Worthing Stun Surrey in the Trophy – BBL Round Up, Week 12

There were two big upsets in the opening round of the BBL Trophy, as NBL Division 1 side Worthing Thunder stunned Surrey Scorchers, whilst Manchester Giants took down defending title holders Leicester Riders.

Here’s a round up of all the action:

Friday 21st December

Radisson RED Glasgow Rocks 81-72 Worcester Wolves
BBL Trophy, First Round
Radisson RED Glasgow Rocks became the first team to advance to the Quarter-Finals of the BBL Trophy after seeing off Worcester Wolves, 81-72.

Glasgow led by 12 in the second before the visitors battled back and a deep three from Darell Combs at the buzzer made it a one-point game. The gap remained heading into the fourth where back-to-back triples from Tadas Rinkunas gave Rocks control and they were able to hold on for the win.

Ali Fraser had another big game for the Rocks with a game-high 22 points along with 6 rebounds with three other players in double figures, while Kieron Achara had 9 points, 10 boards and 5 assists.

Deshawn Freeman led Worcester with 15, whilst Miki Servera had 12.

The Rocks will face either Bristol Flyers or Plymouth Raiders in the last eight after coming through the repeat of the 2014 Trophy Final.

Box score.

Saturday 22nd December

Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 129-59 City of Edinburgh Kings
BBL Trophy, First Round
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle progressed to the BBL Trophy quarter-finals after overpowering City of Edinburgh Kings of the Scottish National League 129-59.

In the last ever game at Sport Central the winning margin of 70 points broke two records by a single point: it is their biggest ever home win, and their biggest ever in the Trophy.

Eagles stamped their authority on the game immediately, leading 10-0 after three minutes with Rahmon Fletcher and Victor Moses scoring twice each. They won the first quarter 34-7 as Kai Williams added seven points and Eddie Matthew came from the bench to hit the last five.

Newcastle’s stifling defence proved too much for the Kings as they forced an astonishing 36 turnovers, scoring 53 points from those, with Fab Flournoy and Jamal Williams having five steals each.

On a night when all eleven players got on the scoreboard, Eagles were led by 24 points from Eddie Matthew, shooting 9-11 (81%) from the field and 5-7 (71%) three-pointers, with 19 of his points coming in eight first half minutes as Eagles took the game early on.

Kai Williams added 18, and Victor Moses 17 for Newcastle, who registered 39 assists in the game, whilst Edinburgh were led by 17 from Ryan Armour, 14 from Calum Nicol and 11 from Konrad Kantorski.

Eagles are six times BBL Trophy winners, but not since 2015, and will meet Manchester Giants in the quarter-finals.

Box score.

Worthing Thunder 86-80 Surrey Scorchers
BBL Trophy, First Round
Worthing Thunder produced the upset of the weekend, upsetting Surrey Scorchers 86-80 to advance to the BBL Trophy Quarter Finals.

Surrey Scorchers had the lead heading into half-time, but when the second half commenced Worthing exploded out of the locker room with an incredible 18-0 run in the opening five minutes of play. They held that lead until a trio of Henry Wilkins three-pointers got Surrey back to within four late on, but a pair of Tom Ward free-throws saw it out for the hosts, as they spoiled Ryan Richards’ BBL debut with Surrey.

Brendan Okoronkwo starred for Worthing, finishing with 22 points and 9 rebounds, Zaire Taylor had 16 points and 10 assists, and Jorge Ebanks 14.

Tayo Ogedengbe had 21 to lead Surrey, Henry Wilkins finished with 17 and Richards had 14.

Worthing advance to face London City Royals.

Box score.

Sunday 23rd December

Manchester Giants 101-94 Leicester Riders
BBL Trophy, First Round
Manchester Giants also produced a shocker as they knocked out the three-time defending Trophy champions Leicester Riders, 101-94, to advance to another Quarter-Final.

Danny Byrne’s side also ended the title defence of the BBL Cup holders and set up a last eight showdown with Esh Group Eagles Newcastle.

The Giants were down nine after the opening quarter before putting up 31 points in the second to move ahead. Leicester battled back with a 15-2 run late in the third to keep it close, but fell short in a fourth quarter shootout.

Mike McCall top scored with 20 points amongst a balanced attack for Manchester as all six scorers had at least nine points. James Jones dished out 9 assists with his 15 points, Torry Butler finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Callum Jones had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Wayne Martin led Leicester with 19 points and 12 rebounds, whilst Conner Washington and DeAndre Burnett added 16 each, the former finishing with 7 assists.

Box score.

Cheshire Phoenix 86-75 Team Solent Kestrels
BBL Trophy, First Round
Cheshire Phoenix avoided an upset to advance to the Quarter-Finals as they overcame NBL D1 league leaders Team Solent Kestrels, 86-75.

BBL Trophy@CheshireNix 86 | Team Solent Kestrels 75

Kestrels run Phoenix close in their @BBLofficial Trophy debut.

Read More; https://t.co/y0y4m8RFTA#KestrelsFamily #BBLTrophy pic.twitter.com/v8btx8xkfp

— Team Solent Kestrels (@SolentKestrels) December 24, 2018

Solent took the lead for the first time in the second and held on to lead at the half, but the home side re-gained control in the third and were able to see out the second half to take the victory.

Daniel Norl led the way with 20 points in the win with CJ Gettys posting an all-round effort of 11 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists and Sol Rolls-Tyson having 17 points, as they helped their side through.

Herm Senor II led Solent with 26, Travis Charles had 22, and Jon Averkamp had 7.

Ben Thomas’ side earn a trip to London Lions in the last eight.

Box score.

London Lions 80-74 DBL Sharks Sheffield
BBL Trophy, First Round
London Lions defeated DBL Sharks Sheffield for the second week in a row as they advanced to the BBL Trophy Quarter-Finals with an 80-74 victory.

In a battle of the top two in the BBL Championship, the Lions came out on top once again to continue their strong start in all competitions. The Lions trailed heading into the half-time break, but came out firing in the third with a 22-13 period to take control and they were able to see out the win, despite a late burst from the visitors.

Dirk Williams had a huge 30-point game at the Copper Box last week, but was held to 13 points on 28% shooting this week with the Lions’ defence paving the way for the win.

Brandon Peel led London with 22 points and 14 rebounds, Justin Robinson had 20, and Jordan Spencer 14 with 9 assists.

Chris Alexander had 20 to lead Sheffield, with Leslee Smith adding 14.

Box score.

Basketball Wales 46-118 London City Royals
BBL Trophy, First Round
London City Royals had little trouble advancing into the Quarter-Finals of the BBL Trophy with a 118-46 win away at Basketball Wales.

The Royals opened the game 36-0 in a dominant start and they were able to ease through, bringing up their century with their first score of the fourth.

Ed Lucas led the way with a 30-point haul on 12 of 16 shooting in the win, whilst adding 7 rebounds and 5 assists with plenty of scoring support as five other players hit double figures, including 19 from AJ Roberts and 14 from Sam Toluwase.

Alex Koukouravas led Wales with 10, but it’s the Royals who advance to face Worthing Thunder.

Box score.