Dave Ryan reports…
Levett Essex Leopards will look to round off their home campaign with a win when they host Leicester Warriors at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday, tip-off 4pm.
The Big Cats are desperately in need of a win after another disappointing weekend and with four games remaining know that a victory is crucial if they are to avoid relegation for the first time in their history.
They are now second-from-bottom in Division One and one win behind fellow strugglers Worthing Thunder and Lancashire Spinners, both of whom they travel to in their final two games of the season.
Leicester will arrive at Brentwood on the back of a 90-87 victory against high-flying Solent Kestrels which secured them a place in Division One next season and are tenth in the table with an 8-14 record. Among those eight wins was an 85-71 victory against the Big Cats in November in a game that saw point guard Perry Lawson ejected.
Warriors’ National Cup hopes were ended at the last 16 stage by eventual winners Team Northumbria while in the National Trophy a win against Loughborough wasn’t enough as they were eliminated at the group stage by old rivals Derby Trailblazers.
Leopards’ relegation worried intensified over the weekend as they went down 85-78 at Bradford Dragons on Saturday before the following afternoon saw a humiliating 89-63 home loss against Hemel Storm at a packed Brentwood Centre.
A strong second half at Bradford wasn’t enough for a Leopards’ side who trailed 49-34 at half-time. A basket from Dougie Bennett capped an 8-0 run from the visitors and made it a three point game with 22 seconds remaining, but the home side wrapped up the win from the foul line.
Bennett led the way for the Big Cats with three three-pointers in his 19 points, while AJ Roberts added 18 points. Jamie Hayes finished with 14 points and six rebounds, with Justin Hitchman adding 12 points and eight boards.
After than encouraging second half performance and with captain Mike Martin returning from injury, the large crowd at Brentwood could have expected a strong performance against Storm, but a terrible second period saw Leopards crash to a tenth straight league loss.
They matched the visitors in the opening period, trailing only 20-18 at the first break but the offence completely dried up in the second quarter as they were outscored 24-6 to effectively end the game as a contest.
Martin marked his return with a game-high 20 points and three rebounds while Bennett completed a good personal weekend with 14 points, but the Big Cats converting just five of their 26 three-points proved to be their Achilles heel.
