Around The EBL – Week 16

An action packed weekend in the EBL saw some incredible individual performances up and down the divisions and the results in Division 2 have shaken the title race right back up.

EBL Division 1

The Reading Rockets continued their chase for the Division 1 title with a road win Saturday, facing the Leicester Warriors who were buoyed by the recent addition of former BBL guard Sherrad Prezzie-Blue.

In a sterling defensive effort the Rockets pulled through for a 59-65 win with Gabriel Diaz-Morera leading them to the victory with 22 points.

The games leading scorer however, was Prezzie-Blue who scratched up 24 points in the loss.

Reading now sit in 2^nd place in EBL Division 1 with a 10-2 record.

The league leaders, Hemel Storm faced a tough challenge in the form of playoff team Leeds Carnegie.

The game stayed close for the majority of the game and with three minutes remaining, Carnegie led by two following a Josh McGinn effort from behind the arc. However, it was Hemel’s Bode Adeluola who took over down the stretch, scoring 7 points in the last three minutes to win the game for Hemel.

Adeluola notched up an incredible 36 points in the 64-67 win, to see Hemel retain the top spot with an 11-3 record.

“Bode had a spectacular offensive game” said Hemel Storm Head Coach Steve Darlow.

“This was one of the most satisfying road wins of the season against a very talented opposition and particularly as we were without two of our usual starters – Simon Kearney and Dru Spinks. Once more I must pay tribute to a fantastic team spirit and a determination to get the job done.”

Coming into the weekend, the Bristol Academy Flyers were lingering with the bottom teams in the division and were in desperate need of some wins to create some separation between themselves and the strugglers.

By holding the Essex Leopards to just 37 points in the last 3 quarters, the Flyers picked up a valuable 65-57 win, with Greg Streete contributing a double-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds.

The next day they hosted fellow strugglers, Team Northumbria, and in an incredible shooting performance they went 56% from the floor and converted 9 attempts from behind the arc.

The final score was a dominating 99-57 win for the Flyers to move them 4 wins clear of the bottom team and just one win off the play-off places.

It was not a weekend to remember for Team Northumbria, who lost the previous day in the North East clash against the Tees Valley Mohawks as they went down 96-73, with Division 1 leading scorer Alex Greven scoring 27 points to give the Mohawks their seventh win of the season.

NASSA kept hold of the final play-off spot with a 66-87 win over the Westminster Warriors.

Having lead 50-27 at the halfway stage, NASSA kept their lead until the end to move to 6-6 for the season.

“We didn’t play well at all. I thought their defence really rushed us,” said Westminster Head Coach Dwain Addman.

“We talked about how they try to channel you into rush unconventional shots and we kept falling for it over and over again. We just didn’t execute offensively.

“Right from the beginning we didn’t have any pep to us, we didn’t have any energy. We settled for jump shots and they were going to the basket. Give them credit, they were the aggressive team tonight.”

The Bradford Dragons moved into third place in the division with a tough 83-82 win over the Worthing Thunder.

The Thunder were down 12 going into the final quarter but a later surge saw them have the chance to tie the game in the last second. Rory Spencer missed the crucial free throw for Worthing as time expired, meaning Bradford came away with the one point victory.

Dan Foley led all scorers for Bradford with 24 points.

EBL Division 2

It was a crucial weekend in Division 2, with three games that potentially had a huge effect on the race for the title.

Third place Brixton Topcats had the chance to move joint second on Saturday with a win over the Eastside Eagles, who themselves were looking to make ground on the top teams.

The score sat at 43-21 at half time, a margin that the Eagles would not let slip and the game ended 68-53 giving the Eagles their sixth win and equally giving title chasers Ipswich the chance to push themselves back into contention with a win over the league leaders Derby.

On paper, the Ipswich game was a mouth-watering prospect.  The visitors, Derby Trailblazers, sat atop the Division 2 table, and were a confident, well organised outfit who only recently beat Huddersfield, the 2nd place team in the league at the time, by 30 points.

Ipswich’s home record was impressive though, and in the Patron’s cup clash between the two teams earlier in the season at Copleston, Ipswich gave Derby a physical beating that surely they would want revenge for.

The Ipswich side kept their nerve throughout an onslaught of impressive play from Daniel Watts.

Captain Tom Sadler kept his nerve down the stretch and hit two crucial free throws to put the lead just out of reach and Ipswich picked up the 75-70 win to put them back within touching distance of the top two teams.

A stand out performance from Miguel Molina led 2^nd place Huddersfield to a resounding 91-75 win over Loughborough Student Riders as he scored 26 points, while Orlando Camin also added 22 as the Heat grabbed another win to go 8-1 for the season.

Charles Gamble was impressive in the Mansfield Giants, 62-67 loss to London Westside as he scored 26 points for the home side.

Mansfield desperately need to turn their season around and currently find themselves bottom of EBL Division 2 with a 1-9 record.

The other game in the division saw the Worcester Wolves II defeat London United 99-84 for just their third win of the season.

EBL Division 3

Northern Conference
The league leaders Birmingham Mets picked up another win against the Nottingham Hoods to move to and 11-3 record for the season, while the Northants Thunder also won away at the Sheffield Saints who were without veteran floor general Garnett Gayle.

The Rossendale Raptors had to work hard to beat the Sheffield Sabres as Ash Chandley wasn’t willing to lie down and be beaten easily. He scored 38 points in a heroic performance for the Sabres, although it wasn’t enough to hold off the efforts of Rossendale’s three stars in Steven Gayle, Papis Samb and Josh Houghton.

Combining for 55 points the trio held strong as Rossendale secured the 88-92 victory to go second in the conference.

It was a weekend to remember for the ever improving Sefton Stars as they picked up back to back wins over the Birmingham A’s and Sheffield Sabres with Phil Brandreth scoring 30 points on Sunday against the Sabres.

Sefton now sit in 4^th position in the conference, therefore occupying a play-off spot.

Derby Trailblazers III suffered defeat on Sunday to Leeds Carnegie II, going down 71-86 with Jason Swaine leading all scorers with 24 personal points.

Southern Conference
In the game between Cardiff Met Archers and Oxford Hoops, both teams were looking for a win to move them away from the bottom of the table.

Individual players on both teams took it upon themselves to try to grind out the victory with the Archers’ Dawe scoring 30 points while Smith and Hernandez combined for 55 points for the Oxford side.

The final score ended 98-85 to the Archers which moves them one win above Oxford the bottom of the table.

Elsewhere, Barking Abbey picked up the 89-82 win over the London Phoenicians, while London Greenhouse Pioneers defeated the Hackney White Heat 79-72.

In the Solent Derby it was a hotly contested affair, after the reverse fixture was won on a buzzer beater earlier in the season.

Louie Kirkman dominated the game with 28 points and 22 rebounds for the Solent Kestrels as they defeated Team Solent 70-63 to move up to 4^th in the conference.

Karolis Stepanavicius led London Lituanica to their tenth win of the season as they remain one of the only two unbeaten team in all of the EBL following an outstanding 125-65 win over the Bracknell Cobras.

Stepanavicius scored 34 personal points, as his recent outstanding form continues.

EBL Division 4

Northern Conference
News broke this week on @HoopsfixEBL that the Teeside Lions had withdrawn from EBL competition for the remainder of the season.

“Teesside Lions have announced that after much reflection they will withdraw their first team from the National League. In recent weeks an already young squad has become further depleted and the negatives of continuation outweighed the positives,” Lions Head Coach James Thomson said in a statement to Hoopsfix.

Liverpool continued their unbeaten run and now hold a 10-0 record following Sunday’s 63-79 win over Gateshead, while the Hull Wasps regained ground on the top teams with a win over third place Leeds Tigers.

Second place Kingston Panthers won comfortably at Sefton II, while the Newcastle Eagles II defeated the Leeds Allerton High Carnegie by 81-49.

Midlands Conference
In just two games in the Midland conference, it was the leaders NULC Knights who picked up a win over Leicester Warriors II, while second place Bromsgrove Bears defeated Derby Trailblazers III by a scoreline of 63-83.

South East Conference
BC Medelynas London lost again as they were defeated by the Greenwich Titans 63-71 for their second loss of the season. They still sit top of the conference although the Cambridge Cats win on Saturday moves them to within just one win in second place.

The Brentwood Fire picked up the 78-55 win over London United – Harefield Academy, while the College of West Anglia Fury won away at London Westside II.

The final result in the conference was the Southend Scorpions 69-84 win over the Ware Rebels.

South West Conference
The Milton Keynes Mustangs and Middlesex LTBC both moved into joint first place with wins over the Bristol Academy Flyers II and Hertfordshire Warriors respectively.

The Oaklands Collede picked up their 8^th win of the season with a 66-62 win over the Bristol Storm, while the Reading Rockets II defeated the Swindon Shock 68-78 to move off the bottom of the table.

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