Dave Ryan reports…
After back-to-back league defeats, Levett Essex Leopards will look to get their league season back on track when they travel to old rivals Reading Rockets, on Sunday.
The Rockets are the only club to have played the Big Cats in all 13 of their Division One seasons with many close games, including two four-point wins for Steve Ogunjimi’s side last season.
After going out of the National Cup in the quarter-finals and failing to progress past the Trophy group stage, Rockets have reeled off nine straight wins to move up to third place with a 10-3 record.
The first of those victories came at the Brentwood Centre where a dominant fourth period against a short-handed Leopards team who were also without coach Steve Ogunjimi saw them win 90-73.
With only four of Leopards’ remaining 12 games at home and sitting in tenth spot with a 5-9 record, the Big Cats badly need to start picking up some victories if they are going to qualify for the end-of-the-season play-offs, while the log-jam at the bottom half of the table means that they could also be sucked into a relegation battle.
Leopards’ hopes of a second BBL Trophy giant-killing were ended by an impressive Plymouth Raiders side at a packed Brentwood Centre on Sunday as the West Country side recorded a 93-64 victory.
The loss of Mike Martin with an Achilles injury in the second quarter proved crucial as the Big Cats had matched the visitors until that point but the home side still put on a decent display, with AJ Roberts leading the way for them.
The American guard had a couple of huge dunks as he won the game MVP trophy presented by Brentwood Leisure Trust CEO Roger Davinson, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Jamie Hayes opened the scoring with a lay-up off Roberts’ assist and treys for Darrell Bethune and Roberts saw the hosts lead 10-6 after four minutes.
That proved to be as good as it got for the hosts despite Bethune putting them 15-14 ahead with three minutes on the clock, and it took a Martin basket to cut the deficit to 20-19 at the first break.
Roberts kept his side in touch with a tip-in early in the second period and Hayes tied the score at 24 as he converted a triple but the visitors answered with a 12-0 run as Leopards were held scoreless for more than six minutes.
Bethune broke the run from downtown and Hayes hit a jump shot to cut the deficit to 39-29 at half-time.
With Martin out of action the second half proved to be a long one for the home side as Peter Hooley took control of the game, hitting three triples in a 17-4 to open the third period, effectively killing off the game, and despite treys from Bethune and Hayes the visitors had the game effectively sewn up at 77-50 going into the final break.
Hooley hit his eighth trey of the game to open the fourth period but coach Ogunjimi was able to give some valuable court time to youngster Dom Scott-Robinson and Shaq Lewis while Justin Hitchman hit four points as he continued his comeback from injury.
Bethune finished with 14 points and five boards, with Hayes adding 12 points and nine rebounds. Hooley had a season-high 33 points for Raiders.
The previous day saw a disappointing 63-53 loss at Loughborough Riders. With the Big Cats again short-handed, captain Martin and Tosin Oyelese both missing, it was another poor result for the Essex side.
Roberts led the way again with a massive 18 point, 15 rebound double-double, adding five rebounds, but Dougie Bennett – captaining the side for the first time – was the only other visiting player in double figures with 11 points and three assists.
A painful start to the game saw only Bethune score a field goal as the Big Cats trailed 15-4 going into the final minute of the opening period before Hayes and Bennett hit free-throws to cut the deficit to 15-7 at the first break.
Bennett converted from downtown to open what proved to be a good second period for the Big Cats, and a 10-3 run launched by Hitchman saw them tie the score at 22 midway through the quarter.
Bennett gave the Big Cats their first lead of the game with a pair of free-throws but the offensive woes returned as Riders closed out the half on a 5-0 run to lead 27-24 at half-time.
Roberts opened the third period scoring for Leopards but they trailed by at least four points throughout the stanza and despite the American converting a lay-up, the visitors trailed 45-34 at the final break.
The home side extended that lead to 17 after four fourth period minutes but the visitors showed they wouldn’t go down quietly as Roberts and Bethune chipped away at the deficit.
Roberts made it a ten point game heading into the final two minutes but an offence that lasted 35 seconds and saw three shots didn’t produce any points, and Riders closed out the win.
