Rocks complete weekend, beat Heat 82-76
Surrey Heat 76 – Glasgow Rocks 82
BBL Championship
Sunday 18th November
Starting five:
Heat: C.Holmes, F.Holmes, Cricelli, Joseph, Margai
Rocks: Davis, Harrison, Murray, Achara, Robinson
The Glasgow Rocks made it two wins out of two on their monstrous road trip this weekend, finishing off in Surrey by beating the Heat at the Surrey Sports Park, 82-76.
Sundays win over the Heat followed much the same formula for the Rocks as their win the previous day over the Plymouth Raiders: Lead early in the game, hold off a late surge by their opponents and finish the game with a W.
Balanced offense by the Glasgow Rocks in the first quarter had them ahead by seven at 21-14 as the sides entered the second quarter and some strong bench play by the Rocks to start the second helped the Rocks hold onto their lead until the starters returned. Late scores by EJ Harrison and MVP of the weekend for the Rocks, Kieron Achara, increased the lead to nine at the half at 43-34.
The third quarter saw both teams cancel each other out until the final period, when a double dose of Holmes brothers early on cut the visitors lead down to 63-62 Rocks, with just over 6:00 minutes to go in the game.
The final minutes of the contest saw the two sides wrestling for control of the game and it was only when EJ Harrison nailed four clutch free throws that the result was confirmed with the visiting Glasgow Rocks winning 82-76.
The loss was only the Surrey Heat’s second league defeat of the season and comes after impressive wins over both the UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders and Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.
The Rocks stay in sixth, despite the victory, and will be looking to build on this win with a consistent run of form as they go forward into December.
The Rocks’ had strong performances from Kieron Achara and EJ Harrison who led their team with 24 points and 22 points respectively.
The Heat’s Chavis Holmes top scored for the home side with 20 points. The returning Samuel Cricelli had 10 points, six rebounds while Travis Holmes, recorded six points and four assists on his debut.
Game MVP:
EJ Harrison
Next up:
Surrey Heat at Mersey Tigers, BBL Championship, Friday 23rd November, Knowlsey Leisure and Culture Park, 7:30pm
Glasgow Rocks at Manchester Giants, BBL Championship, Friday 30th November, Wright Robinson College, 7:30pm