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CLUBS’ MATCH REPORTS - (January - |
Link down to: 17-
October-
Derby show no mercy against Arrows
Derby Trailblazers 107 (22, 45, 73)
Sheffield Arrows 50 (09, 18, 32)
Derby Trailblazers recorded their biggest win of the season, condemning Sheffield Arrows to a sixth straight league defeat. The Trailblazers were boosted by the return of Dave Attewell, who had missed the previous weekend’s sensational victory over Manchester Magic because of a knee injury.
The Blazers were quick off the mark, racing to an 11-
A three-
The Arrows started the second period brightly, with Spare adding another free-
After the break, Derby made it quickly apparent they had no intentions of easing
off. A 14-
Ant Oxley replied with a three for Sheffield, but Martyn Gayle was on hand with a
couple of long range bombs, before Allaway ended the third period with another trey,
as part of a 13-
Derby produced yet more glitzy basketball throughout the fourth, the highlights of
which included a coast to coast move by Allaway, another alley-
Elsewhere, Stedroy Baker worked tirelessly to produce 9 points, 5 assists and 3 steals,
while Shaw was agonisingly short of a double-
For the second game in succession, O’Shea and Spencer were joint top scorers with 21 points each. O’Shea again converted 75% from the field, while Baker, Gayle and Spencer all shot 56% or more.
Coach Clarence Wiggins was pleased with the win, although he admits to not feeling quite as elated as he’d done the previous weekend:
“Last weekend was better, purely because of the significance of that game, but when you’re in the position we’re in, you want to keep winning every time you step on the court. This was a game we expected to win, and even though we were up against a team that was below par, we played some good basketball.
“Having Dave back was a bonus. Right now though, he’s taking things day to day. If he’s able to play, he’ll play and if he’s not, then we’ll have to ask other people to step up like they did against Manchester and we’ll do our best to carry on without him.
“The win over Sheffield was all about team performance. I don’t think anyone played
more than twenty-
“I thought our big men did well against them and our shooting guards eventually warmed up after a bad start. It’s good to see them doing well, because they’re really important to our success,” he explained.
Derby are now two points clear at the top of the table, with a game in hand over second placed Leeds, who were beaten by third placed Leicester Warriors. The Trailblazers arguably now have the upper hand in terms of the league title race, despite still having to face both those clubs. But Wiggins is refusing to look further than the next game, away to London Mets:
“We will continue to focus on what we need to do. What happens in other matches is irrelevant, because providing we can achieve what we’ve set out to do, we should be ok. Right now, the game against Mets is the most important one. Last time we played them, our defence wasn’t good enough, so we have to improve on that in training this week,” he said.
Derby: O’Shea 21, Spencer 21, Gayle 14, Allaway 13, Madourie 11, Baker 9, Shaw 7, Attewell 6, Lewis 4, Bowen 1.
Sheffield: Eboigbe 17, Oxley 15, Chitagu 4, Kelly 4, Spare 4, Heenan 2, Purnell 1, Nelson 0, Oakley 0, Turner 0.
Leopards’ relegation worries intensified with a pair of defeats over the weekend, but there were signs that Jon Burnell’s team have turned the corner.
The Big Cats went down 96-
“I think we’re playing better together than in recent weeks” said coach Jon Burnell.
“We’re desperately short of numbers, but there’s nothing we can do about that, and we have to buckle down and get on with it. With a little bit more luck, or a couple of different decisions down the stretch, we could have won both games over the weekend. If we continue to play like that, we’ll be okay.”
While Burnell’s team lost in Middlesbrough on Saturday, they did have the consolation
that the five-
Led by 24 Carl Latham-
Leopards trailed 29-
A Henry basket made it a three point game at the midway stage of the fourth period, and Lukas Volskis jump shot cut the deficit to one with under three minutes remaining, but the home side closed out the game strongly to take the win.
Latham-
In a close game throughout, Leopards trailed 31-
The game remained tight, with Rockets leading 68-
Magic stutter as Trailblazers pull away for victory
Manchester Magic 95 -
Basketball fans were treated to a top of the table clash when the league-
The Magic were anxious to get back to winning ways after their 68-
The home side started this one well going on a 9-
The two sides were inseparable throughout the first three quarters and after 12 lead
changes they entered the 4th quarter tied at 75 but the Magic faltered down the stretch
and they were outscored 16-
Their final lead came after a layup by Gill put them up 88-
The home side closed the gap to 91-
The home team were unable to convert on their next two possessions and committed
a costly turnover which led to an easy score for Spencer who finished with17 points
and 3 steals. He then gave the Blazers a 97-
It was a tremendous victory for the visitors who topped the 100 point mark for the
third time in the last six games but the Magic will feel like they let this one slip
away from them as they wasted yet another spectacular performance from Gill. In addition
to his 40 points he also had seven assists and five rebounds but received little
help from his team-
It was a different story for the Blazers who had three players score over 20 points (Spencer, O'Shea and Madourie) while Shaw and Gayle chipped in with 18 and 13 points respectively. The Blazers were also more careful with the ball only committing 11 turnovers to the Magic's 21.
Top Scorers
Manchester Magic -
Derby Trailblazers -
Now that’s Magic!
Manchester Magic 95 (30, 52, 75)
Derby Trailblazers 103 (25, 50, 75)
Derby Trailblazers produced a magnificent performance in Manchester to secure an eight point win over the only top flight team they had never managed to beat. The victory keeps them top of division one and left coach Clarence Wiggins feeling ecstatic: “It’s terrific, just terrific,” he exuded. “It’s the first time I’ve ever won in Manchester and I want to thank all our players and our supporters for helping to make it happen. Offensively, I though we were outstanding and while we could have done better defensively, we won the ball game and that’s all that matters!” he said.
The success over Manchester came despite Derby being without Dave Attewell, due to a knee injury, but the manner in which the rest of the Trailblazers team stepped up was tremendously impressive.
Those who travelled to the ABC in Manchester witnessed one of the best shooting displays you’re ever likely to see. Joel Madourie didn’t miss a single shot until early in the fourth quarter and finished the night with a 77% strike rate on his way to 20 points.
Sam O’Shea was also in sensational form, converting 75% of his shots to finish as joint top scorer with 21 points along with Simon Spencer, while Magic’s Stephen Gill blitzed his way to a game high 40 points, off the back a 71% return.
Offensively, this was as good a performance as Derby have ever produced in the top flight, but they struggled to find any answer to Gill’s silky sharp shooting skills.
“Stefan is amazing,” Wiggins said. “He’s quick, he can jump, he’s athletic and he can really shoot the lights out. To put it simply, we couldn’t guard him. No matter what we tried, he still carried on scoring and he had a truly outstanding game.”
Manchester were up by five at the end of the first quarter, but Derby pegged them
back to two points by half time and it was 75-
The run was sparked by a technical foul on Magic’s Dave Watts, which presented Derby
with two shots and possession. Spencer made two from two, cutting the gap to 88-
Magic then turned the ball over and chose to foul Shaw as he attempted to drive to the basket. This time, the Blazers captain could only net one of two, after which a Derby foul led to Gill sinking a pair of shots from the line.
O’Shea then restored a three point lead, before a steal and an assist from Shaw allowed
Spencer to make it 90-
Another Magic foul allowed Martyn Gayle to further advance Derby’s lead by converting
two shots at the line. Gill then missed a three point attempt before Gayle was sent
back to the line for another two shots, both of which were converted into points,
to leave the Blazers 101-
Remarkably, there was still time for Gill to bank another three-
“I told them someone was going to have to step up and get Dave’s ten or twelve rebounds and get double figures in points if we were going to be able to compete. What happened was the whole team stepped up and we had five players in double figures so I’m very pleased.
“I thought Joel and Sam were fantastic and Simon Spencer also had a great game. While those three guys did exceptionally well, it’s wrong to single people out really, because it was really the overall team effort that got us the win.
“At the third quarter break when the game was tied, Jamie [Maudsley] and I were discussing who we thought could give us some stops and who could give us some points. Then there’s the question of who needed a rest, who could get us a rebound or two.
“At one stage we put Ryan [Lewis] out there and he grabbed us a couple of crucial rebounds and I think that shows what a good all round team performance it was. Everyone was doing little bits to help the team towards the win.
“The technical foul on Tin-
Manchester went on to lose again on Sunday against Leicester Warriors, leaving them six points behind Derby in fourth place. Second placed Leeds Carnegie maintained the pressure on the Trailblazers with victory over Taunton Tigers and are level on point with Derby, although the Blazers have a game in hand.
Derby face Sheffield Arrows at home this Saturday, but the match will take place
at Noel-
Magic: Gill 40, Watts 21, Fasbender 11, Hagan 8, Schall 7, Bell 3, Olayemi 3, Goldsborough 2, Avona 0, Johnson 0, Slater 0.
Derby: O’Shea 21, Spencer 21, Madourie 20, Shaw 18, Gayle 13, Baker 5, Allaway 3, Lewis 2, Bowen 0, McGaffin 0.
Reading Rockets 81 v Taunton Tigers 67
Due to the non availability of Rivermead, Rockets played this 'home' fixture at Taunton but came away with a superb victory, Rockets third consecutive one in the League.
Both teams had similar records before the weekend so this was a key game as the Play-
Taunton hit four quick points at the start of the second period as Rockets had a
couple of minutes of slack play but a Jason spin move and two out of two from the
free throw line by Adam Thoseby saw Rockets maintain their advantage. Another five
points by Taunton saw them get tantalisingly close but a jump shot by Kofi Josephs
and a Jason three left the last couple of minutes for Kenny Saunders to score with
a long two, then an outrageous slam dunk before he finished the quarter with a buzzer
beating three to take Rockets to the interval seven points up at 43-
The third period saw Rockets further impose themselves, maintaining their effective
defence causing Tigers to turn the ball over and also have twenty four second violations,
whilst scoring from good plays Saunders scored twelve of Rockets twenty one points
in these ten minutes and was the most influential player on the court -
Rockets quickly extended their lead with Alex instrumental in the first two plays
with resultant three pointers from Parker and Louis Sayers as he stole the ball to
release Parker and drove into the heart of ~Taunton's defence before throwing a peach
of a pass to Louis Sayers who hit his three from the wide out on the side line. When
Louis hit another three from an assist by his older twenty one year old brother,
Rockets lead was twenty two points. Though Taunton hit back with a five point run
a final Parker three saw Rockets comfortably win this important encounter by 81-
Top scorers Kenny Saunders 23, Louis Sayers 13, Ryan Lohfink 12, Robbie Parker 11 and Jason Sayers 10.
Leopards 101 (33,56,82)
Tees Valley Mohawks 94 (21,49,75)
Leopards snapped a four game losing streak as strugglers Tees Valley Mohawks were beaten at Barking Abbey on Sunday.
Carl Latham-
Marlan Henry added 21 points and Lukas Volskis 20 as Leopards’ back-
Mohawks’ new American Nathan Connolly led the Middlesbrough side with 37 points,
including 15 of his free-
Greenan opened the scoring, though he missed the bonus after being fouled, before
Latham-
The hosts were still 17-
However, five straight Volskis points made it 25-
Leven opened the second period scoring, and the visitors narrowed the gap to 36-
Henry ended the drought, and De Ferrari kept the home side ahead with a jump-
Leven hit a long two to give his side what proved to be their only lead of the game
with two minutes remaining, but Leopards finished the half strongly with Volskis
hitting a trey and Latham-
Scores from Latham-
Sam Richardson marked his return after five weeks out with a broken thumb when he
converted a Henry assist, and Leopards finished the third period strongly as a Latham-
The Big Cats have struggled to kill off teams this season, and they again allowed
Mohawks back into the game as the visitors – even without the impressive Leven –
hit the first five points of the period before Volskis broke a three minute scoring
drought with a three-
Connolly drained a trey to make it a seven point game before Henry scored from the
Land of Plenty to put Leopards 88-
It was still a double digit lead when Greenan scored a put-
But with points difference potentially important in both team’s fight against relegation, Mohawks continued to chip away at the lead before a pair of Greenan foul shots wrapped up Leopards’ fifth league win of the season.
Leopards: C Latham-
Derby Trailblazers 72 Reading Rockets 89
In a high tempo game against the league leaders, Rockets turned in their best team performance of the season to date, overturning a November home defeat to Trailblazers, and boosting Rockets for the Play off Championship.
Other than 22 seconds in the opening couple of minutes, Reading led throughout. They played excellent defence and stuck to and executed their pre game plan. Rockets were up on Derby's sharp shooters throughout the game stopping them scoring any three pointers in the first half and only three in the whole game, whilst Rockets inside guys, Jason Sayers, Ryan Lohfink and Kenny Saunders scored 44 points between them and claimed 28 defensive rebounds.
Robbie Parker hit a three off Rockets' first possession with Saunders and Lohfink finishing well inside but within minutes Rockets were in foul trouble. From 7 – 9 down, Rockets edged into a lead they were never to lose with Parker hitting his second three and Lohfink converting the bonus point having been fouled in the process of scoring. A Saunders block and a brace of jump shots by Adam Thoseby saw Rockets finish the first quarter 21 points to 16 up.
With Saunders and Jason Sayers scoring jump shots and Jason finishing another penetrative
move, Rockets found themselves with a double-
Though Derby had first possession of the third quarter, it was Rockets who scored first despite Derby's full court press. With Parker hitting his third three of the game and a great drive and score from the diminutive Jon May, Rockets led by 21 points. Derby got up some momentum as Lohfink and Falmagne were called for their third and fourth personal fouls but an outrageous hook by Jason Sayers followed by some superb inside play and two more points saw Rockets have an eleven point advantage at 64 – 53 to open the final period.
Rockets crucially scored first with a Louis Sayers three but Lohfink and May had their fourth personal fouls and Falmagne collected his fifth and disqualifying foul. Derby stepped up the pressure on the younger and less experienced Rockets but they stood their ground in the highly charged cauldron of Moorways. Another magnificent Parker three and yet more work inside by Saunders saw Rockets 12 up with 6 minutes to go. A Derby three and a tip in increased the noise and anticipation of the Derby supporters, but Lohfink scored in the paint, May hit a buzzer beating shot and Saunders drove for two more points as Rockets increased their lead to 13 points. As Derby fouled to get possession and put pressure on Rockets, Lohfink, Saunders, Jason Sayers and Parker scored from the free throw line. A couple of late Derby threes reduced Rockets lead but Rockets finished as they started with superb team defence and clinical offence to secure an excellent 17 point win by 89 points to 72.
After the final buzzer, Rockets' head Coach Matt Johnson was keen to say: 'That game was for Sasa Punosevac (the coach Rockets had to release due to financial pressures) – we executed well all that he had coached us. Thank you, Sasa.'
Top scorers for Rockets were Kenneth Saunders and Robbie Parker both on 21, Jason Sayers 17 and Ryan Lohfink 10.
Trailblazers rocked by rampant Reading
Derby Trailblazers 72 (16, 30, 53)
Reading Rockets 89 (21, 45, 64)
Derby Trailblazers were given a stark reminder that winning the league title will not be easy, as they torn apart by a vastly improved Reading side. The Rockets gained spectacular revenge for the 21 point defeat Derby had inflicted on them back in November.
The Trailblazers were clearly still feeling the anguish of their double overtime
Trophy semi-
The Rockets opened the match with a three-
When Jon May missed a two point shot for the visitors, a defensive rebound from Dave
Attewell gave Derby a chance to take the lead. While Matt Shaw’s three-
A second three-
The Rockets had purely and simply done their homework. They executed some superb
defence against the Trailblazers sharp shooters, ensuring the home side failed to
convert any of their seven three-
They were 21-
One such case in point came two and half minutes before the break, when Louis Sayers
dished off a tremendously difficult assist to his older brother Jason, who calmly
sank a three-
Ryan Lewis was then harshly called for an offensive foul, prompting Wiggins to call
for time-
However, on Reading’s very next offensive, Jason Sayers nailed another three-
A third three-
A strong start to the final quarter gave a glimmer of hope. A three-
By the time Simon Allaway hit his only three of the night, it was too little too
late. The Trailblazers were 68-
The finals statistics made for painful reading. Derby had converted just three of
twenty-
There was no doubt the Trailblazers had missed the defensive prowess of Sam O’Shea, who was limited to just 15 minutes of action due to a recent bout of flu. His absence certainly made it easier for Reading’s big men to score, with Kenny Saunders, Ryan Lohfink and the Sayers brothers combining for 51 points.
Joel Madourie led the Trailblazers with 19 points, while Attewell contributed 14 points and 15 rebounds. Martyn Gayle was the only other Derby player in double figures, finishing with 10 points.
Remarkably, the defeat has done little to affect the Blazers title hopes, with Manchester and Leeds also losing matches at the weekend. However, it does place extra significance on Derby’s trip to face Manchester Magic on Saturday. That game is now more than ever a must win situation.
Derby: Madourie 19, Attewell 14, Gayle 10, Allaway 7, Baker 7, O’Shea 6, Shaw 5, Lewis 2, Spencer 2, McGaffin 0, Bowen DNP.
Reading: Parker 21, Saunders 21, J. Sayers 13, Lohfink 10, Thoseby 8, L. Sayers 7, May 5, Falmagne 4, Alexsandravicius 0, Vaughan 0, Gamble DNP, Josephs 0.
Reading Rockets 93 Tees Valley Mohawks 45
At the end of a gruelling 8 days when they played 5 games, the ever improving Rockets scored 2 superb victories, one away on Saturday night against the league leaders followed by this overwhelming win against bottom of the league Tees Valley Mohawks.
The 48 point margin truly reflected the difference in class between the teams with Rockets' Head Coach Matt Johnson able to give extended court time to his young Academy players and deserved rest on the bench for the 5 senior players, as shown by Louis Sayers and Adam Thoseby being two of Rockets' top 3 scorers.
As a game it was almost over by the interval but certainly over at the end of the third quarter after a Rockets' 26 points to 5 onslaught. Mohawks depend so much on their ex BBL star Steve Leven who didn't disappoint in the first period scoring 10 of Mohawks' 12 points including 8 from the free throw line. However a Rockets' side full of confidence and artistry created openings for 18 year old Louis Sayers to hit 3 threes in a 17 – 2 run at the start of the game with Kenny Saunders and Adam Thoseby scoring with outrageous slam dunks. Saunders also gave a great reverse pass for Rockets' captain, Ryan Lohfink, to score before Jason Sayers scored with a hook shot as Rockets ended the opening quarter 26 – 12 in the lead.
The second quarter lost some tempo and many points were scored from the free throw lines with Saunders leading all scorers with 12 points, 5 steals and 4 rebounds as Rockets led 45 – 26.
The third quarter saw Rockets in imperial form with fast breaks, tight defence, and clinical finishing. Some of the highlights were an Adam Thoseby three pointer followed up seconds later with a block to stop Tees Valley scoring, a Robbie Parker step inside his defender to score with a sweet jump shot; a Lukas Aleksandravicius block as Leven went to dunk; an arrow pass from Parker for Steve Vaughan to score with a lay up and finally a great catch, shot and score, even though fouled, by Lohfink as Rockets took the quarter 26 points to 5.
Louis Sayers scored his fourth three of the game whilst Kofi Josephs hit his first three and then took a charge, much to the delight of his Head Coach. A couple of Louis drives saw Rockets finish the game with a 22 – 14 final period and a significant victory by 93 points to 45.
Top scorers saw Rockets captain with a double double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, with Louis Sayers on 17 points and Adam Thoseby on 15 points. Kenny Saunders finished with 14 points, 5 steals and 4 rebounds.
Reading Rockets 68 Bristol Academy Flyers 78
In a game blighted by sixty free throws, of which Rockets got just 13, Rockets first half efforts and lead were overcome by a third quarter 11 – 0 run by Bristol which they held for victory by 10 points.
Fenny Falmagne was not yet ready following injury but Jon May and Robbie Parker had fully recovered. Rockets’ new Head Coach, Matt Johnson saw his charges in competitive mood from tip with Louis Sayers and Robbie Parker hitting key threes to edge Rockets ahead in the first quarter 18 – 15. Defences were on top throughout the game with a pair of key offensive rebounds in the second period by Lohfink enabling Rockets to go into the interval 33 – 31 up. Parker had finished a couple of crisp Rockets moves and hit a pair of threes in his 12 first half points.
After the break Bristol blitzed out of the stalls scoring, stealing and dunking before a Kenny Saunders arrow pass to Rockets captain and another Parker three quelled the attacks. When Saunders took the defensive boards releasing Louis Sayers to dunk, Rockets had a four point lead just three minutes into the third quarter. Bristol though finished this period with a 19 – 8 run including 11 unanswered points, a pair of threes and repeated scores from the free throw line.
Bristol’s 55 – 48 advantage at the start of the fourth period was rapidly reduced by Rockets through a Lohfink three, coast to coast by Jon May and 5 quick points from Louis Sayers taking Rockets to just two down at 60 – 62 with 7 minutes remaining. A couple of minutes of lack of concentration caused Rockets to turn the ball over three times in quick succession giving Bristol more confidence and a 9 point cushion. Though a Thoseby three reduced the gap, Bristol held on by scoring more points from the free throw line to secure a 10 point win – final score being Rockets 68 to Bristol Academy Flyers 78.
Top scorers for Rockets were Ryan Lohfink 17, Robbie Parker 17 and Louis Sayers 12
Derby crush Coventry to stay top
Coventry Crusaders 94 (22, 40, 51)
Derby Trailblazers 75 (28, 48, 72)
A seventh straight victory for Derby along with defeat for Leeds Carnegie means the
Trailblazers were able to strengthen their position at the top of EBL Division One
on Saturday night. Derby produced an excellent all round team performance, with six
players finishing in double figures, one of whom was debutant Ryan Lewis. The 6’9”
forward is a former team-
It was clear from the off that the Crusaders primary tactic would be to shoot from outside, but strong perimeter defence from Shaw, Gayle and the two Simon’s limited them to just two successes from downtown in the first quarter.
Lewis’s first significant contribution came in the form of an assist from which Allaway drained his first three of the night. He then stole the ball and dished off to Allaway again, but this time the Blazers shooter was deemed to have his foot on the line as he scored.
Moments later, Lewis produced back to back lay-
A three from Gayle sparked a 12-
The irrepressible guard would have made it six in a row, had Coventry not chosen
to foul in order to stop a pair of easy scores. The resultant 12-
With the game’s outcome already certain, Wiggins chose to run his bench throughout
much of the fourth, to keep his players as fresh as possible for the following day’s
Trophy semi-
Coventry: Olinger 20, Eddon 12, Payne 12, Danso 11, Samuel 8, Smith 6, Francombe 4, Taylor 2.
Derby: O’Shea 17, Spencer 17, Shaw 16, Allaway 13, Attewell 12, Gayle 9, Lewis 6, Baker 0, Bowen 0, Madourie 0.
Manchester Magic 94 -
The Mohawks are still looking for their first win of the season and they found themselves
on the back foot early on as the Magic opened the game with a 7-
The main offensive threat for the visitors was their shooting guard Steve Leven who
scored six points in the 1st but the Mohawks inability to get stops proved to be
their downfall as the Magic were practically able to score at will. The Magic used
a 13-
The Magic continued to pour on the points in the second as forward David Watts scored
eight of his 19 points in the quarter. The Mohawks enjoyed a good spell as knocked
down four 3-
The home side dominated
the boards; snagging 45 rebounds to their opponents 24 with 17 of them coming at
the offensive end. In the meantime Leven continued to lead the charge for the Mohawks
in the 3
The Magic opened the 4th with another 13-
Top Scorers
Manchester Magic -
Tees
Valley Mohawks -
Tees Valley Mohawks 60 Reading Rockets 101
Rockets travelled to their most northern game without the services of Belgian point guard Fenny Falmagne through injury whilst Jon May and Robbie Parker are still carrying niggling injuries but were available.
Rockets’ starting five included 18 year old Adam Thoseby who’s in a rich vein of form scoring 37 points last weekend, and Kenny Saunders who’s been coming off the bench in recent weeks. The new coaching team of Matt Johnson and JP Campbell saw Rockets score first but Tees Valley Mohawks’ ex BBL player, Steve Leven hit 8 quick points to take an early lead. A buzzer beating shot by Jon May brought Rockets level but his steal, moments later, and incisive pass to captain Ryan Lohfink set the style of play after Rockets’ time out. Robbie Parker and Louis Sayers hit threes and Lukas Aleksandravicius rebounded superbly to take the offensive boards. With Lohfink finishing well inside, Rockets went to the first break with a 24 points to 20 lead but tellingly Leven had scored 16 of Mohawks’ points including three three pointers.
The second quarter saw Rockets dominate the floor, passing more effectively, hustling for the ball, outrebounding Tees Valley on the boards and finishing moves clinically as they took it 29 points to 10. The two young guards, Adam Thoseby and Louis Sayers hit crucial threes, while Aleksandravicius enjoyed more court time with Falmagne sidelined creating opportunities for others and finishing from the free throw line when fouled. Lohfink continued to cause Mohawks trouble inside as he amassed 15 points by the interval when Rockets led 53 points to 30. Rockets had not only kept Mohawks to 10 points but to just 2 field goals as 6 of the points had been scored from the free throw line – a great effort by a determined Rockets team.
With each Rockets player having scored and with equal contributions from all on the court, the Rockets’ development programme was clearly evident as the blend of youth and experience shone through. Though Mohawks sat back in a zone defence, Rockets still penetrated with Saunders helping himself to 7 points and the three teenagers, Thoseby, Louis Sayers and Aleksandravicius hitting superb 3 point shots from creative play by Rockets. A Jon May steal and coast to coast 2 was a delight to see whilst Parker stopped a certain Mohawks score and the Saunders v Leven match up ensued on the court. A 24 – 19 period saw Rockets extend their lead to 28 points as the buzzer went.
With a 77 – 49 lead, Rockets were not going to take their foot off the pedal despite Mohawks’ noisy and pressure defence. With the elder Sayers brother, Jason, sinking an early three and finishing 3 other quality Rockets moves, Rockets extended their lead. A determined Jon May drive coupled to an arrow pass to Louis Sayers on the wing saw Louis sink another three as he finished with 5 trebles in his 21 points. Thoseby stole the ball and strode the length of the court to finish with a slam dunk which he followed up moments later with great hustle on the floor and an exquisite block to deny Mohawks again. As the seconds ticked by Rockets wanted to reach a century of points and what a clinical final move it was that saw Thoseby free, wide on the wing, and he hit a sweet three to draw the game to a close with Rockets victorious by 101 points to 60.
A very good and encouraging team performance for Rockets’ new coaching team, led by Matt Johnson.
Top scorers for Rockets were Louis Sayers 21, Ryan Lohfink 19 and Kenny Saunders, Jason Sayers and Adam Thoseby all on 15.
Leicester Warriors 67 v Reading Rockets 64
With Leicester holding onto 4th place in the league despite 3 recent losses, Rockets knew this would be a tough assignment. Rockets travelled with 3 key players carrying niggling injuries and hoping the ever improving teenager Adam Thoseby would arrive in the Midlands in time for the tip after his morning exams in North London.
Rockets captain Ryan Lohfink started where he finished last week, hitting a long three from the top of the key to complement Robbie Parker's three some 30 seconds before as Rockets shot into an 8 – 0 lead. When Lohfink and Louis Sayers took the offensive boards to score and 18 year old Adam Thoseby hit his first jump shot of the afternoon, Rockets maintained their 8 point advantage. Despite a Jason Sayers rejection, Warriors went on an 11 points to 1 run and had a 17 – 15 advantage as the quarter ended.
Some indifferent passing saw Warriors open up a 10 point advantage midway through the 2nd period before Lohfink with a steal and 2 points, a Kenny Saunders block and a pair of wide three pointers from Thoseby saw Rockets draw level at 31 points each, the second from a super pass from Fenny Falmagne as he drove to the ring and threw it wide to Thoseby. Rockets had upped the tempo and were playing better defence. They finished with a 14 – 5 run to take a one point lead into the changing room.
Falmagne opened Rockets' scoring in the third period with a finger roll moments before Parker finished a Rockets' fast break. Jason Sayers scored inside but both Lohfink and Parker were called for their third personal fouls in this bruising encounter. Warriors scored from the resulting free throws levelling on 38 points but 6 quick points from Saunders and Parker's second three of the game saw an 8 point advantage at the start of the fourth quarter.
Thoseby and Saunders were quickly called for their fourth personal fouls disturbing the court balance for Rockets as Warriors went on a 17 points to 4 run and took a 5 point lead at 61 – 56. A crucial block followed by a steal and two points by Saunders saw Rockets fight for a win. However with Rockets in team foul trouble and having a tough unsportsmanlike foul called on Jon May, Rockets were 4 down with 41 seconds left. Fenny hit a two and then one from the line to take Rockets to 1 point adrift with 11.2 seconds remaining. Rockets fouled and Warriors missed the two free throws but took the offensive boards and possession away from Rockets. Warriors hit the next two free throws and a last gasp 3 point effort by Rockets to take the game to overtime failed so Rockets were tantalisingly close but suffered a three point defeat by 64 points to 67.
Top scorers for Rockets: Ryan Lohfink and Adam Thoseby 12 points each, Fenny Falmagne and Kenny Saunders 10 points each.
Reading Rockets 91 Coventry Crusaders 81
In a fast tempo competitive game, played with a very good temperament, Rockets came from behind to secure a deserved victory where an 18 year old and a 17 year old were most prominent and highlighted the success of Rockets' youth development and Academy programme.
Adam Thoseby who'd top scored the night before at Leicester with 12 points had an
exceptional game again, hitting 25 personal points with 3 assists and 2 rebounds.
The England Under 18 guard converted 10 of 13 field goals including 3 from 3 from
3-
Nonetheless this was a good team performance where Coach Punosevac was able to rest the experienced players suffering with niggling injuries, much to the delight of Rockets' busiest person before tip – Rockets' physio Jess Pascall. One such player, Robbie Parker, started the game and made a major contribution in the opening quarter hitting 7 personal points whilst Kenny Saunders was blocking shots at one end and slam dunking at the other. Coventry finished the quarter well including a buzzer beating two to take a 24 – 23 lead into the second period.
A super spin move by Saunders followed by a brilliant steal and coast to coast two by Jon May gave Rockets a narrow lead. Thoseby and Louis Sayers finished crisp Rockets' moves with superb three pointers as Rockets led 41 – 39 at the interval.
Coventry drew level early in the third period but then Thoseby imposed himself with a scintillating 10 minutes including a fake and off the glass two, 100% from the free throw line and a pair of wide threes, giving him 12 personal points as Rockets turned up the heat and won the quarter with a telling 27 points to 15 – much of the time with just the junior and Academy players on court together.
With Rockets having a 68 -
Top scorers for Rockets: Adam Thoseby 25, Kenny Saunders 21 and Louis Sayers 17.
Leopards 76 (22,42,55)
Sheffield Arrows 70 (15,30,48)
They made hard work of it, but Leopards picked up their fourth Division One victory of the campaign with a hard fought win against Sheffield, on Sunday.
In front of a big crowd at Brentwood, Leopards only trailed for 34 seconds but it took until the final two minutes for them to wrap up the victory.
Carl Latham-
Leopards’ illness and injury problems continued, with coach Jon Burnell too unwell to attend the game and Ronnie Baker still not well enough to play in the game. Baker stepped up to coach the Big Cats in Burnell’s absence, and he was assisted by forward Sam Richardson who looks to be out of action for several weeks with a badly broken thumb.
Lukas Volskis started in Baker’s place having re-
Osemwegie Eboigbe opened the scoring for Arrows, but Leopards’ reply was swift as
Greenan, Latham-
Arrows’ game-
Both sides struggled at the foul line in the early minutes of the second period, Arrows’ Andrew Purnell scoring the only charity shot as both sides went to the stripe four times.
A Jonny Wright trey gave Leopards a ten-
Sebastian Chitagu opened the second half scoring for Sheffield as he moved towards
his game-
Greenan five points in that tear as Leopards moved into a 19 point lead to force
an Arrows time-
Sheffield coach Pete Kelly’s words obviously worked as Arrows answered with 11 straight
points – including five from Chitagu, and although Latham-
That lead shrunk to two points as Chitagu opened the scoring followed by a Chris
Mason and-
Leopards looked to have weathered the storm thanks to baskets by Latham-
Latham-
Volskis hit a jump-
Chitagu halved the lead, but four straight points from De Ferrari followed by a Latham-
Leopards: C Latham-
Trailblazers Triumph over lowly Tees Valley
Derby Trailblazers 105 (31, 47, 71)
Tees Valley Mohawks 41 (03, 16, 32)
Derby Trailblazers showed no mercy whatsoever against a vastly under strength Tees Valley side who are rooted firmly to the foot of the EBL division one table.
Coach Paul Douglas was without three injured starters and is still awaiting clearance to add two Americans to his squad, but the Trailblazers were not in the mood for accepting excuses. They pummelled their opponents as they raced towards their biggest ever league one victory.
With the game still scoreless after one and a half minutes, the visitors called an early time out and Derby used it to introduce Joel Madourie in place of Sam O’Shea, who had missed his first two attempts on basket.
Madourie’s impact was immediate. The 6’3” forward got Derby underway as he converted
an offensive rebound from a missed shot by Simon Spencer. Lee McLaughlin then gave
the Mohawks their only lead of the night at 2-
Madourie played a big part in that run, adding another 10 points to his personal
tally, including a pair of sensational slam dunks. Martyn Gayle also came off the
bench to add a pair of three-
After ten minutes, the Trailblazers were 31-
James Burton was the first to do so, and team-
The Trailblazers raced out of the blocks with a 10-
Gayle and Madourie continued to dominate on offence, but it was Stedroy Baker who really shone as he ran the point as well as stepping up his own offensive contribution. The veteran point guard dished off 13 assists and scored 13 points in just under thirty minutes of court time.
Madourie added another sensational slam early in the fourth and Gayle added another trio of strikes from downtown. Simon Allaway also added a pair of three pointers as the Trailblazers finished with six players in double figures.
Coach Clarence Wiggins was delighted with the performance of his side:
“I’m always pleased to win, but to win by that many points is pretty special. Our guys got after people defensively pretty well and we made it very difficult for them to score. The first quarter was impressive, but you know what? I actually think we were better against Leeds.
“As for the second quarter, that wasn’t good enough for us. We spoke about it at half time and we rectified the situation, particularly in the fourth quarter in which I thought we were outstanding.
“It was really good that we were able to rest some of our own guys who’ve been carrying injuries. Jamie [Maudsley] said to me ‘Look, these guys don’t need to play any minutes tonight,’ so we were able to give a lot more minutes to some of the guys who don’t get to play that much.
“I thought Stedroy was magnificent. He got the ball to a lot of people in positions
where they could score and he probably should have had even more assists because
a number of people missed some easy lay-
“I was also impressive with our shooters. Simon [Allaway] had a pretty good night and Martyn [Gayle] was outstanding. It’s good to see them making those sort of shots because we’re going to need them to do that more and more later in the season if we’re to achieve our objectives and win something this year,” he said.
Derby: Gayle 22, Madourie 21, Allaway 13, Baker 13, O’Shea 11, Spencer 10, Attewell 7, McGaffin 6, Shaw 2, Bowen 0.
Mohawks: Thompson 13, Burton 5, Butler 5, Colmer 4, McQueen 4, Moore 4, McLaughlin 3, Wright 2, Unjum 1.
Depleted Leopards found Division One leaders Manchester Magic too strong on Saturday
as they failed to build on a strong second period and eventually went down 92-
The Big Cats travelled to the north west without Carl Latham-
Four of those players are regular starters, leaving only Leigh Greenan of the Leopards’
regular starting line-
The 43-
New signing Laurent Irish led the Big Cats scoring with 19 points as he played all 40 minutes, with Greenan adding 18 points and ten rebounds, and Francesco Rinaldi finished with 14 points despite struggling with foul trouble.
The teams were tied at nine at the midway stage of the first period, but a strong
finish to the quarter saw Magic lead 27-
The second period proved to be Leopards’ best of the game, and Rinaldi scored the
first four points of the quarter before Irish – who played despite food poisoning
– completed a 6-
Greenan and Irish continued to torment the hosts, and they scored five and four points
respectively in a 9-
Irish missed a chance to put Leopards back into the lead, and Fesbender made him
pay at the other end, and with Watts also scoring it was Magic who went into the
locker room 40-
Rinaldi and Irish scored the first baskets of the second half to put Leopards within
a point, and although Gill replied with a jump shot, Wright hit his second hoop of
the game to cut the deficit to 42-
That was as good as it got for the visitors though as their lack of numbers and the fact they’d played the night before saw them tire, and Magic went on to complete a comfortable victory.
Big Third Quarter leads Magic past Leopards
Manchester Magic 92 -
The Leopards came into the game missing four players due to injuries and suspensions
and their lack of depth was exposed by the Magic reserves as they scored 41 of the
team’s 52 second half points. The Magic were led by their centre David Watts who
had a great all-
After a quick start the Magic held a 27-
The Leopards trimmed the Magic lead to just a point when forward Laurent
Irish dribbled the ball the length of the floor before laying it in. Irish finished
the game with 19 points and 7 rebounds in 40 minutes of action. A midrange jumper
from Gill restored the host’s 3-
That was as close as the Leopards would get as the Magic used a 13-
The Magic bench simply overpowered their opponents with Avona, Houghton
and up and coming forwards Nathan Schall and James Hagen all scoring at least eight
points in the game. The Magic finished the third quarter with a steal and pull-
The Leopards shooting slump continued into the final period as they missed 15 of
their 19 attempts from the field and failed to get to the free throw line, but they
can take several positive points from their first half performance when they managed
to keep up with the league leaders despite missing several key players. The Magic
went on a 10-
Top Scorers
Manchester Magic -
London
Leopards -