VCars.co.uk Basketball League Div. 1-4 Round-up: 2/3 March

In an extremely busy weekend in EBL Div 1 it was again the Reading Rockets who stole the show, although, not exactly as they would’ve planned.

In Saturday’s play the Rockets were handed their first defeat of the season by 3rd place Team Northumbria in a 63-78 loss. However, on Sunday, Luke Nelson showed up, as he has done all season dropping 23 points in the dominant win over the Bristol Academy Flyers 86-64. The Rockets now need just one more win to ensure that they will finish ahead of nearest rivals Leeds Carnegie in top spot in Division 1.

Moving on to Coach Newby’s Carnegie, it was a mixed weekend for them also as they were heartbreakingly defeated by a point at home to the Tees Valley Mohawks 79-80 with Jorge Ebanks remaining consistent with 25 points. The next day however Mike Shaft welcomed the fans back to Leeds Met University to watch Rob Marsden add 19 points, to go along with his 20 on Saturday, as Carnegie defeated the Leicester Warriors 76-72 to maintain their 2nd place position.

Elsewhere, play-off contenders Hemel Storm let a 26 point lead slip to the Essex Leopards as they were defeated in overtime 83-89, with 2 huge 26pt, 17reb double-double from Tom Adorian not enough for the Storm. Play-off chasers Worthing Thunder and Westminster Warriors both had profitable weekends as Worthing gained two big victories over the Medway Park Crusaders and the Hemel Storm with Hank Rivers going off for 41 points on Sunday.

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This week’s feature game in Division 2 saw 1st play 2nd as leaders Newham (NASSA) Neptunes, coached by Sam Stiller, face the Loughborough Student Riders, coached by Team GB Captain Drew Sullivan.

In the end it was Karolis Stepanavicius who stole the show with 34 points in a 71-77 win for the Neptunes to leave them sitting atop the Division 2 table with two games in hand over their nearest rivals. The Riders, however, wouldn’t let it lie and went out to London United – Harefield Academy on Sunday and brought home a 79-90 victory to remain in 2nd place, one win behind the leaders.

3rd place Eastside Eagles ensured they remained one win ahead of the Manchester Magic with a 61-73 victory over the Birmingham Mets on Saturday while the Magic lost away to the Killimarsh Derbyshire Arrows 88-69 with Rob Valentine scoring 41 points in the win. However, on the back of Ussy Baba’s 20 points on Sunday the Magic took home a vital 62-71 win over London Westside to maintain a one win advantage over 5th place Glamorgan Gladiators who, led by 30 points from Matthew Gwynne, couldn’t get the victory over the PAWS London Capitals losing 78-85. It is interesting to note that without the Capitals early season points deduction, they would be sitting comfortably tied in top spot of the division at this stage. 4 games left to play in EBL Division 2 and at the moment it’s simply a case of ‘will they or wont they’ for the Newham (NASSA) Neptunes.

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In a packed weekend in the EBL Division 3 Northern Conference, National Shield Champions the Huddersfield Heat held off a 2nd quarter charge from Leeds Carnegie II to win 98-81 with Div 3 MVP candidate Mark Rangeley scoring 25 points in the game that saw the Heat secure the Division 3 North Championship with three games left to play.

Heat Player-Coach Eduardo Perez had this to say about the win: “Our journey continues – a fantastic achievement to win the double this season with a special group. Now to learn from our experiences and our mistakes as we prepare for the playoffs for our final challenge this season.”

The game of the week however, was down at the Nottingham Wildcats Arena as it went to overtime between the Nottingham Hoods and the Rossendale Raptors. 36 points from Lucasz Sizcek wasn’t enough as Steven Gayle scored 25 for Rossendale to give them the 80-83 win to maintain 2nd place in the conference. Sizcek was up to his old tricks again the next day scoring 32 as the Hoods brought home a 72-75 win from the Middlesbrough Lions.

Elsewhere, in the Southern Conference there was a huge upset as title contenders Canary Wharf London Lituanica could be out of the title race going into the final game of the season as they were defeated at home 88-89 by Worcester Wolves II, who now occupy 2nd spot in the conference overtaking Lituanica.

Things are pretty much wrapped up in the South and I can’t see anybody getting into the play-offs apart from the top four teams unless something serious goes wrong.

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EBL Division 4 North leaders Tees Valley Mohawks II kept up their lead at the top of the conference with a 66-70 victory over the Bradford Dragons II with 3 games remaining while their nearest challengers the Stockport Spartans went down 77-106 to the Newcastle Under Lyme College Knights with young Seb Brunsden scoring 35 points in the win to take them into 4th spot.

Further down the country the Northants Thunder are now officially the EBL Divison 4 Midlands Conference Champions as they sit 12-0 on top of the table after a 79-51 victory over the Leicester Warriors II. They have been outstanding this season and have proved that they are much too good for EBL Div 4 and will do well in promotion.

Moving down further to the South West Conference and it was time to crown another Champion as the Bracknell Cobras grabbed 2 wins against Team Gloster 70-94 and the Bristol Storm 88-65 with Tayo Odulaja standing out with 29 points on Saturday and 22 on Sunday. The Cobras now have an unbeaten 15-0 record with 3 games remaining and along with Northants Thunder are the only two teams in England yet to lose a game this season in league play.

Finally in the South East Conference the Barking Abbey Leopards are all but mathematically Champions after a 55-62 win over the Croydon Cougars. The Leopards now sit atop the table with two games to play with 2 more wins than 2nd place UEL NASSA who defeated the Hertfordshire Warriors 94-83 to remain in the running with an extra game more to play.