 (18,38,51) (Uzkuraitis 14, George 13, Zabas 13)

The Newcastle Eagles, reigning BBL champions, ended a three game losing streak by beating the Worcester Wolves 87-63 in the North East, after surviving a first half scare.

British big man Darius Defoe led their scoring with 20 points, while the trio of Chapman, Jackson and Stewart had 14 each. Vidmantis Uzkuraitis led the visitors with 14.

The Wolves, who have never beaten the Eagles at the MetroRadio Arena, were fast out of the blocks and soon led 1-8, until the Eagles responded with a 10-2 burst to lead themselves at 11-10. The teams traded baskets to the end of the quarter, with the Wolves edging it 17-18. The parity continued in the second quarter as the teams played their way to a tie at 25 after four minutes, and the Wolves still led 37-38 going into the locker rooms.

The Wolves still held a 45-47 lead in the third quarter before the Eagles made the decisive run. They posted a 13-2 surge, as Defoe, Chapman, Bridge and Jackson all scored, and they led 64-51 going into the final period. Once in the fourth, triples from Jackson and Chapman and Defoe's dunk helped to push the score through the twenty barrier at 78-54.

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 78 (20,38,56) (Valencia 20, Martin 15, Rowe 13)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 90 (23,40,63) (Minor 31, Johnson 21, Wierzbicki 19)

The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders beat the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 78-90 for their fourth win in the last five games. It is only the second time in the last three years, or fourteen games, that the Riders have beaten the Raiders.

The visitors were led by 31 points from Tack Minor and a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds for Jason Johnson. Tino Valencia's 20 points and 14 rebounds paced the Raiders.

The Riders were quick out of the blocks as Johnson made the first two baskets to initiate what became a 15-3 run to open the game. However, their scoring dried up as they scored just one basket in the next three minutes, allowing the hosts to recover with a 9-2 spell. That was soon followed by seven straight points, capped by Anthony Martin's triple, to make the score 18-19, before the teams ended the first ten minutes at 20-23 in favour of the Riders.

The game remained close in a second quarter that saw six lead changes. The Raiders took their first lead of the game at 26-25 after back-to-back baskets from Horton and Rowe, before Johnson and Minor responded in kind for Leicester. Jay Marriott came from the bench to hit a triple for the hosts, and the teams traded baskets with Minor (9 points) being the only Riders' player to score for five minutes in the middle of the quarter.

The Riders hit four three-pointers in the third quarter to edge into a more comfortable 56-63 lead. Holding a 48-49 lead midway through the period, Minor and Wierzbicki (2) hit a trio of three-pointers in a row, and the Riders established a double-digit lead at 52-62 on another Johnson basket. Martin hit a pair of free- throws with 26 seconds left to make the score 56-63 going into the decisive stanza. Tack Minor had 25 points by the end of the third quarter.

The home team made an early push in the fourth as Martin scored 4 points to help make it 60-64. However, that run was stopped by Wierzbicki's three-pointer and Johnson scored back-to-back to make it 62-71. The Riders made the decisive run with four minutes to go as they went 9-1 to make the score an insurmountable 70-86 with a little over a minute to go.

Sheffield Sharks 97 (32,55,72) (Cook 32, Patton 27, Toney 23)
Guildford Heat 83 (21,41,57) (McKnight 24, Joseph 15, Langhorne 15)

The league-leading Sheffield Sharks beat the Guildford Heat for the first time since January 2008, by 97-83. It was their third straight win and keeps them atop the BBL Championship table.

The Sharks were led by 32 points from Mike Cook, 27 from Ryan Patton and 23 from Tafari Toney.

Patton hit three three-pointers in a first quarter that the hosts dominated; they soon led 20-8 on an Atiba Lyons basket, and were 32-21 up after the opening ten minutes. A 7-0 burst to open the second stretched that to 39-21, before Chad McKnight single-handedly brought the Heat back into the game. Their player/coach hit all ten points in a 10-3 push, and they narrowed the deficit to 47-36. The Sharks led 55-41 at the half.

McKnight scored a further six points in an early 10-4 run that got the Heat back to 59-51 early in the third period. However, Cook and Patton split the points as the Sharks went 8-2 with all of the points coming on fast breaks. Patton's triple made it 72-57 at the end of three.

In the fourth quarter the Heat were back to within ten at 84-75. However, Perry Lawson's basket made it 90- 79, before a pair of blocks from Toney led to a Mike Cook score and a further block from the GB international was followed by another triple from Patton to make the score 94-79 and hand the Sharks the victory.

Sunday 8th November 2009

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 81 (22,44,50) (Hilleary 28, Flato/Valencia 21)
Everton Tigers 102 (29,50,77) (Gumbs 35, Bell 21, Babalola 12)

The Everton Tigers leapfrogged over the Glasgow Rocks into seventh position in the BBL Championship table thanks to a comfortable 81-102 victory over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders at the Plymouth Pavilions on Sunday afternoon.

Both sides traded baskets for the opening minutes of the game, but back-to-back three pointers from Olu Babalola and Andrew Thomson helped the Tigers into an 8-15 lead midway through the opening quarter. The visitors maintained their slender advantage throughout the period and lead 22-29 at the end of the first quarter.

The home side got themselves back into the game with a 7-2 burst to trim the deficit to just two points at 29-31, but a pair of free-throws from Kevin Bell sparked a 13-4 tear for the Tigers to take the score out to 33-44. The Raiders finished the half the stronger and kept themselves in touch but trailing 44-50 at the half.

In the second half an Alister Gall free-throw at the start of the third period trimmed the gap to five points, but Jerome Gumbs basket allowed the Tigers to break the game open with a 25-1 run to take the score out to 46-75 with 2 minutes remaining in the third period. The Raiders tried valiantly to get themselves back into the game and a pair of Horton free-throws trimmed the deficit slightly to 50-77 going into the final stanza.

In the final period, a 10-3 run from the Raiders at the start of the period kept the home side in touch, but trailing by twenty- two points, at 60-82. Five points from Gumbs towards the end of the game gave the Tigers their biggest lead in the contest at 69- 99 and despite a valiant effort from Florentino Valencia and Matt Hilleary in the closing stages, the Tigers held on for the comfortable victory.

Gumbs led all scorers in the game with an highly-impressive 35 points for the visitors while Hilleary led the Raiders scoring with 28 points personal.

Saturday 7th November 2009

Sheffield Sharks extended their lead at the top of the BBL Championship after beating second placed Newcastle Eagles 89-93 in the north east.

The Sharks were the dominant side throughout but allowed an 18-point second quarter lead to slip through their fingers before turning round a six-point deficit themselves to finally see off the reigning champions.

A 9-0 fourth quarter run by Sheffield gave the visitors the lead at 67-70. Eagles tied it at 70-70 and led for the last time at 78-77. From there it was all Sharks as a Todd Cauthorn three began a 10-2 run that gave Sheffield enough of a margin to take a priceless victory.

Newcastle Eagles 89 (16,39,67) (Smith 17, Bridge/Chapman/Stewart 15)
Sheffield Sharks 93 (24,49,61) (Cook 36, Toney 19, Patton 17)

Sheffield Sharks extended their lead at the top of the BBL Championship after beating second placed Newcastle Eagles 89-93 in the north east.

Led once again by Mike Cook (pictured) on 36 points the Sharks began brightly and held a 14-24 lead before Eagles Aaron Nielsen cut the margin to 16-24 after ten minutes.

Sheffield turned on the style in the second quarter, putting together a 3-15 run to lead 23-41 midway through the period. Newcastle rallied to trail 39-49 at half time.

Newcastle dominated the third quarter with some excellent play. Sharks' lead quickly disappeared as Andrew Bridge, Charles Smith and Reggie Jackson all made three-pointers.

The match was tied at 51-51 before Joe Chapman and Jackson again connected from long range to send Eagles into the final stanza 67-61 on top.

A 9-0 run by Sheffield gave the visitors the lead back at 67-70. Eagles tied it at 70-70 and led for the last time at 78-77. From there it was all Sharks as a Todd Cauthorn three began a 10-2 run that gave Sheffield enough of a margin to take a priceless victory.

Friday 6th November 2009

Tonight has seen key results for the Sheffield Sharks, who bounced back from a 98-89 double overtime loss against the Marshall MK Lions last week, and the Everton Tigers, who sealed the head to head win record over the Guildford Heat with an 84-72 win at home.

The Tigers got off to a great start, keeping their opponents scoreless for the first four minutes, whilst scoring ten points themselves to lead 10-0. Chad McKnight got his team off the mark with an easy bucket inside, and the Heat began to claw their way into the Tigers' ten point lead, only for the Tigers to continue to dominate and go 19-9 up with just under two minutes left. They then outscored their opponents 8-3 to close out the quarter 27-12 to the better.

The Heat being outscored 21-16 by the Tigers proved to be influential in the context of the game, as they ended the third quarter 73-48 up, with a huge mountain to climb in the fourth for the Heat, if they were to win the game. Once the gap reached 30 points at 80-50, it was always going to be a struggle. The Heat scored the next nine points in the ball game and subsequently completed a 13-2 run to finish the match, but the Tigers were already home and dry with an 84-72 win the end result.

They were led by Jerome Gumbs, who had an impressive outing with 27 points to his name, Olu Babalola stepped up with 23 points and young Brit Andrew Thomson had 12. The Heat were led in vain by Julius Joseph, who had 24 points.

Crucial to the Sharks victory tonight was their run in the third quarter, racing from a 52-42 advantage at half time to be up 83-52, a devastating ten minutes where player-coach Atiba Lyons' decision to put out a smaller line up proved to be the right one. Despite the Jets bringing it back to 86-70 with a whole six minutes left in the game, the Sharks outscoring them 31-10 in the third proved too much for Paul Smith's side, as they were never quite able to recover once the Sharks put their starters back on in the fourth quarter. Sheffield were led once again by Mike Cook with 32 points, fellow American Ryan Patton shot the lights out for his 20 points, and Tafari Toney rounded out the top three scorers for the Sharks with 17 points. The Jets were led by an impressive performance from rookie point guard Paul Peterson (24 points), Colin O'Reilly had 22 along with 11 rebounds, and Frank Phifer bagged 11 points in a night that Cheshire will want to forget.

Everton Tigers 84 (27, 52, 73) (Gumbs 27, Babalola 23, Thomson 12)
Guildford Heat 72 (12, 32, 48) (Joseph 24, Drakeford 15, Martin 13)

The Everton Tigers will be relieved that they have one head-to-head record over a team already this season, and that team is the Guildford Heat, who after beating the Tigers earlier this season to make a statement under new player-coach Chad McKnight, fell by 84 points to 72 tonight at the Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool.

The Tigers got off to a great start, keeping their opponents scoreless for the first four minutes, whilst scoring ten points themselves to lead 10-0. McKnight got his team off the mark with an easy bucket inside, and the Heat began to claw their way into the Tigers' ten point lead, only for the Tigers to continue to dominate and go 19-9 up with just under two minutes left. They then outscored their opponents 8-3 to close out the quarter 27-12 to the better.

The second stanza was a similar story, as the Tigers went on a 9-0 run to start with. The Heat then cut the gap to twenty points thanks to three charity shots from 'LA' Aaron Drakeford. The gap remained between 20 and 25 points for the rest of the period, despite two more free throws from Drakeford, and scores from Kenny Langhorne, three points from Mike Martin, and a triple from Julius Joseph. The half time score read 52-32 in the Sharks favour.

The Heat being outscored 21-16 by the Tigers proved to be influential in the context of the game, as they ended the third quarter 73-48 up, with a huge mountain to climb in the fourth for the Heat, if they were to win the game. Joseph continued to show his scoring prowess, with a quick basket in answer to scores from Kevin Bell and Jerome Gumbs from the Tigers, but once the gap reached 30 points at 80-50, it was always going to be a struggle. The Heat scored the next nine points in the ball game and subsequently completed a 13-2 run to finish the match, but the Tigers were already home and dry with an 84-72 win the end result.

Everton were led by Jerome Gumbs, who had an impressive outing with 27 points to his name, Olu Babalola stepped up with 23 points and young Brit Andrew Thomson had 12. The Heat were led in vain by Julius Joseph, who had 24 points.

Sheffield Sharks 97 (27, 52, 83) (Cook 32, Patton 20, Toney 17)
Cheshire Jets 76 (25, 42, 52) (Peterson 24, O'Reilly 22, Phifer 11)

The Sheffield Sharks bounced back from a disappointing performance last weekend in a double overtime 98-89 loss to Marshall MK Lions, to beat the Cheshire Jets tonight 97-76 at home. The Sharks went on an entertaining run in the third quarter, racing from a 52-42 advantage at half time to be up 83-52, a devastating ten minutes where player-coach Atiba Lyons' decision to put out a smaller line up proved to be the right one. Despite the Jets bringing it back to 86-70 with a whole six minutes left in the game, the Sharks outscoring them 31-10 in the third proved too much for Paul Smith's side, as they were never quite able to recover once the Sharks put their starters back on in the fourth quarter.

Sheffield were led once again by the powerful Mike Cook with 32 points, fellow American Ryan Patton shot the lights out for his 20 points, and Tafari Toney rounded out the top three scorers for the Sharks with 17 points. The Jets were led by an impressive performance from rookie point guard Paul Peterson (24 points), Colin O'Reilly had 22 along with 11 rebounds, and Frank Phifer bagged 11 points in a night that Cheshire will want to forget.

Lyons said he could not have asked for a better way for his side to bounce back from last weekend's frustrations, and praised the Jets on their fightback in the second half: 'The Jets made a great run in the fourth, and credit to them for doing so' he said: 'They bought it back to 18 points with six minutes left, so there was definetly everything to play for.'

The 6'6'' Forward is also pleased with the versatility his side displayed tonight, claiming that injuries may have been a blessing in disguise in this sense. He added: 'We went with a smaller line up in the third quarter, with many of our bench players on court, but the injuries we have had already this season mean that we have had to adapt, and I now feel confident with any five players on court.'

Sunday 1st November 2009

In a busy night of BBL action the headlines go to Airwaves Plymouth Raiders who shocked league leaders Newcastle Eagles to secure their first win of the season with a thrilling 96-95 home victory.

After Florentino Valencia had made two free throws to force overtime, the match was undecided until an Anthony Martin bucket with 50 seconds remaining in the extra period gave Raiders the lead for good.

Guildford Heat moved themselves into the leading pack after a hard-fought 78-71 win over Worthing Thunder.

Thunder recovered from a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to trail by just one (64-63) in the last three minutes but Heat's Julius Joseph and Kenny Langhorne both drained threes to move their team away once again.

Worcester Wolves held off a late charge to eventually beat Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 113-111 on their home floor.

The Wolves had led by 14 (106-92) with just 3.54 remaining but a furious finish by Riders, which included three Tack Minor three-pointers, saw them close to one before a Chey Christie free throw sealed the win. Minor had the final chance to tie or win but his last gasp shot was blocked.

Glasgow Rocks made the most of a slow starting London Capital side to win 83-65 and move into seventh place in the BBL.

With the match tipping off over half an hour late due to the visitors travel problems the Rocks were red-hot from the start as they scored the first 16 points of the night.

Rob Yanders drilled three three-pointers and there were contributions from Mike Copeland, Jessie Sapp, Steve Parillon, Sterling Davis and Gareth Murray as Rocks led 23-3 after the first quarter and were never troubled.

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 96 (27,40,67,84)
Newcastle Eagles 95 (28,45,67,84)
(after overtime)

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders shocked league leaders Newcastle Eagles to secure their first win of the season with a thrilling 96-95 home victory.

After Florentino Valencia had made two free throws to force overtime, the match was undecided until an Anthony Martin (pictured) bucket with 50 seconds remaining in the extra period gave Raiders the lead for good.

Earlier Darius Defoe carried the Eagles offence in an even first quarter at the Pavilions. Scoring the first eight points for his team, Defoe helped Newcastle to a 10-18 lead before the home side went on a 17-6 run to go in front. Veteran Charles Smith hit the final basket of the quarter to give Eagles a 27-28 advantage.

Smith continued to trouble the Raiders defence in the second quarter. His six points formed the bulk of a 10- 4 run to give Eagles a 31-38 lead.

Terry Horton and Florentino Valencia combined for nine points to bring Plymouth level at 40-40 before Smith and a Reggie Jackson three put Newcastle 40- 45 up at half time.

Newcastle again let throughout the third quarter with their lead peaking at eight several times. A 14-4 run by Raiders, inspired by Allister Gall and Martin, briefly gave them the lead at 65-63 before the teams headed into the final stanza locked at 67-67.

Neither side could break free in the fourth quarter with Eagles holding the biggest lead at four (75-79). Charles Smith almost won it in regulation with a three to make it 82-84 but he fouled Valencia with 10 seconds remaining and the Raiders player calmly slotted both free throws to send the match into overtime.

Guildford Heat 78 (21,33,57) (Langhorne 24, Joseph 17, Drakeford 14)
Worthing Thunder 71 (9,32,43) (Cricelli 22, Makalainen 18, Zafirov 16)

Guildford Heat moved themselves into the leading pack after a hard-fought 78-71 win over Worthing Thunder.

Guildford began the match in excellent fashion with threes from LA Drakeford and Langhorne helping them to a 17-2 start. Thunder responded with an 8-4 run to end the first quarter trailing 21-9.

Heat's lead quickly disappeared during a terrific opening to the second quarter by Worthing. Ville Makalainen hit six points in an 11-0 burst, which trimmed the gap to 21-20. The score was level at 25- 25 before threes from Drakeford and Joseph once again put Heat on top.

However, a 7-2 run by Thunder to close the half had Guildford leading by just one (33-32) at the interval.

The third quarter was all about Guildford's dominance. Player-coach Chad McKnight kick-started a 14-2 run to take the score to 47-34.

Samuel Cricelli notched Thunder's next nine points but he couldn't prevent his side entering the final stanza trailing 57-43 after Heat went on a 7-0 tear in the last 90 seconds of the period.

Chad McKnight (pictured) said he was happy with the way his team responded to defeat on Saturday night: "Both teams lost badly last night and we looking to bounce back.

"The Thunder played a really tough game but we got there in the end. It was an ugly game but a win is a win. I was very pleased with our late game execution; we kept our composure, hit our free throws and didn't give up any threes."

Worcester Wolves 113 (30,49,78) (Disy 30, Zabas 27, Harker 14)
Jelson Home DMU Leicester Riders 111 (34,51,71) Minor 31, Wierzbicki 24, Durant 16)

Worcester Wolves held off a late charge to eventually beat Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 113-111 on their home floor.

A high scoring first quarter saw 64 points that Riders eventually edged 30-34. LaTaryl Williams was the chief tormentor for the visitors with 12 points as Leicester never trailed during the entire period.

Defence came to the fore in the second quarter with Worcester taking the first lead on a Chey Christie basket at 35-34. Riders responded with a 9-0 burst and despite Wolves tying it at 47-47 it was Leicester who led 49-51 at half time.

The match was evenly poised at 69-68 late in the third quarter until a 9-3 end to the period by Wolves handed them a healthy seven-point cushion (78-71) with ten minutes remaining.

It seemed as though Wolves were destined for a comfortable win behind good play from Harry Disy and Evaldas Zabas, but Minor, with help from Bradd Wierzbicki gave Riders hope.

It wasn't to be though as first Terrell Saunders and then Christie kept their nerve from the line.

Glasgow Rocks 83 (21,41,62) (Yanders 30, Copeland 13, Murray 13)
PAWS London Capital 65 ( 3,21,40) (Jivens 19, Gariba 18, Knysas 8)

Glasgow Rocks made the most of a slow starting London Capital side to win 83-65 and move into seventh place in the BBL.

With the match tipping off over half an hour late due to the visitors travel problems the Rocks were red-hot from the start as they scored the first 16 points of the night.

Rob Yanders (pictured) drilled three three-pointers and there were contributions from Mike Copeland, Jessie Sapp, Steve Parillon, Sterling Davis and Gareth Murray as Rocks led 23-3 after the first quarter.

It was a lead that Rocks would maintain for most of the match. By half time London had recovered their offensive skills to trail 41-21 and they prevented the match from being a total blow out by going basket-for- basket during the third period (62-40).

Capital continued to battle and trimmed the lead to 14 (69-55) on player-coach Milek Jivens' three with 4.37 remaining, but they could never get within single digits and were left to rue their poor opening ten minutes.