WEDNESDAY 26 MARCH 2008
BBL Championship
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 82 (23,42,55,68) (Hampton
25, Joseph 15, Wohlers 15)
Marshall MK Lions 85 (15,33,61,68) (Williams
24, Brown 16, Windless 13)
In the crucial battle for fourth place in the BBL Championship
table, and homecourt advantage in the BBL Championship Playoffs,
the Marshall MK Lions scored a decisive victory over the SAMG
Verve Scottish Rocks, and took the head-to-head series between
the teams in the meantime.
Yorick Williams was the MVP with 24 points, whilst Terell
Brown had 16 and Tony Windless 13. Maurice Hampton led all
scorers with 25 in vain for the Rocks.
Live on Setanta Sports 1 and in front of 2,417 fans at the
Braehad Arena, the game started tightly until Sterling Davis
made an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Rocks 11-6
up, before Dru Spinks hit a rare three-pointer to keep the
teams close. The Rocks established a strong lead in the closing
stages of the opening stanza as Maurice Hampton hit 5 points
in a 10-3 finish that saw them 23-15 to the good.
The Lions hit the first two baskets of the second, including
a Kevin Griffin triple, before the hosts broke the game open.
Julius Joseph hit the next 6 points, including a stunning
highlight for the cameras with an 'and 1' play on a baseline
jump shot. Soon afterwards the Rocks hit another 8 straight
points, including further three-pointers from Hampton and
Joseph, to give the Glaswegians a 37-24 lead. The Lions kept
the game alive as Yorick Williams hit a three-pointer and
Mike New scored a tough shot on the half-time buzzer.
The game changed immediately after the break as the Lions
posted a 10-3 burst to get back to within two at 45-43, before
equalising at 48-48 on a Terrell Brown three. The Lions took
their first lead since the opening play as Mike New made it
50-52 with 4:30 left in the quarter. The Lions then finished
the quarter strongly as Brown and Williams hit three-pointers
in a 7-1 run and the Lions led 55-61 going into the decisive
period.
The pendulum swung once more in the fourth as the Rocks hit
the first 7 points as Hampton gave them the lead back at 62-61.
However, former Rock Tony Windless hit all of the points in
a 7-2 response that put the visitors 64-68 up with 1:20 left.
Scores from Yanders and Wohlers tied the game, before Davis
(Rocks), Brown (Lions), and Yanders (Rocks) all missed three-point
efforts to win the game.
The Lions came out strongly at both ends of the floor in
overtime. Youngblood and Williams blocked two shots each as
the Lions posted 7 straight points to lead 71-77. Wohlers
hit two three-pointers, with Williams and Brown responding
from the free-throw line and it was 77-80 with under a minute
left. The Lions thought that they had seen the game out, but
Joseph hit a triple with 7 seconds left to make it 82-84.
Mike New made 1/2 from the line before Wohlers missed the
buzzer-beating three to the disappointment of the home fans.
BBL CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE
No Team P W L Pts
1 Newcastle Eagles 28 24 4 48
2 Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 28 20 8 40
3 Guildford Heat 26 19 7 38
4 Marshall MK Lions 27 18 9 36
5 SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 28 16 12 32
6 Everton Tigers 26 13 13 26
7 Sheffield Sharks 27 12 15 24
8 Worcester Wolves 27 12 15 24
9 BiG Storage Cheshire Jets 27 9 18 18
10 Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 28 8 20 16
11 PAWS London Capital 28 7 21 14
12 Birmingham Panthers 26 5 21 10
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