THREE GAMES TO DECIDE THEIR DESTINY?

This coming Sunday will see Game 1 of what promises to be one if the greatest 3-game series in regular BBL season EVER, EVER, EVER!

READ THE MIKE SHAFT PREVIEW HERE

SEE THE EAGLES/TIGERS RUN-IN HERE

EAGLES NOW SIX POINTS AHEAD

The race for the Championship and the play-off positions is becoming more and more exciting as the end of the season beckons and important victories for the Sheffield Sharks, Marshall MK Lions and Newcastle Eagles meant that they kept up their respective pushes for those postseason places. READ FRIDAY'S REPORT HERE

TOP TWO WIN, & BIG NIGHT FOR HEAT & WOLVES

SEE THE EAGLES,TIGERS 2008-09 RUN IN HERE

Marshall MK Lions 78 (18,37,62) (Youngblood 20, Brown 17, Williams 15)
Newcastle Eagles 91 (21,46,72) (Moore 23, Smith 18, Toney 15)

Newcastle Eagles remain top of the BBL after another valuable road win. This time it was a 78-91 victory at Marshall MK Lions.

Eagles ended the third quarter on a 5-2 run to lead 62- 72 heading into the final ten minutes and were never tested after that with Fab Flournoy and Charles Smith scoring three-pointers to keep Lions at bay.

Cheshire Jets 76
Everton Tigers 80

Everton Tigers needed four late points from Olu Babalola to keep the pressure on Newcastle Eagles at the top of the BBL after a 76-80 win at BiG Storage Cheshire Jets.

Tigers had dominated for the majority of the match but fell behind 74-73 with 90 seconds remaining following an Alton Virgil basket. Great Britain point guard Richard Midgley put Everton back on top with a three before Phil Perre levelled the scores from the line at 76-76.

It was left to Babalola to score a tip in with 14 seconds on the clock, and then he iced the game from the line after Virgil had missed two free throws, with 8.5 seconds left, which would have tied the match.

Scottish Rocks 91
Worcester Wolves 98

Worcester Wolves kept themselves in the play-off picture with a 91-98 road win at the Scottish Rocks.

Rob Yanders tried to drive the Rocks offence in the fourth quarter but could only get his team within three at 75-78 with five minutes left after trailing by as many as 13 in the third quarter. From then on Wolves took command to pull away to 81-92 on five Anthony Paez free throws.

Guildford Heat 99 (32,55,80) (Sandell/McKnight 19, Metcalfe 16, Howell 15)
PAWS London Capital 73 (15,31,49) (Knight 25, Mills/Popoola 16, Gariba 12)

Guildford Heat made it two wins in two nights from their home-and-home weekend against BBL bottom placed club PAWS London Capital.

After winning at the Academy on Saturday evening 67- 98 the Heat led by as many as 42 in the fourth quarter on Sunday before settling for a 99-73 after London showed their spirit by ending the match on a 20-8 run.

TOP TWO WIN, BUT BIG NIGHT FOR THE SHARKS

SEE THE EAGLES/TIGERS 2008/09 RUN IN HERE

The Newcastle Eagles maintained their stranglehold at the summit of the BBL Championship table, but victories for the Everton Tigers and Sheffield Sharks also helped their respective play-off aspirations.

The Eagles saw off the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets 87- 73 to maintain their four point lead over Everton at the top of the table. The Eagles stamped their authority on the game from the early exchanges, and a 13-3 burst across the half-time break took the score out to 59-25 at the start of the third period to end the Jets' hopes of an upset in the North-East.

The Tigers remained Newcastle's closest challengers after a hard-fought 109-99 victory over the Marshall MK Lions at the Greenbank Academy. After trailing 46-48 at the half, the Tigers broke the game open with runs of 12-4 at the start of the third period, and a further 16-8 tear to close out the third quarter to lead 79-66 going into the final stanza.

Despite a valiant effort from the Lions, the Tigers held on and secured the victory after a 10-3 burst towards the end of the game took the score out to 104-90 and ended the Lions valiant resilience.

Sheffield maintained their play-off aspirations thanks to a comfortable 82-63 victory over high-flying Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders. After a 23-9 opening quarter, the Riders got themselves back into the game and trailed by just four points midway through the final period at 59-55. The home side broke the game open with a 12-1 burst to close out the game at 82-63 and end the Riders hopes of a complete comeback.

FULL REPORT ON
SHARKS v RIDERS + LEEDS v STOCKPORT

WHO IS GOING TO WIN THE BBL LEAGUE CROWN?

TOP TWO INVOLVED IN MONUMENTAL STRUGGLE

Well two of the 4 BBL Trophies for the season have now been determined and the Everton Tigers and the Newcastle Eagles have one a piece.

The next trophy to be decided upon will be the big one, the BBL League and what a situation we have in that one.

The Eagles are at the top of the League with a record of 19 and 4, while the Tigers are 17 and 5, one more in the loss column. The two teams will meet on three more occasions before this is all decided and as I have previously said, the outcome of the League will depend on the results of those three games.

The Eagles have a total of 10 games to go and the Tigers have 11 to play.

This is turning out to be one of the closest ever Leagues to call and I for one will not be attempting to call it. So let’s play the games, find out the results and hand the trophy to the winning team.

All of this and still the Play-Offs and Championship Weekend to come.

Does it get any better than this?

Later

Mike S

SEE THE RUN IN HERE

NEWCASTLE EAGLES WIN 2009 BBL TROPHY

Guildford Heat 71 (21,42,54) (Howell 30, Martin 12, Abu 9)
Newcastle Eagles 83 (17,39,62) (Moore 28, Bridge 17, Jackson 13)

Newcastle Eagles are the 2009 BBL Trophy winners after beating Guildford Heat 83-71 at The Spectrum in Guildford. Trey Moore was named Most Valuable Player after his 28 point effort led the Eagles to their third Trophy triumph.

The Eagles produced a superb 23-12 third quarter to wipe off a three point half time deficit and give themselves enough of a cushion to be able to keep the Heat at bay.

Moore's two free throws just over a minute into the match opened the scoring and a Tap Toney bucket more than 60 seconds later put the Eagles 4-0 up until Keonta Howell, who ended the match as top scorer on 30, put Heat on the board.

Howell's basket started a 12-2 run for Guildford, which saw them hold a six point lead at 12-6. Three times Eagles trimmed the gap back to four with Heat pushing back out to six - the last time being 18- 12.

Five points from Eagles' Darius Defoe were replied to by just a Howell free throw to cut the gap to 19-17 before an EJ Harrison layup made it 21-17 at the end of the first quarter. Heat were hampered throughout the opening quarter with a facial injury to EJ Harrison, which saw the guard miss four minutes of action.

Moore began the second period the way he began the first with two free throws as the Eagles worked hard to keep within one shot. A Moore basket midway through the quarter made it 29-27 but it was the catalyst for an 8-3 Heat burst, capped off by a Howell three to take them out to 37-30.

Eagles gradually whittled away at the seven point gap and reduced it to just two again courtesy of a 7-2 run with three points from Reggie Jackson and two apiece from captain Andrew Bridge (17 points, eight boards) and Moore.

Heat talisman Michael Martin (12 points, 10 boards) rounded off the first half scoring with a free throw following a Charles Smith foul to make it 42- 39.

The match turned early in the third quarter. After Martin had put Heat 44-39 up Eagles' Toney and Bridge combined for an 8-0 run to give their team a 47-44 lead. Martin then picked up his fourth foul with 7.52 left and by the time he returned with 2.52 on the clock the game had a different look.

A Howell two had trimmed the margin back to one, but it only sparked a 12-1 burst by Newcastle to put them well in control at 59-47. Moore hit six in the run and was supported by four from Defoe and two from Jackson.

Heat, through Kabir Abu, battled back with a 7-3 close to the quarter as they trailed 62-54 heading into the final stanza.

Jackson quickly gave the Eagles a double-digit lead again with the first four points of the fourth quarter. However, it sparked a good response from Heat as an 8-0 run, including threes from Daniel Sandell and Howell brought it back to 66-62.

The teams swapped baskets to 70-66 before Eagles gradually began to close the match out. A three point play by Bridge made it 73-66 and from there Trey Moore took over with eight free throws to prevent Guildford from getting any closer than six points on two occasions.

Jackson iced the win with a layup inside the final ten seconds to end with 13 points and seven assists.

TIGERS ARE BEATEN BY LEICESTER RIDERS

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 77 (18,38,63) (James 19, Williams 17, Windless 12)
Everton Tigers 74 (19,38,49) (Bailey 22, Smith/Gross 14)

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders joined the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders in third position in the BBL Championship table thanks to a hard-fought 77-74 victory over second-placed Everton Tigers at the John Sanford Centre on Saturday evening.

In a close first period it was the Tigers who struck the first blow with a 9-0 burst to take the score out to 16- 19 towards the end of the first quarter. The Tigers continued to stamp their authority on the game with a 7-0 tear at the start of the second period to take the score out to 18-26.

The Riders slowly began to claw their way back into the game and an 8-0 run of their own gave them a slender one-point advantage at 29-28. The sides continued to trade baskets throughout the remainder of the period and could not be separated going into the locker rooms tied at 38-38 at the half. In the second half it was the Riders who broke the game open with a 15-3 tear from midway through the period through until the end of the third quarter taking the score out to 63-49 going into the final stanza.

In the final stanza Leicester opened by scoring the first five points of the game to stretch their lead to 68-49 with 8:30 remaining in the game. A Josh Gross three-pointer instigated a 19-2 tear, including thirteen points from Andre Smith, bought the Tigers back into the game at 74-71 with less than two minutes remaining. Three more points from Olu Babalola got the Tigers even closer at 75-74 with 45 seconds remaining, but debutant Dwayne James held his nerve from the foul-line with 2.5 seconds left to give the Riders the all-important victory.

James led the scoring for the home side with 19 points but it was Marcus Bailey who led all scorers in the game with 22 points for the Tigers.

TIGERS BEAT RAIDERS TO CLOSE TO WITHIN 4

BBL Championship
Everton Tigers 92 (17,41,65) (Smith 29, Gross 22, Babalola 13)
Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 71 (15,34,53) (Noel/Robinson 15, Lasker 13)

Everton Tigers closed the gap at the top of the BBL Championship table to just four points behind the Newcastle Eagles thanks to a comfortable 92-73 victory over the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders at the Greenbank Academy on Friday evening.

The Tigers started the stronger and exploded out of the blocks with a 13-2 burst to open the game, but it was the Raiders who finished the period stronger with an 11-2 burst of their own to trail by just two points at 17-15 at the end of the opening ten minutes of play.

In the second quarter, the Raiders enjoyed a 9-0 burst to take the lead for the first time in the game at 22-24. Both teams traded baskets and the Raiders remained in front at 30-32. The Tigers broke the game open thanks to ten points from Josh Gross in an 11-2 tear to close out the half with the home side leading 41-34 going into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half the Tigers continued to show their dominance and extended their lead to sixteen points at 61-45 off the back of a 12-3 tear midway through the third period. The home side enjoyed their biggest lead of the game towards the end of the final stanza at 90-66 off the back of an 8-2 tear and the Tigers held on for the comfortable victory.

Andre Smith led all scorers in the game with an impressive 29 points plus 14 rebounds for the home side. He went 10 for 16 from the field and 8 for 8 from the freethrow line. A combination of James Noel and Gerald Robinson led the scoring for the Raiders with 15 points a- piece.

BBL Championship
Marshall MK Lions 104 (29,52,68) (Williams 21, Obazuaye 16, Youngblood 15)
Scottish Rocks 91 (20,41,66) (Yanders 22, Murray 19, Davis/Lewis-Parry 16)

Marshall MK Lions leapfrogged over the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets into seventh position in the BBL Championship table thanks to a 104-91 victory over the Scottish Rocks at the Bletchley Leisure Centre on Friday night.

The Lions started the stronger and enjoyed a 9-2 start to the game. The Rocks began to get into their stride as both teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half as the home side went into the locker rooms leading by eleven points at 52-41 at the half.

In the second half the Rocks opened with an 8-0 burst at the start of the third period to trim the deficit to three points at 52-49. The Rocks continued to show resilience at both ends of the floor and a 15-6 tear for the visitors, including eight points from Chi Lewis-Parry, tied the game up at 66-66 with less than a minute remaining in the period.

A Tom Eddie basket with thirteen seconds remaining for the Lions gave the home side a slender two-point advantage at 68-66 going into the final stanza. In the final period a Rob Youngblood three-pointer instigated a 17-6 tear for the Lions to take the score out to 85-72 midway through the final quarter. The Rocks tried valiantly to get themselves back into the game, but the Lions were able to secure the victory from the foul-line. Yorrick Williams led the scoring for the home side with 21 points personal, while Rob Yanders led the scoring for the Rocks with a game-high 22 points.

BT PARALYMPIC WORLD CUP SQUADS ANNOUNCED

Four of the top five teams in the world will contest the men’s wheelchair basketball event at the 2009 BT Paralympic World Cup, with Paralympic champions Australia and bronze medallists Great Britain today confirmed for the competition.

SEE THE FULL STORY HERE

E J HARRISON IS "A BORN LEADER" - PAUL JAMES

Having won the Most Valuable Player award in last season's BBL Trophy final, Guildford Heat point guard EJ Harrison is looking forward to facing Newcastle Eagles again in this Sunday's final.

Heat went down 98-80 at Newcastle last week, but Harrison missed the game due to injury, and he's prepared to face the Eagles again this week: "I thought we'd play better in the second half, but they were really good. We had Keonta [Howell] playing the point, which isn't his natural position, and we had only seven fit players.

"Fab [Flournoy] coached them really well, and they were very disciplined. Come the 15th it'll be a different game, I like playing against Newcastle, I know Trey [Moore] a bit and I like his game. They are a little deeper than us, but you can only play five at a time. I'm really looking forward to it."

Harrison scooped the MVP award in last season's final between the Heat and the Newcastle Eagles after scoring 25 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as the Eagles were defeated 86-79 in a game they had led by 12 at half-time. 32-year-old Harrison remembers the final fondly: "It was a highlight, but I was more happy that we won it for the club. After everything that had happened with Brian [Dux] getting hurt, it was great to bring some silverware to the Heat."

The Western Connecticut University player didn't rejoin the Heat until mid-November, but coach Paul James is delighted that he is back with the Guildford club: "Having EJ back turned our whole season around. We were winning one, losing one, but once he'd settled in we won 13 out 15 games in all competitions, and a lot of that is down to him. It's all about trust, and the other players trust him. He gets in the right position at the right time, he knows when to run and when to slow the game down, he's a born leader."

EVERTON TIGERS WIN AGAIN TO KEEP UP PRESSURE

Everton Tigers maintained their pursuit of league leaders Newcastle Eagles with a 73-85 road win at Scottish Rocks.

Andre Smith was once again at his best as he poured in a game high 31 points from 12 of 17 shooting and also pulled down six boards. He was part of decisive runs with team-mates Marcus Bailey and Olu Babalola, which put Tigers in command.

After Bailey had given Tigers a 17 point lead at 35-52 the Rocks spent the rest of the third quarter gradually closing the gap. Will Johnson's six points and a Marc Pratt three did most damage as the home side moved to 48-55.

Tigers regrouped behind Smith and Babalola to keep a double-digit lead at 56-66 with ten minutes remaining. A 5-0 run by Rocks brought Sterling Davis's team back to 61-66 but it was a close as they'd get as Smith and Babalola combined for a 9-0 burst to put Tigers 14 in front (61-75) with 4.10 left in the match.

Worcester Wolves secured a vital 90-83 home win against play-off rivals Marshall MK Lions on Sunday afternoon thanks to an excellent all-round team display.

Skouson Harker's team had six players in double figures with Justin Brown and Vidmantis Uzkuraitis leading the way with 17 apiece to pace a balanced Worcester offence.

Wolves took control with a 19-4 start to the fourth quarter with threes from Vidmantis Uzkuraitis and Douglas Tshomba to lead by 12 (78-66). The closest Lions could get from there was 80-74 and 87-81 but free throws from Brown, Tshomba and Harry Disy sealed the win for Worcester.

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders completed a remarkable comeback to end BiG Storage Cheshire Jets unbeaten 2009 with a 73-80 overtime win at a sold-out Northgate Arena.

Tony Windless led all-scorers with 23 for Riders and it was his long range three with 2.1 seconds left that forced an extra period and kept his side in the hunt for a home first round play-off match.

There had been nothing to separate the teams earlier in the game as the first half ended 30-30 after Jets led 20-16 at the end of the opening quarter.

Heading into the final stanza Jets had a 51-43 lead and they still held an eight point lead (65-57) with 45 seconds remaining after a James Hamilton three before Riders' dramatic fight back with a three and two free throws from Windless and a three LaTaryl Williams.

NEWCASTLE EAGLES GO SIX POINTS CLEAR

Leicester Riders 59 (18,33,50) (Boyd 17, Swanson 16, Williams 14)
Newcastle Eagles 70 (16,35,52) (Moore 23, Jackson 13, Toney 11)

Newcastle Eagles extended their lead at the top of the BBL Championship with a hard fought 59-70 win at Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.

Trey Moore once again demonstrated that he is one of the 'clutch' players in the league as he scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter as the Eagles managed to pull away from the Riders.

Riders began the match well and led 18-16 at the end of the first quarter. Eagles had the better of the second quarter though as a 10-0 run sent the sides in at half time with the visitors leading 33-35.

Newcastle maintained their advantage in the third period to take a 50-52 lead into the final stanza.A 7-0 run to the start of the fourth quarter, with two by Moore, a three from Andrew Bridge and a two from Tap Toney, gave Eagles a nine point cushion.

Riders kept in touch at 54-59, 57-63 and 59-65 but couldn't get closer as five free throws in the last minute meant that Newcastle sealed it.

PAWS London Capital 54 (15,22,35) (Knight 12, Popoola 11, Cadogan 10)
BiG Storage Cheshire Jets 110 (31,52,80) (Hamilton 22, Virgil 15, Perre 15)

PAWS London Capital's miserable weekend continued on Saturday with a 54-110 home defeat against a rampant BiG Storage Cheshire Jets.

The injury hit Londoners followed up Friday night's 66 point losing margin against Everton Tigers with a 56 point one against a Jets team that has followed up an excellent February by winning their first match in March to move into seventh place in the BBL.

Playing without Ibrahim Gariba and Andrew Sturgeons due to injury Capital struggled throughout. Jets began the match well and let by 16 (15-31) at the end of the first quarter.

Jets put the result beyond doubt in the second quarter as they restricted London to just seven points and led 22-52 at half time. They pushed this out to 35-80 after three quarters and poured in another 30 points during the final stanza.

Despite the difficult weekend, Capital coach Milek Jivens said his team was battered but unbowed. "We're more physically tired after the back- to-back matches, but that is the nature of this league.

"Without Ibrahim and Andrew we were very short of size inside. Injuries have made it tough for us but it will make us better prepared for next season now we know the task ahead of us."

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 91 (21,41,64) (Gall 21, Lasker 16, Noel 14)
Guildford Heat 76 (20,27,48) (Howell 20, Martin 17, Sandell 13)

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders secured a vital 91-76 home win over Guildford Heat to keep control of fourth spot in the BBL.

The victory keeps them in pole-position for home court in the first round of the play-offs and gives Heat more defeats than their hosts. Allister Gall's game high total of 21 were all made from beyond the arc as Raiders won for the second consecutive Saturday.

The first quarter was a tight affair with the lead switching back and forth. James Noel led the Raiders offence with 10 points as his side took a one-point lead (21-20) into the second period on the back of an Allister Gall three.

A 4-0 start to the second quarter gave Plymouth their biggest lead of the night at 25-20. And after Keonta Howell had reduced the gap to three Raiders reeled off a 16-5 run to take the first half 41-27.

Raiders were quick to build on their healthy lead with a 12-7 start to the third quarter. Heat responded though with Michael Martin scoring six points in a 12-3 burst to trim the gap to 56-46.

Two threes by Gall and a two by Andrew Lasker were responded by with just a bucket by Martin as Raiders headed into the final stanza 64-48 on top.

Gall connected twice from long range to start the fourth quarter as Raiders lead peaked at 20 (71-51). The closest Heat could get was 14 (84-70) late in the match.

TOP TWO WIN AGAIN - SHARKS STILL KICKING

The Newcastle Eagles consolidated their position at the top of the BBL Championship with a comprehensive 98-64 defeat of the Worthing Thunder. It was their sixth consecutive win in all competitions.

All 12 of Newcastle's roster got on the scoresheet, with Charles Smith's 19 points setting the pace; Andrew Bridge and Tafari Toney scored 14 each. For the Thunder, Janis Ivanovskis scored 19 points and had 13 rebounds.

The Eagles opened up a slight edge from the early stages, as the teams were separated in a competitive first quarter only when Newcastle scored five straight points to lead 18-10. However, a strong 13-4 finish to the second stanza saw them flirting with a twenty-point lead at 53-34 by the halfway point.

The Eagles compounded Worthing's misery in the third period as they restricted their visitors to just six points, while scoring 26 of their own. The lead was stretched to 79-40 as Charles Smith scored the last eight points of the quarter.

Newcastle showed their depth late in the game as everyone scored, with young guard Sam Attah coming from the bench to score 7 points. The Thunder outscored the hosts in the last period, but they were already condemned to their tenth defeat in the last eleven games.

The Everton Tigers got back to winning ways and moved back up into second place in the BBL Championship table after routing the PAWS London Capital by 126-60 on Merseyside. The winning margin is the fifth largest in the history of the BBL Championship.

British guard James Jones scored a career high 31, including an awesome nine three-pointers. Marcus Knight stood out for the Capital with 26 points.

The Tigers looked as though they had put three straight defeats behind them as soon as they stepped on the court. They raced into a 14-2 lead as Chuck Evans hit two early three-pointers; that was soon followed by Josh Gross scoring 8 points in a 14-2 run, making the score 28-6. There was more to come as James Jones scored a trio of three-pointers in an 11- 0 run across the final 1:26 of the first quarter - the Tigers led 39-8.

That momentum was carried over into the second stanza as the Tigers started with a 12-4 burst and Jones hit two further three-pointers for a massive 51- 12 lead. There was another 8-0 run for the Tigers midway through the quarter, before Jones and Adam Nowell connected on further triples and the Tigers went into the break 69-23 in front.

The Tigers broke through the century mark in the third quarter as, amazingly, Jones added three more three- pointers. Just two minutes in, the lead reached 50 points at 77-27, although a brief highlight for the Capital followed as they hit the next ten points, including three-pointers from Darren Mills and Lekan Popoola and the sixth point of the quarter for young forward Xavier Lutaaya. However, order was restored as Jones and Evans connected from long-range, before the Tigers scored 7 straight points to lead 92- 41.

Andre Smith and Olu Babalola made early three- pointers in the fourth quarter before a massive 18-0 surge, which included a further 8 points for Babalola, a London native, saw the lead peak at 124-53. The Capital relied on Marcus Knight in the fourth as he scored 12 points and was the only player to score until Popoola added a free-throw with 8 seconds left, and they finished with a 7-2 run.

The Sheffield Sharks moved to the verge of the BBL Championship playoffs as they overcame the Scottish Rocks by 79-70. The win saw them record back-to-back victories for the first time since January and maintain their good home record against the Rocks: they have not lost at home in the league to the Glasgow club in over three years.

For the Rocks, meanwhile, it was their sixth consecutive loss on trips south of the border, stretching back to the end of November.

James Whyte made 4/4 three-pointers to lead the Sharks with 15 points, while Chris Sanders scored 14 and Matt Gorman added 12. Former Shark Rob Yanders led all scorers with 22 points in vain for the Rocks.

The teams traded baskets early on before a 10-0 burst from the visiting Rocks gave them a 10-19 lead. Whyte led the recovery as he netted his third three- pointer of the quarter in a 5-0 finish that drew them close at 15-19 by the end of the first quarter.

The Sharks took the lead for good in the second stanza. After drawing level at 21, they pushed the lead out to 28-23 on a Gorman basket in what became a 13-4 start to the quarter. That run extended all the way to a commanding 42-29 advantage.

The Rocks came back in the third period as a 10-3 push made the score 51-46, although the Sharks managed to keep them at arm's length thereafter. From 61-50 the Rocks scored five points, but that run was promptly halted by Perry Lawson's three-pointer and the Sharks took a 64-55 lead into the fourth.

Atiba Lyons opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, before the Rocks managed to make it a one- possession game late on at 70-67. However, Sherman Rivers and Marshall Brown scored back-to- back baskets before Brown and Lyons saw the game out from the free-throw line.

HEAT DEMOLISH TIGERS AND SEND THEM TO AND 4

The title contending Everton Tigers have lost three games in a row, in all competitions, for the first time this season as they went down 74-90 at home to the Guildford Heat.

For the Heat, the victory snapped a run of back-to-back defeats that had marred a previous run in which they had won 13 out of 15 games stretching back to the start of December.

The Tigers never recovered from a first quarter in which they scored only seven points and trailed 7-25. The highlight for the Heat was back-to-back three-pointers from Dan Sandell and Keonta Howell to cap a 10-0 burst.

The closest that Everton got was at 57-65 in the third quarter after Andre Smith hit nine consecutive points in a 12-0 run. But Dean Williams made a three-pointer on the buzzer to restore order for the Heat, who were not threatened late on.

 

 

 

 

The Scottish Rocks maintained the pressure on the top of the table as they beat the PAWS London Capital by 84-68 for their third win in their last four home games.

Scotland's international captain, Gareth Murray, led the scoring with 19 points. And it was his trio of three-pointers in the space of two and a half third quarter minutes that effectively won the game for the Rocks.

That contributed to a 13-5 burst that made the score 49-36, and back-to-back baskets from Londoner Chi Lewis-Parry gave the hosts enough of a cushion to weather a late storm from the Capital.

Meanwhile, the race to secure the final three playoff spots is heating up as the teams in seventh and eighth also won today, adding to the sixth-placed Heat's victory.

The Marshall MK Lions were resounding in their 84-100 defeat of the Worthing Thunder, as Tommy Eddie made seven three-pointers on his way to 32 points.

The American forward led an amazing third quarter, in which he scored 17 points courtesy of five three-pointers, as the Lions took a 57-72 lead. That peaked at 25 points in the fourth as the Lions eased to their second victory over the Thunder in 2009 and took the season series between the teams.

Elsewhere, the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets made it six wins in a row as they beat fellow playoff contenders the Worcester Wolves by 108-95.

It was the third game in a row in which the Jets had scored over 100 points, and their scoring was led by Shawn Myers's 21. However, leading scorer Chez Marks had to leave the game in the first half with a suspected dislocated shoulder.

The Jets had established a twenty point lead in the first half, but stuttered after the loss of Marks and the Wolves narrowed the deficit to 90-85 in the fourth quarter. However, Myers and Phil Perre saw the game out for the Jets with ten and eight points respectively in the latter stages of the game.

RAIDERS DEFEAT RIDERS TO MOVE INTO TOP 4

Airwaves Plymouth Raiders put behind them Friday night's home defeat against Sheffield Sharks to move back into fourth position in the BBL with a 75-82 road win at Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.

It was a welcome win for Raiders but the match was marred by a serious injury to Riders Bradd Wierzbicki midway through the third quarter. Losing Wierzbicki was a further blow to Leicester who had Phil Missere out with a knee injury and Tommy Swanson battling foul trouble all night.

For Raiders who had Gaylon Moore missing as well as long term absentee DeAntoine Beasley it was a case of concentrating on getting the victory.

A tight first quarter was notable for a 10-0 Riders run which put them 17-12 in front before Raiders scored the final point of the stanza.

Leicester pushed their lead out to 26-20 before Raiders hit back with a 12-6 burst to move ahead 30- 31. By half time the sides couldn't be separated though with the score at 39-39.

Wierzbicki's injury occurred with 5.01 left in the third and his team leading 49-45. It seemed to affect the Riders as Plymouth ended the quarter on a 10-4 run to hold a 53-55 advantage heading into the final ten minutes.

Riders trailed by just one (56-57) before Raiders rattled off an 18-2 burst, including seven from Andrew Lasker and six from Allister Gall, to take control at 58- 75.

From there the closest Leicester could get was 72-80 with just seconds remaining. Lasker's 28 points led all scorers with Tony Windless on 23 at Riders' team high.

EAGLES TRAIN CONTINUES TO ROLL NOW 16 & 4

In a thrilling night of British Basketball League action, three of the four games on the night were won by the visiting teams as the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets, Worthing Thunder and Sheffield Sharks all secured important victories in the race for the final play-off positions.

The Jets needed overtime to overcome the Marshall MK Lions 97-101. Having trailed for much of the game, the Jets came back in the closing stages and a three-pointer from Chez Marks sent the game into an extra period. In overtime, the teams were tied at 95-95 before the Jets broke out to a three-point lead at 95-98. The Lions responded through Yorrick Williams to get back to within one at 97-98, but it was left to Chez Marks again to secure the victory for the Jets with another three-pointer.

Worthing Thunder did their play-off aspirations no harm with a slightly more comfortable 71-81 victory over the Worcester Wolves. Ryan Patton was the star man for the visitors with an impressive 29-point haul for the visitors as bursts of 8-2 and 7-0 in the closing stages of the game saw Worthing secure the all- important victory.

Sheffield enjoyed even more comfort in their victory as they defeated the Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 64-95. A 10-3 start to the third period and then a further 14-0 burst in the final stanza aided the Sharks in their eventual success at the Plymouth Pavilions.

The defeat for the Raiders meant that Newcastle's 98- 80 victory over the Guildford Heat in the dress rehearsal for the BBL Trophy Final in two weeks at the Spectrum allowed the Eagles to extend their advantage at the summit of the BBL Championship table to four points.

EAGLES DEFEAT SHARKS IN ANOTHER CRACKER

Newcastle Eagles moved two points clear at the top of the BBL Championship table thanks to a 85-87 victory over the Sheffield Sharks at the EIS, Sheffield on Sunday afternoon.

The visitors lead 78-87 going into the closing stages of the game but Chris Sanders bagged two free- throws followed by a three-pointer from the next possession for the Sharks to close the gap to four points at 83-87 with less than one minute remaining.

Sherman Rivers then secured a two-pointer for the home side to make it 85-87 going into the final 30 seconds of the game.

The Sharks had a chance to win the game with eight seconds remaining but Rivers' shot was blocked by the Eagles and the visitors held on for the all- important victory.

Earlier in the game, the Eagles started the game the stronger with a 6-2 run to take it out to 11-22, but a 9-4 response from the Sharks got them back to within six points at 20-26 heading into the closing stages of the opening period.

In the second quarter the Sharks enjoyed more of the game and a run of 8-0 midway through the period and a 7-0 burst to close out the half saw the home side trailing by a single point at 41-42 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half the Eagles began to restamp their authority on the game and an 8-2 tear midway through the third quarter saw the visitors take the score out to 54-62. The Eagles maintained their advantage throughout the remainder of the period and lead 61- 72 heading into the final stanza.

In the final stanza a 6-0 Eagles burst gave them their biggest lead of the game at 65-79, but the Sharks were not going to give up easily, and a 9-2 run of their own trimmed the deficit back to 74-81 before the fireworks of the closing stages occurred.

Sanders led the scoring for the Sharks with 19 points, while Trey Moore was the Eagles' leading points scorer with 19 points personal as well.

EAGLES DEFEAT TIGERS TO GO TO TROPHY FINAL

Newcastle Eagles will meet Guildford Heat in the final of the BBL Trophy after the north east club held off Everton Tigers 88-77 to complete a 176-159 aggregate victory.

The Eagles trailed only briefly during the match and never by more than four points as they defended their six point first leg advantage with relative ease. Trey Moore led all scorers with 26 points for Newcastle.

Tigers enjoyed their best spell during the third quarter when they took a four point lead at 58-62. Trey Moore kept the score close though as the teams entered the final stanza with Everton leading 66-67.

Eagles stepped up their defence in the fourth quarter as Tigers looked to make a run. A 9-0 run put Newcastle 84-75 in front late in the period to seal the win and a trip to the Guildford Spectrum next month.

The defeat of the Tigers means that there will be no clean sweep of BBL Trophies this season.

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