Manchester Magic 79 (17,39,57)
Essex & Herts Leopards 70 (24,43,55)

A fine performance at the Amaechi Centre proved in vain as Magic closed out the game strongly to take the EBL Division One points, on Saturday.

With only seven senior players available, the Big Cats were always going to face a tough test against a Magic side who started the season with six wins from seven games, but the loss of Brian Moore shortly before half-time saw their limited resources stretched further.

Scoop Wicker led the visitors scoring with 24 points, while his fellow American Hayden Herrin chipped in with 21 despite playing with an ankle injury. Both players, however, struggled from outside the three-point arc, each finishing with two-from-nine from three-point land.

The visitors started strongly, as Herrin netted their first five points, and although Magic led 11-8 at the midway point in the period, 12 unanswered points saw Leopards take a 22-11 lead before Manchester coach Jeff Jones called a time-out with 1:32 on the clock. The move worked as Magic hit back, but a pair of Mark Quashie free-throws helped the Big Cats reach the first break with a seven point lead. The second period proved to be tight affair, but although Magic cut the lead to one with 5:22 on the clock, Leopards held the advantage throughout the quarter.

Wicker led the visitors scoring during the second with eight, but the key moment came just 13 seconds before the break when Moore clashed knees with fellow Leopards Roger Lloyd and a Magic player, and was carried off the court to take no further part in the action.

The Big Cats led 43-39 at half-time, but with only Wicker scoring in the first two minutes of the second half, Magic narrows the gap to two points before Leopards’ director of coaching Mark Clark picked up a technical foul for stepping outside his box, and from free-throws and possession, Magic took their first lead since midway through the first period. That contentious decision proved to be crucial as Leopards never led again, but three-from-four foul shooting from Quashie and a single free-throw from Lloyd saw the margin cut to two at the final break.

The final period proved to be equally as tight until Leopards’ limited rotation tired in the final three minutes. Back-to-back scores from Matt Eames kept Leopards in touch, and a trey from Wicker with 4:13 on the clock saw the scores level at 65. Wicker again levelled the scores at 67 before picking up his fourth foul.

As Leopards eventually tired, and foul trouble caught up with them, Clark introduced some of the club’s younger players, with Herrin and Eames fouling, leaving the home team to seal the victory from the foul line.

Leopards: S Wicker 24, H Herrin 21, M Quashie 14, M Eames 8, B Gooch 2, R Lloyd 1, B Moore, A Coates, F Empson, E Pellant, M Whalley.