HEAT CATCH FIRE, BLOW ROCKS AWAY
Glasgow Rocks missed the chance to go second in the British Basketball League, suffering a third quarter meltdown as Guildford Heat pulled away to a 100-88 win.
The financially-striken Surrey side used a 10-2 run to come from behind to lead 45-44 at half-time.
And the momentum swing proved decisive as a 21-5 burst after the break left the Rocks for dead as the hosts coasted as much as 83-60 clear to secure the perfect start to 2011.
“Our defence was terrible,†Rocks forward Mike Copeland admitted. “We’ve not been able to practice and we were just out of rhythm. We missed a lot of easy shot. It just feels like we have to go back to work now and put things right.
“Before Christmas, we were practicing but not playing games and it’s a totally different thing when you go out there on the court and have to perform. Sterling asked us after the game to be accountable and that’s what I’m trying to do.â€
EJ Harrison scored 22 points for Glasgow with Heat forward Julius Joseph hitting 22 against his former side.
SUNDAY: Mersey extend lead
The Eagles take a share of third spot as they routed Sheffield 112-79. Trey Moore was inspirational as he was a rebound away from a triple-double with 37 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds. Charles Smith scored 26 points, including 7 three-pointers, as the Eagles shot nearly 60% from beyond the arc.
They set the tone from the outset as they raced into a 10-29 lead after seven minutes, following a 16-3 surge that was capped by a three-pointer from former Shark Andrew Bridge, and included 7 points from Smith. From that point the Eagles never looked back, with the lead peaking at 67-106 in the fourth quarter, as they won their fifth straight league game dating back to October.
“I think we have seen the benefit of addressing the little things in games and looking at the detail of what we need to do in order to make sure we get the win,†said Eagles captain Andrew Bridge.
“Personally, I don’t think this is about sending a message to the league. It is simply about us playing well.
“They had some guys who got back late from their Christmas break due to the travel disruption so they didn’t have an ideal preparation but we took advantage by making sure we took care of our business well.â€
Elsewhere, the Mersey Tigers strengthened their position at the top of the BBL championship by beating the Worthing Thunder 84-64 in a game that was marred by the ejection of four players in the fourth quarter.
David Aliu led the scoring with 17 points for the Tigers, supported by 15 from Andrew Thomson and 13 from Tafari Toney, as they won their seventh consecutive game.
After contrasting first and second quarters – the hosts winning the first 25-10 before the Thunder reversed it for a score of 35-33 at the half – the Tigers won the game with a dominant second half. They outscored their visitors by 25-16 in the third to take a double digit lead into the decisive quarter, at 60-49. The Tigers effectively sealed the game with an 8-0 burst to open the fourth quarter, extending the lead to 68-49 and the gap was maintained around the twenty-point mark through to the end.
The game was all-but-over by the time that Adam Williams – a former Tiger – and Drew Sullivan became embroiled in an altercation that saw them both ejected, along with Aliu and Shaun Durant.
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