FRIDAY 29 FEBRUARY 2008
BBL Championship
Everton Tigers 101 (21,45,72) (Midgley 24,
Robertson 21, Davis 18)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 99 (26,37,62)
(Woodyard 23, McKnight 22, White 20)
The Everton Tigers continued their push towards the BBL Championship's
top four as they overcame the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders
by 101-99 on Merseyside.
GB international Richard Midgley led the scoring with 24
points, whilst backcourt partner Tony Robertson added 21.
For the Riders, Terrence Woodyard (23), Chad McKnight (22),
and Carlo White (20) all had big scores.
The visitng Riders had the better of the early exchanges
and led by 21-26 after the first ten minutes of the game.
The Tigers stepped up their defence in the second stanza
and held their visitors to just 11 points, whilst a 10-2 burst
helped them to a 45-37 lead at the end of the half.
The Riders came back into the game after the break as an
8-2 run helped them to narrow the deficit and they were within
striking distance at 72-62 going into the fourth quarter.
The Tigers looked as though they had the game won after they
went on a 12-4 run over the first 5:00 of the final period,
making the score 84-66. However, behind Woodyard and McKnight,
the Riders came surging back with a 24-6 push that made the
score 95-90. The game was concluded with both teams shooting
free-throws; Richard Midgley ensured that the Tigers couldn't
be caught, as Mindaugas Janiska scored 2/2 from the line with
2 seconds remaining to make it 101-99.
Newcastle Eagles 87 (16,45,64) (Stewart
24, Babalola 22, Hyatt 18)
Marshall MK Lions 78 (16,30,53) (Youngblood
17, New 14, Williams 14)
The Newcastle Eagles made it a perfect 7-0 for February,
whilst strengthening their place at the top of the BBL Championship
and avenging January's BBL Cup Final defeat, as they beat
the Marshall MK Lions 87-78 at the MetroRadio Arena.
Lynard Stewart led all scorers with 24 points, whilst Olu
Babalola (22), and Jeremy Hyatt (18), will also take big scores
into Sunday's BBL Trophy Final. Robert Youngblood continued
to show good form as he made 17 points to lead the Lions.
A tight first quarter saw the Eagles edge ahead, before the
Lions scored the last 5 points to tie the score at 16-16 after
the first ten minutes.
The second quarter saw the league-leaders assert their authority
as player/coach Fab Flournoy scored 4 points in a 9-0 tear
that made the score 32-25. The Lions responded with the next
5 points until the Eagles broke the game open towards the
end of the period. They held the Lions scoreless for the last
2:30 as Olu Babalola inspired them at the other end of the
floor; the 6'6" Brit netted 7 points in a row during
what became a 13-0 surge taking them up to the half-time break.
The teams traded baskets early in the third stanza with Mike
New, who first came to the UK with the Eagles some twelve
years ago, single-handedly keeping the Lions in touch as he
made their first 6 points. Despite that, the hosts stretched
the lead to its peak at 64-48 towards the end of the quarter,
before the Lions ensured that they were still in the game
in the decisive quarter as they netted the last 5 points of
the third.
The closest that the visitors came in the final quarter was
77-69 after Fab Flournoy fouled out and Dru Spinks made an
old-fashioned three-point play. Hyatt hit a three and Bridge
added a basket as the Eagles pushed it back out to a double-digit
lead at 82-69, and the Lions couldn't get much closer as they
were condemned to back-to-back BBL Championship defeats for
the first time since October.
Sheffield Sharks 89 (27,50,68) (Graham 23,
Chaney 17, Whyte 16)
BiG Storage Cheshire Jets 81 (23,39,63) (Moore
22, Obazuaye 21, Otten/Hamilton 14)
The Sheffield Sharks have won the season series against the
BiG Storage Cheshire Jets after they beat their playoff rivals
89-81 at the English Institute of Sport.
Justice Graham led the Sharks to their first back-to-back
wins since October as he sank 23 points on the night; Shelby
Chaney added 17 and James Whyte had 16. Trey Moore led the
Jets with 22.
A tight first quarter was shaded by the Sharks, after their
visitors had had much the better of it during the early exchanges.
The Sharks finished with the last 7 points to lead at 27-23
at the end of the opening period.
Anthony Virgil was influential for the Sharks in the second
period as they stretched the lead out to 50-39 by the half,
courtesy of some accurate long-range shooting and three decisive
shots from beyond the arc.
The Jets got themselves back into the game after the break
as an 11-2 burst narrowed the gap to two points at 56-54 3:00
into the third quarter, and it remained close at 68-63 going
into the decisive stanza.
In the fourth, the game was still tight with 5:00 remaining
with the Sharks in front 78-75 after withstanding an 8-0 burst
from the Jets. That run was broken by a Justice Graham triple,
before the Sharks held their nerve from the free-throw line
to close the game out.
BBL CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE
No Team P W L Pts
1 Newcastle Eagles 22 19 3 38
2 Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 24 17 7 34
3 Guildford Heat 21 16 5 32
4 Marshall MK Lions 23 14 9 28
5 SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 23 14 9 28
6 Everton Tigers 22 12 10 24
7 Sheffield Sharks 23 11 12 22
8 Worcester Wolves 24 9 15 18
9 BiG Storage Cheshire Jets 22 7 15 14
10Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 25 7 18 14
11PAWS London Capital 24 6 18 12
12Team Birmingham Panthers 21 5 16 10
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