Dave Ryan reports…
Thomas Baker was a happy man after his Levett Essex Leopards team picked up their first win of the season as a dominant performance saw them win 87-58 at Ipswich on Saturday.
“It was a much improved performance from the guys on Saturday against a very different looking Ipswich team” he said. “I am pleased the players handled what could have been a tricky away fixture in such a professional manner.
“For the most part we played exactly the way we needed to and we got the rewards for it, finding our shots and attacking the basket at will as well as having some impressive defensive play phases also.”
With his side due to host Anglia Ruskin University at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday afternoon, Baker is still looking improvements: “We have identified areas where we still need to improve, however I was pleased with the reaction from the players after last week’s result against Nottingham.
“One more cup fixture against Anglia Ruskin next weekend and then we are into the league with the game against Westminster. We will continue to improve throughout the season but Saturday’s result showed that we are starting to come together nicely.”
With American guard AJ Roberts still waiting for clearance, Dougie Bennett captained the Big Cats at Ipswich, and he opened the scoring with a triple in what proved to be a tight first quarter.
The Big Cats opened a 10-4 lead early in the game, but the Suffolk side fought back to lead 19-16 at the first break.
Bennett, who led all scorers with 24 points, hit back-to-back three pointers to open the second period and Leopards started the quarter with a 12-1 run, and they never looked back.
The visitors led 38-26 at half-time, but their hopes were hit two minutes into the second  half when point guard Kevin Moyo – who had picked up a first half unsportsmanlike foul while being screened by Ipswich’s centre –  was ejected after he was given a technical foul for flopping.
While Leopards initially struggled following Moyo’s ejection, they closed out the quarter with a 19-10 run to lead 60-39 going into the final break.
The Big Cats never looked in danger in the fourth quarter, and youngster Jordan George went on a scoring spree with three straight treys to wrap things up.
Leopards are now hoping that Ipswich pull off an upset win at Nottingham on Saturday, which would send them through to the Patrons Cup semi-finals, but now turn their attention to the National Cup and the visit of Anglia which tips off at 4pm.
The student side lost their opening game 83-61 against Essex Blades on Saturday, being outscored 21-6 in the final period, but with home draws all the way through to the quarter-finals, the Big Cats won’t be taking it easy against the Division Four team.
Pre-game coaching is again available for young fans, with details on www.leopardsbasketball.co.uk.
