Dave Ryan reports…
Levett Essex Leopards have their play-off destiny in their hands after completing a pair of nine point wins against London Greenhouse Pioneers over the weekend.
The Big Cats will face Westminster Warriors in the quarter-finals after Easter, and a victory against Derbyshire Arrows on Saturday will ensure that the game is played at the Brentwood Centre.
Thomas Baker’s side went into the double header against Pioneers needing Westminster to lose one of their three remaining games, and after Middlesex Lithuanians on Saturday they lost against the same opposition the following day.
Warriors face a Nottingham Hoods side who are already confirmed as Division Two champions on Saturday, and Leopards need to get the same result as Westminster to wrap up fourth spot.
Arrows were due to play at Brentwood in early March but declined to travel due to the snow, and the game will now be played at Oaklands Academy in St Albans with a 1.30pm tip-off.
The Arrows are one of Leopards’ oldest rivals having knocked them out of the play-offs in both of their first two seasons in the NBL.
They will arrive at Oaklands already assured of sixth place and a trip to Liverpool with a 9-12 record. One of those 12 league defeats for Pete Kelly’s side came when Leopards visited Killarmarsh Leisure Centre in January 27 – points from Captain Dougie Bennett and a strong third period paving the way for an 81-69 Leopards’ victory.
A heavy loss at Team Birmingham Elite in their opening game ended any chance in the Patrons Cup, although they did beat Liverpool comfortably in their other group game, while in the National Cup they defeated Team Derby in overtime before going down 96-66 at perennial champions Manchester Magic.
The Big Cats led for the vast majority of both their wins against Pioneers, but were unable to pull away and wrap the victories up until the final minute.
Friday’s 75-66 win in the capital saw Shaq Lewis lead a balanced scoring effort with 11 points, with Jamie Rodwell adding ten points before limping out of the action with an ankle injury that looks set to keep him out of Saturday’s game against Arrows. Korrey Callum finished with nine points to complete the top three scorers.
The hosts shaded the first period 13-12 but were outscored 26-18 in the second quarter and 24-15 in the third to give the Big Cats a 62-46 lead at the final break, and they never looked back.
Lewis again top scored in Sunday’s 87-78 win at the Brentwood Centre, finishing with 23 points despite sitting out the final minutes.
Youngsters Wes Moore and Jordan George stepped up down the stretch and finished with 13 and 12 points respectively.
Leopards led 20-16 at the first break and pulled away to lead 42-32 going into the locker room.
But the visitors fought their way back into the game in the third period, outscoring the Big Cats 30-21 to cut the lead to 64-63 at the final break.
But Moore and George, together with fellow youngsters Jose Morails and Caleb Tabernar pushed the lead back into double figures and comfortably completed Leopards’ 13th league win of the campaign.
Former Leopard Tom Martin led Greenhouse in both games with 23 points on Friday and 30 on Sunday.
