London Capitals 97 (25, 47, 76)
Essex & Herts Leopards 89 (24, 46, 67)

Scoop Wicker’s 29 points were not enough to prevent Leopards slipping to defeat in their second EBL Trophy game of the season.

In a poorly refereed game against a physical side, the Big Cats were left fuming after being on the receiving end of three intentional fouls, including a near assault on Roger Lloyd in the third period, and the subsequent altercation could have seen several players from each side ejected. The home side were led by former Milton Keynes Lions point-guard Santa Ataha who finished with 34 points, as the Leopards guards struggled to overcome a physical full-court press.

The Big Cats started well, with seven points from Wicker and two baskets from Mark Quashie helping them open an 11-8 lead. With Barry Gooch replacing Brian Moore, and taking over as point-guard, the home side scored 12 unanswered points, before five points from Hayden Herrin and a trey from Gooch helped the Big Cats reduce the arrears to 22-21. Lloyd restored the visitors’ lead following a Gooch assist, before former Brighton Bear Sammy Salter drained a three to send his side into the break with a one point lead.

The second period saw the lead repeatedly change as Leopards’ scoring was shared between their starting five and Lloyd, while Ataha continued to dominate for the hosts as he took his personal tally to 16 and helped his side retain their single point lead at half-time, going into the locker room with a 47-46 lead. Back-to-back threes from Herrin and Gooch saw Leopards take a 52-51 lead two minutes into the second half, but a series of poor calls saw coach Jon Burnell pick up a technical foul as a 16-4 run saw Capitals open up a 14 point with three minutes remaining in the third period.

The intentional foul on Lloyd finally saw the game swing back in Leopards’ favour, with the veteran forward forced to leave the action, and Herrin sunk the resulting free-throws, as the Big Cats went into the final break trailing 67-76.

Danny Scott opened the fourth quarter scoring, and with seven Wicker points and a dunk from Lloyd, Burnell’s team narrowed the gap to 80-83 by the midway point in the period. An “and-one” from Quashie saw the gap cut to two, but a pair of missed free-throws from Scott and four straight points from Ataha helped the hosts’ stretch the lead to nine with 70 seconds left, leaving the Leopards will no way back as they suffered their first loss of the season.

Leopards: S Wicker (29), H Herrin (22), M Quashie (11), D Scott (8), R Lloyd (8), B Gooch (5), B Moore (4)

U18s & U16s
Leopards U16 boys lost their first game of the season to Taunton Tigers 63-76, at Wodson Park on Saturday afternoon. The U18s were also beaten by just 9 points by Hackney, who are a division above them, in the National Cup.