U18s

Ipswich Tomcats 68 (17, 40, 57)
Leopards 77 (23, 35, 53)

Leopards: Nathan Wilson 34, Mike Jarvis 17, Ryan Westley 10, Ben Warden 9, Adam Edwards 5, Charlie Graves 2, Russell Stonehouse, Stephen Edwards.

U16s

Leopards 50 (12,24,33)
Reading Rockets 47 (16,30,38)

U14s

Leopards 69 (17, 29, 51)
Brentwood Fire 67 (14, 31, 47)

Two quality teams, two unbeaten records – something had to give! Intriguing ingredients for a top of the table league clash with Leopards travelling to the home of Brentwood Fire.

The hosts started briskly and with the Leopards sluggish, Fire opened up an 11 – 4 lead with some good team play. Gradually the Big Cats got into their stride as their team defence tightened up and they were more composed on offence.

The second quarter saw some Leopards players rested due to foul trouble but the strength in depth was again in clear evidence as the hosts struggled to get on top. Once more Leopards showed their resilience as and Fire worked hard to break down the defence. Good, fast inter-passing was turning the Leopards offence into a threat once more.

The third period was again crucial as the Leopards made scoring difficult for the hosts and began putting away their chances at the other end. At last the Leopards were able to get into a scoring rhythm and ended the quarter ahead for the first time.

Five points up and ten minutes to decide who would go 4 – 0 for the season. Leopards started the better with superb team defence and this stopped the Fire from scoring as a deserved thirteen point gap was opened up.

To their immense credit Fire responded superbly and managed to wrestle the match back to lead by one point with one minute to go. Equally impressive was how the Leopards then responded to this reversal – the ‘bench’ lifted them and they refused to fold. They increased their efforts on defence beyond exhaustion and turned the ball over to tie the game from the line (67 – 67). This team do not give up. Then with great defence once more they denied the Fire and turned the ball over once more and scored from the fast break to lead 69 – 67 with three seconds on the clock. A Leopards time-out organised the last three seconds of possession to seal the victory on the buzzer. A fantastic result for the Leopards, bitter disappointment for Brentwood Fire and a wonderful advert for the game at this level.

Both clubs can be deservedly proud of these players. The return match will be eagerly awaited.

Leopards: Roman Lososovskij 23, Lawrence Levy 18, Jake Lloyd 9, George Crosby 5, Neil Addison 5, Tom Bostock 2 , Liam Reynolds 2, Joe Graves, Tom Bryan, Nathan Crossman (Capt.), Michael Darlow.

Coaches: Steve Darlow and Terry Graves

‘Champagne Moment’: Jake Lloyd taking his first charge at a crucial time

Game Stats