3 April 2011
Leopards through to final four
A 77-68 victory against Durham
Wildcats sealed Leopards’ place in the EBL
Division One Final Four, on Sunday afternoon.
In front of a packed house at the
Brentwood Centre, Leopards led from tip-to-buzzer to
chalk up their tenth straight victory.
The Big Cats will play Reading
Rockets in the semi-final at the Amaechi Centre on
Saturday April 2, with the winner facing either
Bristol Academy Flyers in the final the following
day.
A Greenan basket eight seconds
into the game gave Mark Clark’s side a lead they
never lost, but it wasn’t until the final minute
that a stubborn Wildcats side were finally put away.
Foul trouble caused problems for
the Big Cats throughout the game, with Greenan and
Ousman Krubally combining for just 41 minutes as they
led the scoring with 18 points apiece. Krubally added
seven rebounds at each end for another double-double,
with Greenan was one of three players to finish with
nine rebounds.
Josh Johnson finished with 14
points and nine boards, and Josh Sharlow added nine
points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Coach Clark was understandably
delighted after the game: “It is great for
everyone involved to be making the trip to
Manchester.
We again showed what a resilient
group we are. We came out really strong and were the
aggressor early and built the early lead. We always
knew that Durham were going to be tough and they
refused to lie down and when they closed it to a two
point game we were asked serious questions -
especially as Ouse had already fouled out.
“Josh Sharlow again as he
has for the last few weeks showed great leadership
and Leigh Greenan after a difficult last few weeks
with injury played hard in the last five minutes.
On a day when lots of great
Leopards memories were recounted as original Leopards
owners Ed and Annie-T Simons were at the game this
organisation has given itself the chance to create
some of its own memories.
“It is almost surprising
that in a season that has been so competitive that
the top four made to Manchester. It will be a great
weekend with the best four teams looking to win a
championship we will simply get back to work on
Monday and prepare to bring our best performance to
the Amaechi Centre.”
Greenan’s opening score
sparked a strong start to the game as Leopards scored
the first seven points of the game, including a trey
from Keelan Cairns, and they led 14-2 at midway stage
of the first period.
But the visitors showed that they
wouldn’t lie down, and Paul Nelson launched a
6-2 run for the Wildcats, and despite a Sharlow trey,
Durham cut the lead to 21-14 going into the first
break.
Simeon Esprit opened the second
period scoring off a Johnson assist, but there was
little to choose between the teams in the quarter as
they shared 40 points.
The lead grew to ten with a
Johnson trey off Dominic Norton’s assist, and a
single free-throw from Krubally made a 13 point game
going into the final three minutes of the half before
Paul Elderkin’s trey helped the visitors close
out the half of a 10-4 run to make it 41-34 going
into the locker room.
Kevin Bulger made it a five point
game to open the third period, but scores from
Krubally and Greenan kept Leopards in front and
another Cairns trey made it 50-41 with five minutes
gone.
Greenan made it 54-43 with 3:22
on the clock, but Wildcats again closed out the
period strongly on a 7-2 run to cut Leopards’
lead to 56-50 at the final break.
That run was stretched to 11-2 as
Michael Davies and Chris Pearce scored baskets to
make it a two point game.
Krubally picked up his fourth
foul with 7:46 on the clock and left the game two
minutes later on a dubious offensive call with the
Big Cats clinging on to a 60-56 lead.
Greenan made it a five point game
with as many minutes remaining, but with three
minutes remaining it was 63-59 to the Leopards, with
Esprit joining Krubally on the bench after two quick
fouls.
Nelson made it a three point game
from the foul line, but scores from Johnson and
Sharlow – after a Greenan steal – put the
hosts 67-60 up with 80 seconds remaining.
It was Greenan who scored the
killer basket with 47 seconds on the clock to put his
side up by ten and then completed the three point
play, and although Bulger hit a trey, the Big Cats
wrapped up their place in the semi-final from the
foul line.
Nelson led the Wildcats with 17
points, with Paul Elderkin adding 14, Bulger 13 and
Pearce 11, but the hosts’ 49-26 rebounding
advantage proved key.
27 March 2011
Overtime joy for Leopards
Derby Trailblazers 84
(23,44,53,77) Leopards 88 ((19,31,53,77)
LEOPARDS completed their second
big comeback of the weekend as they made in nine wins
on the bounce with another overtime victory against
Derby Trailblazers.
A tired looking Big Cats team
took to the floor at Derby on Sunday lunchtime as
their title hopes looked to be over as they again
trailed by 13 at half-time and were 48-31 down after
two third period minutes. But Simeon Esprit launched
the comeback with a trey, and once again refused to
accept defeat.
Ousman Krubally finished with 23
points and 18 rebounds, with Leigh Greenan adding 16
points, 13 boards and two blocks. Josh Johnson had 18
points and six rebounds while Josh Sharlow finished
with 15 points.
Mark Woodhouse hit five points as
Derby rushed into a 7-0 run in the first three
minutes, but Esprit broke the run and launched a 9-2
that gave his side their first lead of the game.
An 8-2 run from the home side put
Trailblazers back in control, and despite
Sharlow’s two free-throws to close the quarter,
it was Derby who went into the first break with a
23-19 lead.
The second period belonged to
Derby as a pair of Joel Madourie free-throws saw them
take a 31-21 lead with three minutes gone.
Krubally broke the run, but the
hosts steadily increased their lead as a Simon
Spencer shot made it a 17 point game going into the
final two minutes of the half and it took a pair of
Johnson free-throws with 0.7 seconds on the clock to
cut the hosts advantage to 44-31 going into the
locker room.
Woodhouse increased that lead to
15 off a Sam O’Shea assist to open the second
half and there was little sign of the comeback that
followed as Woodhouse again scored to make it a 17
point game with 7:55 on the clock.
It was Greenan who started the
16-3 Leopards run in the final six minutes of the
quarter with a score and then a block.
Only a Gayle trey broke the run,
and a pair of Sharlow free-throws cut the Derby lead
to 53-51 going into the fourth period.
That run was extended to 26-5 as
Leopards started the fourth quarter strongly, and a
Cairns trey gave them a 58-55 lead with 8:53 on the
clock, and that advantage was doubled when Sharlow
drained from downtown.
An O’Shea trey ended the
run, but a Johnson basket put the visitors 66-58 up
with 6:24 on the clock.
However, and attempted block by
Krubally on Madourie was ruled as an intentional
foul, and in the ensuing melee, Johnson was also
called for unsportsmanlike foul and Esprit was
ejected after entering the court from the bench.
Spencer hit of two free-throws,
and Madourie – who was fortunate to escape
punishment – hit one of four, and then Spencer
scored another from the foul line after he was fouled
on the inbound to make it a four point game in the
visitors’ favour.
A Greenan and-one extended that
lead to 69-62 with five minutes of regulation time
left and then hit a long two to make it a nine point
game.
But Madourie cut that lead to
three with as many minutes left, and despite a basket
from Krubally, Martyn Gayle made it a two point game
going into the final 90 seconds.
Krubally doubled that lead, but
it was Derby who scored the final four points of
normal time as O’Shea converted a pair at the
line and Woodhouse scored his final points of the
game as the sides went to overtime for the second
successive week.
Johnson opened the extra period
with a pair of free-throws, before Madourie halved
the lead from the line and the same player put Derby
ahead 82-81 with three minutes remaining.
That was as good as it got from
the home side, with Krubally putting Leopards into
the lead with a pair at the charity stripe before
converting off Sharlow’s assist.
Madourie made it a one point game
with 95 seconds remaining , and Cairns twice missed
shots only for the visitors to grab one of their 21
offensive boards.
O’Shea sent Sharlow to the
foul line with 20 seconds to go, and the American
guard coolly drained both shots to force a timeout
from Derby’s Jamie Maudsley as his side trailed
87-84.
But some good defence from the
visitors saw former Leopard Stedroy Baker called for
a five second inbound violation, and Krubally wrapped
the win up at the foul line.
Madourie finished with a 28
point, 12 rebound double-double for the home side,
with Gayle adding 19, O’Shea 18 and Woodhouse 13
points.
Derby managed to out-shoot the
visitors from both inside and outside the arc, but
were out-rebounded 49-37.
Leopards: O Krubally (23), J
Johnson (18), L Greenan (16), J Sharlow (15), S
Esprit (9), K Cairns (7), D Norton, Z Wells, M Henry,
R Teixeira (DNP)
26 March 2011
Comeback win for Leopards
Leopards 90 (19,37,65)
Manchester Magic 85 (15,50,68)
A 31 point, 22 rebound
double-double from Ousman Krubally helped the Big
Cats record a come-from-behind 90-85 victory against
Magic on Saturday evening.
Keith Page opened the scoring for
the visitors, and with only Cairns troubling the
scorers in opening minutes, the Leopards fell behind
7-2 before Krubally grabbed an offensive board and
scored to double their tally.
Scores from Page and Ryan McAdam
saw Magic lead 14-6 at the five minute mark before
Leopards finally woke up and a Krubally basket
launched a an 11-0 run to close out the period with a
19-15 lead.
Magic scored the first five
points of the second period, and Mark Clark’s
team were outscored 35-19 in the second period capped
by a Page basket to trail 50-37 going into the locker
room.
Johnson opened the second half
scoring with a trey, and they scored the first 11
points of the third period capped by a Krubally dunk
to make it a four point game after three minutes.
Page broke the run with
Magic’s first score of the half, but with Esprit
hitting his second trey of the game, the home side
reduced the arrears to 68-65 going into the final
break.
An and-one from Greenan tied the
score at 68 with a minute gone, and Krubally kept
Leopards within a point of the visitors with five
minutes remaining.
Coach Clark called a timeout with
2:37 on the clock and his team trailing 84-81, and
Sharlow hit a trey out of the break to level the
score.
Magic only scored one more point
as Leopards closed out their eighth straight win as
Cairns and Sharlow converted at the foul line.
Five players finished in double
figures for the home team, with Johnson adding 14 and
Esprit 12. Greenan had an 11 point, 13 rebound
double-double, while Josh Sharlow followed suite with
11 points and ten assists.
Keith Page (28) and Ryan McAdam
(24) did the bulk of the Magic scoring with Alan
Metcalf adding 14.
Leopards: O Krubally (31), J
Johnson (14), S Esprit (12) L Greenan (11), J Sharlow
(11), K Cairns (9), Z Wells (2), D Norton, L Olanyi
(DNP), B Pintor Henningsen (DNP)
20 March 2011
Leopards win in overtime, again!
Leopards 90 (22,34,56,73)
Derby Trailblazers 81 (13,34,50,73) - After overtime
THE Big Cats kept their title
hopes alive with a hard-fought win against Derby
Trailblazers on Sunday, but for the second successive
week they needed overtime before making it seven
victories on the bounce.
Mark Clark’s side did it the
hard way, though, as they let a nine point lead slip
in the final three minutes of regulation time before
blowing the visitors away with the first ten points
of the extra period.
The Big Cats opened a 14-3 lead
after five minutes, and only trailed for 48 seconds
in the game, but were made to fight all the way by a
Derby side that they also meet next week and could
play in the play-offs in a fortnight’s time.
Ousman Krubally – making his
first start in the absence of Leigh Greenan - again
led the home side with 27 points and 17 rebounds,
with guards Josh Sharlow and Josh Johnson adding 20
and 19 respectively with the latter adding a
career-high 17 boards.
Simeon Esprit added ten points
and Keelan Cairns eight for a Leopards team who were
also without Marlan Henry and Borja
Pintor-Henningsen, and coach Clark had praise for his
players after the game: “
“It was the best performance
we’ve had as a group. The good young kids like
Dominic Norton, Zac Wells and Lucky Olaniyi came in
and really helped us out. We covered up well inside
against one of the strongest teams inside without
Leigh and Borja. Josh Johnson had 17 rebounds and
that’s the first time anyone’s had as many
rebounds as Ouse. Josh Sharlow and Ouse showed great
leadership, and Keelan showed some great character to
hit that big shot to break it open in overtime. Four
players in double figures, including Simeon, is
excellent.”
Martyn Gayle led the Trailblazers
with 20 points, with Mark Woodhouse adding ten and
former Leopard Dave Attewell nine.
Krubally marked his first start
by opening the scoring, and although Woodhouse
levelled the score, there was no stopping the hosts
in the first four minutes as Sharlow capped a 10-0
run as both Cairns and Krubally had three point plays
to put the Big Cats 12-2 ahead.
Krubally was forced to sit down
after collecting his second personal foul, but
Leopards went into the first break 22-13 ahead and
they made it a double digit game again when Johnson
opened the second period with a basket off
Cairns’ assist.
Esprit kept the lead in double
figures, and the Big Cats were up by 14 points at the
midway stage of the quarter.
However, that was the last time
the home side scored as Attewell launched a 14-0 run
and with Krubally forced to sit down on three fouls,
the Trailblazers repeatedly went inside and Woodhouse
scored with a put-back 24 seconds from time to send
the teams into the locker room tied at 34.
Joel Madourie extended that lead
to 16 as Derby took their first lead of the game with
the opening score of the second half before Sharlow
finally ended the seven minute drought with a pair of
free-throws.
Esprit scored from the Land of
Plenty to launch a 12-2 run capped by a pair of
another pair of Sharlow foul shots, and although
Simon Spencer finished a 5-0 run to close out the
period, it was Leopards who took a 56-50 lead into
the fourth period.
Krubally opened the fourth
quarter with a pair of free-throws to make it an
eight point game but an 8-0 run from Derby levelled
the score with Gayle draining from downtown.
The home side replied with six
unanswered points and a Krubally put-back made it
71-62 with 4:18 on the clock.
In a virtual repeat of the end of
the first half, Leopards then had a three and half
minute drought as Attewell made it a three point game
with a minute on the clock.
Johnson hit a pair at the line to
make it 73-68 but Rema Lascelles replied before
Attewell stole the inbound and fed the ball to
Spencer who levelled the score from downtown and 26
seconds on the clock.
Johnson missed a jump shot and
the visitors had a chance to steal the win but
Spencer’s shot from his own half was short.
Cairns opened the extra period
with a trey off Sharlow’s assist, and the Big
Cats never looked back as Johnson hit a long two and
Sharlow buried shots from both inside and outside the
arc.
A pair of Krubally free-throws
made it a ten point game going into the last two
minutes before he nearly brought the rim down with a
huge dunk – earning himself the game’s
fourth technical foul in the process to seal the win.
Leopards: O Krubally (27), J
Sharlow (20), J Johnson (19), S Esprit (10), K Cairns
(8), D Norton (2), Z Wells (2), L Olaniyi (2), R
Alexis (DNP), S Dunscombe (DNP)
13 March 2011
Leopards win it in overtime
Leopards 87 (10,39,56,72)
Leicester Warriors 80 (19,35,51,72)
LEOPARDS made it six wins on the
bounce, but needed overtime before finally beating a
stubborn Leicester Warriors team in front of a big
Brentwood Centre crowd.
Krubally completed a good weekend
with 29 points and 11 rebounds, with Sharlow adding
18 points, four assists and as many boards, while
Josh Johnson added 16 points, nine boards and six
assitss. Leigh Greenan finished with nine points and
five rebounds despite only playing 14 minutes due to
foul trouble.
Ramiah O’Neill led the
Warriors with 27 points, with Kakad and Todd Doyle
finishing with 16 points apiece in a game where their
team was out-rebounded 48-43.
Greenan opened the scoring after
pulling down a pair of offensive rebounds, but it was
the visitors who started strongly, and O’Neill
basket put them 15-6 ahead with 3:39 on the clock.
Marlan Henry drained a trey to
cut the Warriors’ lead, but despite the same
player hitting one of two foul shots, Kakad sent the
visitors into the first break with a 19-10 lead.
That lead grew to 11 as Kakad
opened the second period scoring but six straight
Krubally points kept Leopards in touch and a Sharlow
trey capped a 6-0 run to make it a four point game
going into the final five minutes of the half.
Johnson cut the deficit to one
with a trey three minutes before half-time, and a
Sharlow trey off Borja Pintor-Henningsen’s
assist put the exclamation mark on a 9-0 run, and
Krubally’s late basket sent the home team into
the locker room 39-35 ahead.
Carl Pearson hit a pair from the
line to halve that lead in the opening 20 seconds of
the second half, and the game remained close with
Leopards’ biggest lead coming when a pair of
Johnson free-throws made it 53-44 with 3:19 on the
clock.
Five straight Doyle points
brought Warriors back into the game, but a Keelan
Cairns trey sent Leopards into the fourth period
56-51 ahead.
Greenan made it a seven point
game with the first basket of the fourth period, and
Sharlow made it 63-54 with 7:40 on the clock.
O’Neill capped an 8-0 run
with a trey to make it a one point game, and the same
player tied the score at 67 going into the final
three and half minutes of regulation time.
Three from four Johnson foul
shots put Leopards 70-67 ahead with three minutes
remaining, but Warriors replied with five straight
points to lead 72-70 with 1:48 on the clock.
Predictably it was Krubally who
levelled the score at 72, but Warriors had the ball
with 12.8 seconds on the clock. Some tough D saw
Leopards force a turnover, but Sharlow’s
attempted buzzer-eater rimmed out to send the game
into overtime.
Rishi Kakad opened the extra
period scoring with a trey, with Pintor-Henningsen
answering with a long two off Sharlow’s assist.
It took until the 2:29 mark in
overtime for Leopards to regain the lead as Krubally
converted off a Johnson assist, and Johnson doubled
the lead after Krubally had grabbed his own rebound.
O’Neill scored another trey
to keep his side within a point going into the final
minute, but that was the last time the visitors
troubled the scorers.
Johnson doubled the lead with a
foul shot before Pintor-Henningsen took his tally to
five, and Sharlow wrapped things up at the line.
Leopards: O Krubally (29), J
Sharlow (18), J Johnson (16), L Greenan (9), B
Pintor-Henningsen (5), M Henry (5), K Cairns (3), S
Esprit (2), Z Wells.
11 March 2011
Big Cats strengthen title charge
Leopards 81 (18,44,62)
Brixton Topcats 69 (15,34,47)
LEOPARDS continued their chase
for the EBL Division One title with a comfortable
81-69 victory against Brixton Topcats, on Friday
night.
The visitors to the Brentwood
Centre fought until the final whistle, but were
outscored by the Big Cats in the first three period
as Leopards picked up their fifth straight league
win.
Ousman Krubally again led the
scoring, chalking up a 22 point, 15 rebound
double-double and added a couple of assists.
Josh Johnson finished with 15
points, six assists and four boards, while Marlan
Henry added ten and Leigh Greenan just missed out on
a double-double as he finished with nine points and
ten boards.
David Ajumobi led the Topcats
with 13 points, with Marcus Knight adding ten and
Amand Anebo emulating Greenan with nine points and
ten boards.
Knight opened the scoring from
the free-throw line, and although Johnson hit a pair
from the charity stripe, it was the visitors who
started strongly as an Anebo free-throw capped a 9-2
run to open the game.
Greenan broke the run off a
Simeon Esprit assist, but Ajumobi hit a jump shot to
put the visitors 15-8 going into the final three
minutes of the period.
A long two from Henry followed by
a Borja Pintor-Henningsen trey cut into the lead and
Krubally levelled the score with a drive to the
basket before Henry capped a 10-0 run from beyond the
arc to send Leopards into the first break 18-15
ahead.
Ajumobi ended the run with the
first score of the second period but Borja
Pintor-Henningsen replied with a long jump shot.
An and-one from Keelan Cairns
made it a seven points game after two minutes, and
that lead grew to 34-23 with 5:37 on the clock when
Johnson drained from the Land of Plenty.
A Karolis Petkus trey kept
Brixton in touch, but a Josh Sharlow free-throw sent
the home side into the locker room with a 44-34 lead.
Johnson opened the second half
scoring off a Sharlow assist, and he then buried a
trey to make it a 15 point game.
Ajumobi hit from beyond the arc,
but that was Topcats’ only score of the first
six minutes as Krubally capped a 14-3 run to lead
58-37 with 3:42 on the clock.
A timeout from Brixton coach Andy
Powlesland worked for the visitors, and back-to-back
Ajumobi baskets wrapped up a 10-0 tear for the
visitors before Zac Wells sent Leopards into the
final break with a 62-47 lead.
Topcats missed the first two
shots of the final stanza, but grabbed the rebound on
each occasion before Knight put the ball through the
hoop to make it a 13 point game.
Cairns kept Leopards comfortably
ahead, but then only hit one of three foul shots
after being clattered by Ajumobi.
But scores from Papa Demba-Kasse
and Ladi Brown made it a seven-point game with six
minutes remaining.
Cairns buried another trey to
make it a ten point game, and the margin remained the
same as Leopards failed to take advantage of four
foul shots after a foul on Esprit by Knight, who then
picked up a technical foul, as they hit only one
free-throw.
The visitors had one run left in
them, and Brown hit a three-pointer with 2:08 on the
clock, but Sharlow hit a pair after an
unsportsmanlike foul on Arturo Noha.
Krubally and coach Mark Clark
both received technical fouls the American forward
was whacked by Antonio, but Topcats missed all
free-throws, and five straight successful foul shots
from Johnson wrapped up the Big Cats’ victory.
Leopards: O Krubally (22), J
Johnson (15), M Henry (10), L Greenan (9), K Cairns
(9), J Sharlow (7), S Esprit (2), Z Wells (2), D
Norton, J Cabey, S Bublys (DNP)
26 February 2011
Capital victory for
Leopards
PAWS London Capital 61
(12,28,47) Leopards 78 (26,40,60)
LEOPARDS made it three league
wins on the bounce as they returned from the short
trip to Neasdon with a 78-61 victory against PAWS
London Capital, on Saturday.
The Big Cats led for virtually
the whole game as they strengthened their bid for a
top two finish with an ultimately comfortable win at
their cross-town rivals.
Ousman Krubally led the way for
Mark Clark’s team with 27 points, while Keelan
Cairns’ early three point shooting put the
visitors in control as he finished with four treys in
his 17 points.
Josh Sharlow added 13 points,
with Leigh Greenan chipping in with nine and Simeon
Esprit six. For the home side, the impressive Ibrahim
Gariba poured in 27 points, with American guard
Charlando Brown adding 16 and player-coach Milek
Jivens 12.
Esprit opened the scoring with a
put-back, and although Gariba scored Capital’s
first six points of the game as they briefly took
their only lead of the game, Cairns hit back-to-back
treys and Sharlow also drained from downtown to put
the Leopards 13-6 ahead after five minutes.
Brown eventually broke a 12-2
Leopards’ run, but another trey from Cairns and
scores from Greenan and Krubally sent the visitors
into the first break with a comfortable 26-12 lead.
Marlan Henry saw a shot rim out
to open the second period but Krubally athletically
grabbed the rebound and scored, but Brown launched an
8-2 tear to drag the home team back into it and make
it a ten point game at the midway stage of the
quarter.
Sharlow broke the run and
Krubally added to the margin before a double
technical foul on Capital saw Cairns and Sharlow add
three to the lead, and despite Cairns’ attempted
buzzer-beater rimming out, the visitors took a
comfortable 40-27 advantage into the locker room.
Greenan and Kaleston Wood
exchanged baskets to open the second half, but an
11-4 run which saw Gariba hit eight saw Capital make
it 46-40 with four minutes gone.
Greenan broke the run from the
foul line, and a Zak Wells and-one helped Leopards
close out the period strongly to go into the final
break 60-46 ahead.
The hosts had one last run left
in them, and a pair of Jivens threes split by a Brown
basket made it 60-55 after two minutes of fourth
period action.
Greenan hit a pair from the
free-throw stripe to stop the run, and Josh Johnson
scored his only field goal of the night on a
fast-break to make it a nine point game.
Krubally, twice, and Johnson hit
one from two at the foul line to add to the lead, but
with 2:18 on the clock came the key run when Cairns
hit another basket from the Land of Plenty and
Krubally stole the inbound before converting from
close range to make it 72-60.
Krubally completed his scoring
for the night, and from there it was a matter of
wrapping it up from the foul line s Cairns hit four
straight shots before Krubally ended the game with a
massive block on Gariba.
Leopards: O Krubally (27), K
Cairns (17), J Sharlow (13), L Greenan (9), S Esprit
(6), J Johnson (3), Z Wells (3), D Norton, M Henry, R
Teixeira.
20 February 2011
Leopards keep up the
pressure
Leopards 93 (18,42,71)
Leeds Carnegie 82 (17,38,59)
LEOPARDS continued their
challenge for the EBL Division One title with a 93-82
victory against fourth placed Leeds Carnegie, on
Sunday.
A strong third quarter proved key
for Mark Clark’s team as gained revenge for
November’s defeat in Yorkshire, and they never
trailed after Simeon Esprit sunk a three-pointer with
4:21 remaining in the first half.
Leigh Greenan led a balanced
scoring effort for the home team with 21 points, four
rebounds and three steals. Ousman Krubally had a
couple of massive dunks in his 15 point, 14 rebound
double-double, with Esprit also finishing with 15
points.
Josh Johnson added 14 points,
eight rebounds and five assists as well as sinking
some key free-throws down the stretch, with Keelan
Cairns (12) and Josh Sharlow (11) also finishing in
double figures for a Leopards team who were without
the injured big man Borja Pintor-Henningsen.
Sharlow and Esprit opened the
scoring, but Henry Wilkins launched a 6-0 run with a
three-pointer and a tight first period saw Leopards
just shade it 18-17 despite being forced to sit
Krubally down on three fouls in under five minutes of
action.
A Zoltan Supola basket followed
by back-to-back scores from Sean Clifford saw
Carnegie regain the lead at the start of the second
period before Greenan broke the run off a Johnson
assist.
A Cairns trey tied the score at
28 with four minutes gone, but a Clifford basket put
the visitors 32-28 ahead midway through the second
quarter, before Greenan launched a 14-0 run and
Leopards went into the locker room 42-38 ahead.
Greenan opened the second half
scoring with back-to-back baskets, and Cairns basket
off Krubally’s assist put them ahead by 15 going
into the final minute of the period.
Leeds replied with a 5-0 run, but
it was Greenan who sent Leopards into the final break
with a 71-59 lead.
Cairns hit another basket from
The Land of Plenty, but Clifford made it a ten point
game four minutes into the period when he also
drained from downtown.
Sharlow grabbed a miss from
Krubally to make it 78-68 with 4:23 on the clock, but
Adrian Fenyn stole the ball and scored a lay-up to
make it a five point game a minute later, and force a
timeout from Leopards coach Mark Clark.
Krubally pulled down his ninth
offensive rebound of the game and made it 81-74
heading into the final two minutes and after Fenyn
had hit a free-throw, Greenan took the margin up to
eight of Esprit’s assist with 80 seconds
remaining.
Fenyn scored off Albert
Margai’s assist to make it a five point game in
the final minute, but the Big Cats wrapped it up from
the foul line with six straight free-throws from
Johnson in the final 22 seconds as Leopards collected
their ninth league win of the campaign.
Wilkins finished with 19 points
and four rebounds, while Supola had the same figures
but added five assists. Clifford had 15 points, five
boards and four assists while Fenyn chipped in with
13 points and six assists.
Leopards: L Greenan (21), O
Krubally (15), S Esprit (15), J Johnson (14), K
Cairns (12), J Sharlow (11), M Henry (3), D Norton, L
Olaniyi, R Alexis (DNP), Teixeira (DNP).
13 February 2011
Leopards conquer
Crusaders
Leopards 79 (15,42,58)
Coventry Crusaders 69 (27,36,51)
LEOPARDS kept up their push for
the EBL Division One title with a comfortable victory
against Coventry Crusaders, on Sunday.
After a poor start saw them
trailing by 12 at the first break, Leopards recovered
to take control with a strong second period and never
looked back.
Ousman Krubally again led the Big
Cats with 22 points, 13 rebounds and three steals,
while Josh Sharlow added 16 points, four assists and
three steals. Leigh Greenan finished with 13 points
and nine boards, with Josh Johnson dishing out eight
assists.
The Big Cats did a better job
containing Crusaders’ American big man Casey
Crawford, limiting him to 21 points - off nine from
24 shooting – and eight rebounds. Damilola
Fakunle had an impressive 14 point, ten rebound
double-double while Pierre Henry-Fontaine only played
in the second half after arriving late but finished
with 11 points.
Jack McDonald opened the scoring
for Crusaders, but Greenan proved a handful for
Crusaders in the first three minutes as he scored all
of Leopards’ points to put them 7-4 up.
That was as good as it got in the
first period for the home side as five Crawford
points launched a 16-2 run for the visitors and,
although Krubally broke the run, the visitors went
into the first break 27-15 ahead.
Whatever Leopards coach Mark
Clark said at the break clearly worked as Krubally,
Sharlow and Marlan Henry all sunk treys in a 9-0 to
open the second period, and make it a three point
game with two second quarter periods gone.
A Krubally and-one put Leopards
into a 29-28 lead with 6:16 on the clock, and Borja
Pinto-Henningsen gave them a lead they would never
lose with a three point play 2:11 from half-time.
Keelan Cairns made it a five
point game before Greenan wrapped up the scoring off
a Johnson assist to send the Big Cats into the locker
room 42-36 ahead.
Sharlow opened the second half
scoring from the Land of Plenty and Simeon Esprit
increased the lead to ten with a trey three minutes
into the third period.
A 6-0 run from Coventry capped by
a Fakumle free-throw made it a four point game with
two third quarter minutes remaining but scores from
Henry and Greenan sent the hosts into final period
with a 58-51 lead.
Krubally drained a trey from the
top of the key to take the home side’s lead back
to ten a minute into the fourth period, and Henry
made it a 15 point game with 7:58 remaining.
A Crawford trey took the margin
back down to single figures heading into the final 90
seconds, but Sharlow answered with a jump shot, and
Krubally and Dominic Norton wrapped up the win from
the foul line.
Leopards: O Krubally (22), J
Sharlow (16), L Greenan (13), M Henry (8), S Esprit
(6), B Pintor-Henningsen (5), K Cairns (4), D Norton
(3), Z Wells (2), J Johnson, S Dunscombe (DNP)
12 February 2011
Semi-final heartbreak for
Leopards
Reading Rockets 62
(6,25,37,54) London Leopards 60 (11,21,41,54)
LEOPARDS’ National Trophy
dreams ended at the last four stage as went down in
overtime, on Saturday.
Thirty-two turnovers to the home
team’s 13 proved to be the difference as the Big
Cats foul victim to a series of bizarre calls,
including at least eight three-second calls and some
obscure travelling violations.
After a poor game against the
Rockets at Brentwood last week, Ousman Krubally was
back to his best, finishing with 23 points and seven
rebounds in 33 minutes.
On a night when both sides would
have struggled to hit the ocean, the rest of the
Leopards’ scoring was shared around with Keelan
Cairns, Simeon Esprit, Josh Sharlow, Josh Johnson and
Leigh Greenan all finishing with seven points each.
Cairns and Greenan finished with
12 and 11 boards respectively as Leopards
out-rebounded the home side 48-23, while in the
absence of the injured Marlan Henry, Sharlow played
all 45 minutes.
Niko Scott led the home side with
21 points and six rebounds, with Ryan Lohfink adding
13 points and five boards, while Matt Guymon and Will
Hall finished with 11 points apiece.
Scott opened the scoring, but an
early indication of the low scoring that was to
follow, saw the Big Cats lead 3-2 at the five minute
mark as Greenan hit a free-throw and Cairns drained a
long jump shot.
However that launched an 11-2 run
that put the visitors 11-4 going into the final
minute of the period. Krubally finished the run, and
with Robbie Parker hitting a basket for Reading, it
was the Leopards who went into the first break 11-6
ahead.
Krubally drained a trey to open
the second period, but Borja Pintor-Henningsen picked
up three fouls in less than a minute before Krubally
made it a nine point game with 55 seconds gone.
That proved to be the last time
the Big Cats scored for over six minutes as Reading
poured in eight straight points, including three from
four foul shooting after Leopards coach Mark Clark
had picked up a technical.
Sharlow eventually ended the run,
but at the visitors wracked up the fouls, Reading
regained the lead on a Lohfink basket going into the
final two minutes of the half and Scott drained a
three-pointer as the home side went into the locker
room 25-21 ahead.
With Krubally and Greenan being
called for three-second violations in the space of 20
seconds, Matt Guymon made it a seven point game with
another shot from downtown.
Six straight Krubally points
dragged the visitors back into the game before
Johnson converted an and-one to put Leopards 32-30 at
the midway stage of the third period.
Lukas Aleksandravicius put
Reading back in front with a trey, but it was
Leopards who went into the fourth period 41-37 ahead
as Johnson drained a shot from downtown.
Lohfink opened the fourth quarter
with a jump shot, but the visitors led throughout the
period without ever pulling away.
Lohfink made it a one point game
at the six minute mark, but Cairns replied with a
trey and Leopards were still 54-51 ahead with 80
seconds remaining before Lohfink hit a three with
1:06 on the clock to send the game into overtime.
Krubally scored the first point
of the extra period after 53 seconds, but that was to
be the last time the visitors led as Will Hall put
Reading in the lead with 3:46 remaining.
Guymon hit another big three, but
four from four foul shots by Krubally tied the game
at 59 with a minute remaining.
The winning shot came from Scott
and he converted an and-one with nine seconds
remaining, but there was still drama as Scott was
called for an intentional foul on Johnson with five
seconds left.
The young guard converted one of
the two foul shots, but Leopards failed to get off a
decent shot as Reading progressed to the title game.
Leopards: O Krubally (23), K
Cairns (7), S Esprit (7), J Sharlow (7), J Johnson
(7), L Greenan (7), B Pintor-Henningsen (2), D
Norton, S Bublys, Z Wells, S Dunscombe (DNP).
6 February 2011
Leopards edged out by Rockets
Leopards 68 (19,33,47)
Reading Rockets 77 (24,34,47)
A poor final five minutes saw
Leopards lose the battle of the second placed teams
on Sunday afternoon.
The Big Cats had led 56-55 with
five minutes left before the visitors reeled off 11
straight points to take control and consign the
Leopards to their fourth league defeat of the season.
Simeon Esprit continued his good
form from the weekend with 16 points, with Josh
Johnson also adding 16 and Leigh Greenan 13.
Ousman Krubally, who played
despite having spent the morning having his knee
x-rayed, saw his seven game run as Leopards’ top
scorer end and he struggled with foul trouble and was
limited to seven points and eight rebounds in 21
minutes.
Niko Scott led all scorers with
24 points for Rockets, Ryan Lohfink added 16 with
Will Hall and Harrison Gamble chipping in with 12
apiece.
Johnson opened the scoring, but
Rockets replied with an 8-0 run capped by a Lohfink
and-one, and the closest the home side go in the
first period was when Krubally made it 14-12 with a
free-throw before Lohfink sent Rockets into the first
break with a 24-19 lead.
Krubally cut that lead to three
with the first points of the second period, and
Greenan gave Leopards their first lead of the game
with 5:27 on the clock off Krubally’s assist.
The game remained tight, and
Rockets looked likely to take a four point lead into
the locker room following a Hall basket, but Johnson
sunk a buzzer-beating trey to make it 34-33 at
half-time.
Gamble tripled that lead at the
start of the third period, but Leopards remained in
touch and a Johnson trey put them 42-39 ahead going
into the last three minutes of the quarter.
Rockets replied with an 8-1 run
capped by a Matt Guymon basket, but an
unsportsmanlike foul call on Hall saw Esprit and
Johnson each hit a pair of free-throws as the teams
went into the final break tied at 47.
Josh Sharlow opened the fourth
period with a pair from the line but Jon May hit a
trey to put Rockets back in charge.
It remained tight, with Leopards
winning 56-55 at the midway stage of the fourth
period following a Borja Pintor Henningsen basket but
that was as good as it got for the home side.
Hall hit a jumper to launch a
11-0 run for the visitors capped by a pair of Guymon
foul shots to pu the visitors 67-57 ahead going into
the final three minutes.
The run was broken by an Esprit
trey, but with the game lost Leopards were left
protecting the head-to-head record, and it was
18-year-old Esprit who scored the basket that ensured
the home side had the consolation of owning the
tiebreakers against both of their title rivals
Leopards: S Esprit (16), J
Johnson (16), L Greenan (13), O Krubally (7), B
Pintor-Henningsen (7), K Cairns (5), J Sharlow (4), M
Henry, D Norton, R Alexis (DNP), L Olaniyi (DNP), Z
Wells (DNP)
5 February 2011
Leopards end Flyers'
record
Bristol Academy Flyers 51
(12,28,37) Leopards 80 (24,39,65)
A dominant second half
performance saw Leopards end Bristol Academy
Flyers’ perfect start to the season, on
Saturday.
The Big Cats outscored the
Division One leaders 41-23 after the interval, and
crucially now have the head-to-head decider against
the Flyers if the teams finish level at the
season’s end.
Ousman Krubally led the scoring
for Mark Clark’s team for a seventh straight
game with 23 points and 16 rebounds in a season-high
32 minutes. But it was the first half performance
from Barking Abbey pair Simeon Esprit and Keelan
Cairns which laid the foundations for the win. They
each only scored two points in the second half, but
Esprit had 15 in the first half and Cairns eight to
keep the visitors in front.
The Flyers, who were without
Tyrone Treasure and Doug McLaughlin-Williams, never
led and were out-rebounded 54-30 by the visiting side
who have now won five straight games.
Leigh Greenan opened the scoring
for Leopards, and they opened a 5-0 lead before
Flyers scored five unanswered points – their
biggest run of the night – to tie the game for
the only time.
Back-to-back treys from Esprit
saw the Big Cats open a 13 point lead with three
minutes of the period remaining, and despite a
straight travelling call on Borja Pintor Henningsen,
Clark’s team went into the first break 24-12
ahead.
The second period was a turgid
affair with neither side getting into rhythm, but
Leopards held a’ double-digit for most of the
quarter, with Esprit answering Flyers’ four
point burst with a trey, and they went into the
locker room 39-28 ahead.
Clark’s half-time team-talk
had the desired effect, and after Josh Sharlow had
hit a pair at the line following a technical foul on
Flyers’ coach Andreas Kapoulas, Krubally finally
got going as he scored from inside to make it 49-33
and force a Bristol timeout with 5:14 on the clock.
The move made little difference
as Krubally converted an and-one and Sharlow scored
on the break after a steal from Greenan as the Big
Cats poured in the final 14 points of the quarter to
go into the fourth period with a commanding 65-37
lead.
That lead grew to 30 as Marlan
Henry scored two at the foul stripe after Davis Bown
picked up a technical foul, and the lead peaked at 36
when Esprit dunked on the break with 5:53 on the
clock.
Both coaches ran their bench
after that, with Ryan Alexis and Lucky Olaniyi both
getting some valuable court time as Leopards wrapped
up their biggest win of the season.
Leopards: O Krubally (23), S
Esprit (18), K Cairns (10), M Henry (7), B Pintor
Henningsen (6), J Johnson (5), J Sharlow (5), L
Greenan (4), L Olaniyi (2), R Alexis
29 January 2011
Leopards make history in
Manchester
Manchester Magic 78
(20,31,48) Leopards 93 (19,45,69)
OUSMAN Krubally poured in 30
points and pulled down 11 rebounds in under 24
minutes of action as London Leopards won their fifth
straight game with an 93-78 victory at Manchester
Magic.
Mark Clark’s side trailed
24-22 two minutes into the second period before going
on an 18-2 run, and they never looked back.
Leigh Greenan finished with 18
points and 12 rebounds, with guards Josh Johnson (11
points, nine assists and six rebounds) and Josh
Sharlow (nine points, eight assists, four rebounds
and four steals) also lighting up the stat-sheet.
It was the first time in nine
attempts that the Big Cats had won at the Amaechi
Centre, and they remain in joint second place in EBL
Division One.
Keith Page led the Magic with 23
points, including 12 from beyond the arc, and seven
assists, while Ryan McAdam finished with a 20 point,
11rebound double-double in 36 minutes. James Warwick
made his Magic debut against one of his former clubs,
and he finished with ten points in 22 minutes.
The game was won on the boards,
with the visitors out-rebounding Magic 45-29 while
Jeff Jones’ side had no answer to Krubally as he
hit 12 of his 15 field goal attempts.
Greenan opened the scoring, and
after a tight start the visitors were still 10-9
ahead in the mid-stage of the quarter.
That grew to 12-9 after a pair of
Greenan free-throws, but despite the introduction of
Krubally it was the home side who closed out the
period strongly to lead 20-19 at the first break.
Alan Metcalfe made it a three
point game with the first score of the second quarter
and despite Marlan Henry tying things at 22, Ambokile
Bell restored Magic’s lead with a jump shot.
That proved to be the last time
Magic were in the lead as Krubally hit a pair of
baskets of Sharlow assists, and the home side were
held scoreless for six and half minutes.
Johnson wrapped up the tear with
a trey, before Page hit a single free-throw to end
the run, but it was Leopards who scored the final
points of the half as Sharlow drained from downtown
to send his team into the locker room 45-31 ahead.
That lead never dipped below 13
in the third period, and a 10-0 run capped by a trey
from Keelan Cairns saw Leopards go 58-35 up four
minutes into the quarter.
They were still 23 ahead with two
minutes remaining in the third following a Krubally
drive to the basket, and despite a pair of Warwick
free-throws, the Big Cats went into the final break
69-48 ahead.
Henry made it a 24 point game
when he opened the final period with a trey, and
Magic could only shave a point of that deficit in the
first five minutes of the quarter as the Leopards
picked up their fifth away win in seven league games.
Leopards: O Krubally (30), L
Greenan (18), J Johnson (11), J Sharlow (9), K Cairns
(9), M Henry (8), B Pintor Henningsen (5), S Esprit
(3), R Broadmore (DNP)
23 January 2011
Leopards through to
semi-finals
Bristol Academy Flyers 56
(16,27,41)
Leopards 78 (21,41,54)
A superb defensive performance
from the Big Cats saw them power their way into the
National Trophy semi-final, where they will now
travel to Reading Rockets.
Mark Clark, Leopards’ coach,
was a happy man after a weekend which has also seen
his side take the Division One points with an
overtime victory at Coventry Crusaders:
“I’m really happy with
the way we are working as a group. The performances
from Keelan [Cairns] and Simeon [Esprit] at the
weekend are an indication that we are beginning to
understand as a group how to integrate Ousman
[Krubally] into the team so we get better as a group.
“I’m also pleased with
the way both our guards Josh Johnson and Josh Sharlow
are leading the team.
Even though we got away with the
overtime win in Coventry it still showed that as
group we are really beginning to trust each other.
“In addition the increased
roles of Ryan Alexis and Dominic Norton, Lucky Olanyi
and Zak Wells showed what a good development the
relationship between Leopards and Barking Abbey is.
The investment that the school, through our head
teacher and Director of Sport, is another
demonstration of what can be achieved with the right
investment and the right funding models.”
Krubally led the Big Cats for the
fifth straight game, finishing with 26 points, off
10-from-14 shooting, and 12 rebounds. After a quiet
night in Coventry, Cairns stepped up to hit 20 points
and add seven boards, with Johnson adding 13 as
Leopards reached the final four of the Trophy for the
second time in three years.
An 8-0 run from the hosts saw
them take an 11-7 lead, but the visitors fought back
to lead 21-16 at the first break, but that advantage
was sliced to 26-25 with four and a half minutes left
in the second half.
At that point the visitors
stepped up with some excellent defence, and held the
visitors to just one points during the rest of the
half, and with Krubally doing the damage inside and
Cairns scoring from long range, they poured in 16
points to lead 41-27 at half-time.
The onslaught continued in the
second half, and Johnson scored from long range to
make it 50-32 with 6:32 on the clock, and a Krubally
basket made it a 20-point game at the mid-stage of
the thirdp period.
A timeout from Bristol coach
Andreas Kapoulas saw the home side tighten up their
defence, and they cut the Big Cats’ lead to
54-41 at the final break.
Borja Pintor-Henningsen opened
the fourth period with a big three-pointer for the
visitors, and the margin never got below 14 as
Leopards wrapped up the win, allowing coach Clark to
run the bench in the closing stages.
Doug McLaughlin-Williams led a
Bristol side missing Greg Streete with 16 points and
seven boards. Tyrone Treasure added 13 points, while
Davis Bowne had a 12 point, ten rebound
double-double.
Leopards: O Krubally 26, K
Cairns 20, J Johnson 13, L Olaniyi 5, J Sharlow 4, B
Pintor-Henningsen 3, S Esprit 3, D Norton 2, L
Greenan 2, R Alexis, Z Wells
22 January 2011
Leopards win it in
overtime
Coventry Crusaders 76
(20,34,52,71)
Leopards 83 (23,44,53,71)
After overtime
LEOPARDS moved up to joint third
in EBL Division One with an overtime win at Coventry
Crusaders, on Saturday.
They did it the hard way, letting
a ten point half-time lead slip away against the
strugglers, before dominating in the extra period.
Ousman Krubally led the scoring
for Mark Clark’s team for the fourth straight
game with 26 points, half of which came in the final
three minutes of the first period.
Josh Johnson continued his good
post-Christmas form with 14 points, with Leigh
Greenan adding 12 and Simeon Esprit 11. For the home
side, big man Casey Crawford proved unstoppable at
times with 33 points, but was given little support as
only Siman Stewart and Roy Owen joined him in double
figures with ten apiece.
Stewart opened the scoring for
the hosts, but Greenan hit a free-throw to spark a
5-0 run from the visitors.
A pair of massive treys from
Crawford helped the home side take a 16-10 lead
before Krubally came of the bench to join the action,
and the American forward scored all of the Leopards
remaining points as they went into the first break
23-20 ahead.
Borja Pintor Henningsen opened
the second period scoring for the Big Cats, and a
trey from Ryan Alexis kept them ahead as they reached
the midway stage in the quarter 30-26 ahead.
The visitors led throughout the
quarter, with Keelan Cairns also converting from
downtown, and a single free-throw from Greenan sent
them into the locker room with a 44-34 half-time
lead.
The third quarter again proved to
be Leopards’ Achilles heal as they saw their
lead all but wiped out, scoring just nine points.
Crusaders scored the six of the
first eight points, but baskets from Greenan and
Johnson restored the visitors lead, but they poor
shot selection saw them fail to score a field goal in
the final five minutes of the quarter as Coventry
went on an 11-3 run.
Scores from Martyn Gayle and
Crawford opened the fourth period as Crusaders took
their first lead since the eighth minute, but having
scored only three points in the middle two quarter,
Krubally burst back into life with five points in a
7-2 Leopards run which them saw take a 60-59 lead
with five minutes of regulation time left.
Payne buried a trey to put
Crusaders back in the lead, only for Esprit and
Cairns to both convert from the Land of Plenty to put
Leopards 66-62 heading into the final three minutes.
But while Crusaders have only one
win this season, but have been involved in plenty of
close games, and they hit back with six unanswered
points to take a 68-66 lead into the final 90
seconds.
Esprit hit a pair at the line to
tie things at 68 with 40 seconds remaining, but Casey
looked to have won the game with 21 seconds left when
he converted an and-one after a spin move saw him
fouled by Greenan.
A timeout from coach Clark
followed, and it was Krubally who sent the game into
overtime with eight seconds left as he drained a trey
from the top of the key before some tough defence saw
Crusaders fail to get off a shot at the end of
regulation time.
Casey opened the overtime
scoring, but that proved to be Crusaders only points
until the final minutes, and six-from-eight foul
shooting by Johnson together with baskets from
Greenan and Krubally put the Big Cats 81-73 up going
into the final minute.
Casey hit his third trey of the
game, but Josh Sharlow wrapped things up at the line
as Leopards collected their fifth win in eight league
games.
Leopards: O Krubally 26, J
Johnson 14, L Greenan 12, S Esprit 11, J Sharlow 6, S
Esprit 6, B Pintor Henningsen 5, R Alexis 4, D
Norton, L Olaniyi (DNP)
16 January 2011
Leopards in the last
eight
Leopards 91 (14,35,63)
Brixton Topcats 77 (17,37,52)
LEOPARDS powered their way into
the National Trophy quarter-finals with a 91-77
victory against Brixton Topcats, on Sunday.
The Brentwood Centre crowd were
treated to one of the best individual performances
ever from a Big Cat as Ousman Krubally came off the
bench to finish with 31 points, 14 rebounds, three
blocks and two steals.
Mark Clark’s team will now
travel to Division One leaders Bristol Academy Flyers
next Sunday where they will face a team who have lost
only once in 17 games this season.
Leigh Greenan also recorded a
double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, with
Marlan Henry adding a season-high 14 points and seven
assists, and Josh Sharlow chipping in with 13 points.
Karolis Petkus led the visitors
with 17 points, with Dave Ajumobi adding 14 and Paul
Mundy-Castle and Marcus Knight each chipping in with
11 points.
The game was won on the boards,
with Leopards out-rebounding the Topcats 50-35,
although with Petkus coming up with four steals the
visitors did force Clark’s side into 23
turnovers.
The visitors started strongly,
with Ajumobi capping a 7-0 run, and it took until the
5:51 mark for Greenan to get them off the mark.
Six straight Krubally points
dragged Leopards back into the game as they took a
10-9 lead following an 8-0 run, but it was the
visitors who went into the first break with a 20-17
lead despite Krubally taking his tally to ten with
the final basket of the quarter.
Krubally opened the second period
scoring, and he scored Leopards’ first seven
points of the quarter as they regained the lead at
21-19 after two minutes.
Neither side were able to pull
away, though, with the biggest lead coming with 5:25
on the clock when Krubally converted off
Sharlow’s assist.
But Brixton hit back with nine
unanswered points capped by a trey from former
Leopard Paul Mundy-Castle, and although Josh Johnson
scored the final points of the half from the
free-throw stripe, it was Brixton who went into the
locker room with a 37-35 lead.
The second half proved to be a
long-winded affair as it took 71 minutes to complete
with 47 fouls called and 72 trips to the foul line.
The third period was crucial as
the visitors were outscored 28-15, but after a tight
start it wasn’t until the 5:33 mark that Sharlow
gave Leopards a 43-42 lead – and they never
trailed again.
Six unanswered points capped by a
pair at the line by Krubally put Leopards 55-47 up
going into the final two minutes of the quarter, and
eight straight points from Henry sent them into the
final break 63-52 ahead.
Much of the fourth period was
spent at the foul line as five Topcats along with
Sharlow and Simeon Esprit fouled out of the game, but
the visitors were never able to make any real inroad
into the deficit.
Tom Adorian made it a nine point
game with 7:43 left when he converted a three-point
play following a Greenan foul
Ladi Brown made it 75-70 with two
minutes left only for Avelino Antonio to pick up a
technical foul and the Big Cats wrapped the victory
up from the foul line.
Leopards: Krubally (31),
Greenan (16), M Henry (14), J Sharlow (13), J Johnson
(8), S Esprit (3), B Pintor-Henningsen (3), K Cairns
(3), L Olanyi, Z Wells, R Alexis (DNP), R Teixeira
(DNP)
8 January 2011
Leopards lose at Durham
Durham Wildcats 84
(17,39,61) Leopards 81 (27,43,63)
AN under-strength Leopards team
couldn’t complete a weekend double as they went
down 84-81 at Durham Wildcats on Saturday.
Without Simeon Esprit and Marlan
Henry, the Big Cats faded in the final stages of the
game after a good performance against a Wildcats team
who finished the weekend in second place in EBL
Division One.
Leopards’ new American
forward Ousman Krubally completed a good weekend with
23 points, with Leigh Greenan adding 20 Josh Johnson
and Josh Sharlow 13 apiece and Keelan Cairns hit four
treys to finish with 12 points.
Paul Elderkin led the home side
with 22 points, Kevin Bulger (16) Paul Nelson (11)
and Michael Davies (10) also finishing in double
figures.
The visitors rushed into a 13-4
lead after four minutes, forcing Elderkin to call a
time-out with Greenan finding easy access to the
basket scoring seven of the visitors first 13 points,
and Cairns was lighting up the three point line.
Krubally was proving menacing
under the basket, and with Sharlow running the show
from the point it was no surprise that the Leopards
ended the first quarter leading 27-17.At the start of
the second half Cairns sank a big three, but Mark
Elderkin sparked the fight-back with his third trey
of the game, and the Wildcats defence started
functioning, Michael Davies was finding his range and
some excellent playmaking by Kevin Bulger put the
Leopards under pressure. Krubally shot an air ball
and with the score at 31-35 and Leopards coach Mark
Clark called a timeout. With Wildcats in possession
Stephen Jones slipped inside to score and to make it
a two-point ball game. Krubally came back with an
assist from Johnson, Nelson missed inside, but
turnovers from the Leopards gifted Paul Elderkin four
straight points to the level the score at 37.
Leopards stopped the comeback with three points from
Krubally and a trey from Johnson to send the Big Cats
into the locker room 43-37 ahead.The third quarter
saw a much improved performance from the home side.
Patient offense and tighter defence helped the
Wildcats cut into the lead and a text book fast break
was finished by Chris Pearce taking the Wildcats into
a 56-54 lead . Krubally was fouled under the basket
by Nelson and tied the game from the line, before
Sharlow restored the Leopards lead. A block by Graham
Pape in the final seconds of the quarter meant the
game was finely balanced as the visitors carried a
63-61 lead into the final period.The best basketball
was saved for the final stanza. Every time the
Leopards scored the Wildcats responded. The home side
finally edged ahead 73 -72 with 3:19 to play. The
lead was short lived and the visitors were back in
front 73 -74. The Wildcats kept the pressure on the
Leopards offense and a 5-0 run gave the Wildcats a
78-74 lead. The visitors were quickly back on the
scoresheet and down only two when Bulger hit a
decisive trey inside the final minute. With 31
seconds remaining and the score 83-78, Clark called a
time-out.
Leopards had possession on the
restart and Nelson fouled Krubally who made one from
two at the line. The visitors defend with a full
court press but the Wildcats found Paul Nelson inside
and the Leopards send him to the line with eight
seconds left. He made one from two to seal the
win.Wildcats coach, and former Leopards general
manager, Dave Elderkin was a happy man after the game
as his side reached their highest ever position in
the EBL “It was a good game, with good team work
from two well-matched teams and a good advert for EBL
Division One basketball.”
7 January 2011
Capital victory for
Leopards
Leopards 72 (22,38,56)
PAWS London Capital 68 (15,31,48)
OUSMAN Krubally poured in 18
points on his home debut as Leopards moved up to
third place in EBL Division One with a hard-fought
victory against cross-town rivals Capital.
The Big Cats led for most of the
game, but it wasn’t until the closing seconds
that they wrapped up their four league win in six
games.
Josh Sharlow finished with a 17
point, ten rebound double-double, adding four assists
and three steals, while Josh Johnson had probably his
best game as a Leopard with 11 points and six
assists.
Charlando Brown led the Capital
scoring for the second time against Leopards this
season, finishing with 19 points, with Kaleston Wood
adding 12 for a visiting team who arrived 15 minutes
after the scheduled tip-off time.
The game was won on the boards,
with Leopards out-rebounding the visitors 45-25,
Leigh Greenan pulling down 13 rebounds to go with his
eight points.
Cairns opened the scoring, and
Irish big-man also hit a trey as the Big Cats opened
strongly to lead 9-2 at the five minute mark.
Krubally – who only played
21 minutes due to foul trouble – made it a nine
point game before Capital rallied, and with Wood
hitting two of three foul shots after an unnecessary
foul from Krubally, they closed the gap to 22-15 at
the first break.
Chiedozie Offiah, who played a
couple of summer league games for Leopards six years
ago, opened the second quarter scoring for the
visitors but with Krubally converting an and-one, the
Big Cats remained comfortably ahead, and a Sharlow
free-throw sent them into the locker room 38-31 ahead
at half-time.
Capital hit the first five points
of the second half to make it a two-point game before
Sharlow grabbed Marlan Henry’s missed shot and
converted a lay-up to double the lead.
Krubally kept the lead at four,
but Brown made it a one point game at the five minute
mark when he sunk a trey before scores from Greenan
and Krubally put the Big Cats back in charge as they
reached the final break 56-48 ahead.
Brown continued to be his
side’s main offensive threat as he opened the
fourth period scoring, and although Johnson replied,
a Jamal Felix basket off Brown’s assist gave
Capital the lead for the first time in the game, 59-5
with 6:11 remaining.
Offiah doubled that lead from
foul line before Greenan levelled the score, and the
teams were still level heading into the final 110
seconds.
Greenan broke the tie with a
single free-throw, only for Felix to do likewise with
exactly a minute left.
A Josh Clark foul with 44 second
left sent Cairns to the line where he coolly sunk
both charity shots. Wood missed a three-point effort,
and after both sides had called timeouts, the
visitors were forced to foul Sharlow.
The American point guard hit both
free-throws to put Leopards four up, and Johnson
grabbed Brown’s missed three-pointer to seal the
Big Cats’ win.
O Krubally 18, J Sharlow 17,
J Johnson 11, L K Cairns 9,Greenan 8, M Henry 5, S
Esprit 1, Z Wells, S Dunscombe, R Alexis, M Adomaitis
(DNP)
11 December 2010
Josh shoots down Warriors
Leicester Warriors 65
(23,38,55,65)
Leopards 73 (28,46,57)
JOSH Owen-Thomas poured in 21
points for Leopards as they moved up to fourth place
in EBL Division One with a victory at Leicester
Warriors, on Saturday.
The 19-year-old became the Big
Cats’ seventh different leading scorer this
season as they picked up their third away victory in
four league games.
Solid defence again proved to be
the key for Mark Clark’s side as they held the
hosts to just ten points in the final period, and the
Leopards’ coach was delighted with the win:
“I was happy with the way we
started, and Josh Owen-Thomas showed what we knew
– that that he is a great shooter.
“I was always aware that
Leicester would get runs in the game and they played
hard and their zone was effective. We struggled for
any rhythm defensively in the second half but down
the end of the game though we showed great composure.
“Josh Johnson showed great
leadership, which allowed us to make very good
decisions down the stretch.”
Josh Sharlow and Borja Pintor
Henningsen each added ten points for the Big Cats,
and Clark was pleased with the contribution from
American forward Ousman Krubally who finished with
six points, seven rebounds and three blocks: “It
was good to get some minutes into Ousman which will
help going into the New Year.”
The game was won on the boards,
with Leopards out-rebounding the home side 44-35, and
the Warriors had only two players in double figures
with MD Janiska finishing with 19 points as well as
the seemingly obligatory technical foul, and K
Osibanjo adding 11.
In front of a pitiful crowd,
Owen-Thomas (pictured) opened the scoring
with the first of five three-pointers, and the Big
Cats controlled the opening period without ever being
able to pull away, going into the first break with a
28-23 lead as Johnson completed their scoring for the
first quarter.
There was little to choose
between the two sides in the second period as the
defences tightened up, with Leopards edging it 18-15
as Owen-Thomas drained another trey to wrap up the
scoring, leaving the visitors with a 46-38 lead going
into the locker room at half-time.
The home side started the second
half strongly as Leopards’ defence dried up, and
they were held to just two points in the first seven
minutes as Warriors took a 51-50 lead.
An Owen-Thomas trey finally ended
the drought, and the Big Cats closed out the period
well to lead 57-55 at the final break.
The visitors never trailed again
despite a bizarre technical foul called on assistant
coach Lloyd Gardner, and a pair of Johnson
free-throws wrapped up the win to keep Leopards’
top four hopes alive.
J Owen-Thomas 21, J Sharlow
10, B Pintor Henningsen 10, S Espirit 9, L Greenan 7,
O Krubally 6, J Johnson 6, M Henry 3, K Cairns 1, L
Annan.
20 November 2010
Leopards lose in Leeds
Leeds Carnegie 81
(20,42,56)
Leopards 70 (14,26,46)
TWENTY Josh Sharlow points
weren’t enough to prevent Leopards’
unbeaten league record coming to an end with an 81-70
loss at Leeds Carnegie on Saturday.
Simeon Esprit and Borja Pintor
Henningsen each added 12 points for a Leopards team
who were without Fola Adeleke and lost Marlan Henry
with a groin strain.
Scores from Henry and Sharlow
gave the Big Cats an early 4-2, but with Greenan
twice clattered as he attempted shots, the visitors
offence dried up and Carnegie hit 12 straight points
to take a lead they would never lose.
A trey from Keelan Cairns broke
the run, and having trailed by as many as 11,
Leopards went into the first break 20-14 down after
Pintor Henningsen drained a par at the line.
Leeds scored the first four
points of the second period, but a Sharlow lay-up
kept Leopards in touch, and Pintor Henningsen made it
an 11 point game with a trey.
Albert Margai hit a trey for the
home team to put them 32-18 ahead at the mid-stage of
the quarter, and Greenan picked up his third foul
with 3:46 on the clock before Cameron Gypson’s
offensive rebound and slam on the buzzer sent Leeds
into the locker room with a 42-26 lead.
A good start to the second half
saw Leopards trim that lead to 11, forcing a timeout
from Leeds coach Matt Newby, but the break made
little difference as Sharlow scored from downtown to
make it an eight point game.
A long Cairns shot saw
Leeds’ advantage cut to six, but that proved to
be as close as the visitors would come, with Zoltan
Supola hitting a trey on the way to his team-high 19
points.
Esprit hit one of two
free-throws, and Pintor Henningsen scored from long
range after pulling down an offensive rebound as
Leopards cut the deficit to 56-46 at the final break.
Leeds scored six of the first
eight fourth period points to force a timeout from
Mark Clark with 7:53 on the clock, and treys from
Cairns and Sharlow kept Leopards in touch.
Leopards’ game-plan of
dumping the ball inside to Greenan worked well in the
second half, but they were out-rebounded 47-31 by the
home team.
Sharlow drained from the Land of
Plenty with the shot clock running down to make it an
eight point game again, but Supola hit a dagger three
with under two minutes remaining to effectively wrap
up the win for Leeds.
Leopards: J Sharlow 20, S Esprit
12, B Pintor Henningsen 12, L Greenan 9, K Cairns 8,
J Owen-Thomas 3, J Johnson 2, M Henry 2, D Norton 2,
Z Wells, R Alexis (DNP)
14 November 2010
Cup dream ends for
Leopards
Leopards 79 (22,34,51)
Derby Trailblazers 82 (22,37,59)
LEOPARDS saw their National Cup
dreams come to an end as Division One champions Derby
Trailblazers won another thriller at the Brentwood
Centre.
Mark Clark’s team had
trailed by 11 going into the last five minutes of
Sunday’s quarter-final in front of another big
crowd, but despite a fine comeback from the Big Cats,
Simeon Esprit’s last gasp shot couldn’t
send the game into overtime.
Josh Sharlow led the scoring for
the home side with 20 points, six rebounds and four
assists, while Esprit added 19 points. Despite
playing under ten minutes in the first three period
due to foul trouble, seven foot centre Leigh Greenan
finished with 13 points.
For Derby, Gaylor finished with
18, with Woodhouse adding 17 and Sam O’Shea 12.
Leopards began the match with a
barrage of three-pointers, as Sharlow, Marlon Henry
and Keelan Cairns all converted shots from beyond the
arc, to help home side to a 19-11 advantage after
just six minutes.
A Derby time out sparked an
immediate response, with Gayle and Matt Shaw nailing
a pair of threes to end the home side’s 13-4
run. Gayle was then on target again with a buzzer
beating three that bounced all around the rim for
what seemed like an eternity before finally dropping
through the hoop, to tie the scores at 22.
The second quarter saw Leopards
regularly building a four point advantage thanks to
free-throws from Fola Adeleke and Josh Johnson, but a
harsh unsportsmanlike call on Adeleke saw the
visitors go into the locker room 37-34 ahead.
Only Esprit troubled the scorers
in the first two and half minutes of the second half
for Leopards, and a poor third period saw them down
by eight at final break.
That lead grew to 11 when Gayle
hit another trey, and the Big Cats were still down by
double digits before a Greenan basket sparked a
comeback.
Esprit made it a five point game
going into the final two minutes when he scored from
downtown, and three-from-four foul shots by Greenan
saw Leopards trailing 81-79 entering the last 60
seconds.
Henry missed a jump shot, and
Leopards were forced to foul Woodhouse to stop the
clock. The big man missed the first but hit the
second free-throw to leave Leopards needing a trey.
Esprit saw his effort rim out,
and although Sharlow grabbed the rebound, he
couldn’t get a shot off and Derby went into the
hat for the semi-final draw.
Leopards: J Sharlow (20), S
Esprit (19), L Greenan (13), M Henry (11), K Cairns
(9), J Johnson (4), F Adeleke (3), J Owen-Thomas (2),
R Alexis, Z Wells & D Akibo (DNP)
13 November 2010
Leopards down Rockets
Reading Rockets 61
(17,32,48) Leopards 73 (16,30,46)
A strong fourth period saw
Leopards win their first ever game in Reading as the
Rockets were beaten 73-61 on Saturday evening.
The Big Cats had lost their
previous nine games in Berkshire, but they produced
some stifling defence in the closing stanza to move
up to joint fourth in the Division One table.
Mark Clark’s side trailed by
six points with seven minutes remaining, but held the
hosts scoreless for five minutes as they poured in 14
straight points before wrapping the win up from the
foul line.
Josh Sharlow led the way for the
Leopards with 19 points, nine rebounds and five
assists, while Leigh Greenan added 14 points and five
boards, with Josh Johnson (12) and Simeon Esprit (10)
also finishing in double figures.
Rockets' captain Ryan Lohfink had
a ten point, ten rebound double-double with Louis
Sayers top scoring with 17 points and Harrison Gamble
scoring 13.
There was little to choose
between the teams in the opening three quarters, with
the lead changing hands 13 times during those 30
minutes.
Sharlow opened the scoring with a
jump shot, and with Marlan Henry hitting a trey,
Leopards rushed into a 5-0 lead in the first two
minutes.
Sharlow added another seven
points in the period as Leopards controlled the first
nine minutes, but having led 16-10 going into the
final minute of the quarter, the visitors allowed
Reading to close out the period with a 7-0 run to
lead by one.
Greenan converted a lay-up to
restore Leopards’ lead at the start of the
second quarter, but Reading hit eight unanswered
points as the visitors were held scoreless for four
minutes.
Keelan Cairns broke the run with
a three-pointer before he hit a second one from
downtown, and Johnson did likewise as Leopards
narrowed the gap to 32-30 going into the locker room.
Esprit buried another trey to
open the second half, but in a close third period the
biggest lead came with two minutes remaining when
Sharlow put the visitors 44-40 ahead, but despite a
pair of Sharlow free throws, Rockets closed out the
period on an 8-2 run to go into the final break 48-46
ahead.
Lohfink doubled that lead with
the opening shot of final quarter, and despite scores
from Owen-Thomas and Greenan, a Matt Guymon trey put
Reading 56-50 ahead going into the final seven
minutes.
At that point Leopards noticeably
stepped up their defence and Sharlow launched the
streak that sealed the game for the visitors.
Repeated steals by the Big Cats
saw Rockets held scoreless as two three-point plays
from Greenan saw his side take a 64-56 lead.
Robbie Parker broke the run with
a trey, but although Leopards struggled from the line
as Reading fouled to stop the clock, the home side
were restricted to four minutes in the remaining two
minutes as Leopards wrapped up a second consecutive
away league victory.
Leopards: J Sharlow (19), L
Greenan (14), J Johnson (12), S Esprit (10), K Cairns
(8), M Henry (5), J Owen-Thomas (4), F Adeleke (1), Z
Wells, R Alexis & D Akibo (DNP)
6 November 2010
Leopards shot down by
Flyers
Leopards 67 (18,32,52)
Bristol Academy Flyers 78 (26,46,59)
A POOR start and end to the game
saw Leopards go down 78-67 at Barking Abbey on
Saturday as Bristol Academy Flyers stayed top of
Division One.
Andreas Kapoulas’ team never
looked back after scoring the first ten points of the
game, and the closest the Big Cats came was when they
made it a three point game early in the final period.
Leigh Greenan led the
Leopards’ scoring for the second straight game
with 14 points and seven boards, with Keelan Cairns
also pulling down seven rebounds to go with his 13
points and Simeon Espirit adding 11 points, four
boards and three steals.
Greg Streete led the visitors
with 22 points and seven rebounds, with Doug
McLaughlin-Williams adding 15 points and eight boards
while his American compatriot Davis Bown finished
with 11 points and five rebounds.
English pair Tyrone Treasure and
Streete were on fire in the opening three minutes as
they each hit five points to put Bristol in control,
but with Cairns and Josh Owen-Thomas each hitting
three-pointers the home side fought back to make it
22-18 going into the final possession.
The Leopards had the ball, but
managed to turn it over, and as coach Mark Clark
shouted at his side he was called for a ludicrous
technical foul, and the bench also picked up a T
(though it appeared to be called on Clark), leaving
Andrew St John to calmly sink all four free-throws
and send his side into the first break 26-18 ahead.
McLaughlin Williams extended that
lead with the opening score of the second period, but
five straight Borja Pintor-Henningsen points kept
Leopards in touch at 36-30 going into the last four
minutes of the half.
It was still a six point game
going into the final 2:15 of the half following pair
of Greenan free-throws, but sparked by a Rob Loftman
basket, the visitors closed out the period strongly
with a 9-0 run to lead 47-32 going into the locker
room.
Clark’s half-time blast for
team clearly worked, as Marlan Henry opened the
second half scoring, and although Leopards’
struggles from the free-throw line continued –
they converted just 52 percent from the charity
stripe – they held the visitors to just 12
points in the quarter and an Owen-Thomas trey cut the
deficit to 59-52 at the final break.
Josh Johnson drained from
downtown to slice that lead to four in the opening
minute of the fourth period, and Owen-Thomas made it
a three-point game after Streete collected a
technical foul.
Fola Adeleke – retuning to
the side after a spell in The States - missed a trey
that would have levelled the score, but a pair of
Cairns free-throws kept Leopards in touch as they
trailed 63-59 with 6:50 on the clock.
That was as close as it got,
though, and Bowne made it a ten point game with four
minutes remaining, and although Josh Sharlow made it
74-67 heading into the final 35 seconds, that was as
close as Leopards came as they lost their first
league game of the campaign.
Leopards: L Greenan 14, K Cairns
13, S Espirit 11, J Sharlow 8, J Owen-Thomas 7, M
Henry 6, B Pintor-Henningsen 5, J Johnson 3, F
Adeleke, Z Wells, S Dunscombe, D Norton.
31 October 2010
Leopards hold on to beat
Warriors
Leopards 72 (19,32,57)
Westminster Warriors 69 (10,27,49)
LEIGH Greenan finished with a 24
point, 12 rebound double-double as Leopards reached
the National Cup quarter-final for a fourth straight
season.
Mark Clark’s side will now
host Division One champions Derby Trailblazers in the
last eight, and the Big Cats’ coach was pleased
with the result although he admitted his team should
have wrapped the win up earlier in the game:
“We won, which was the
important thing, but we certainly made hard work of
it” he said. “The fact that our top two
scorers from last week [Keelan Cairns and Simeon
Espirit] scored just one point between them says
something, but a win’s a win.”
In front of their first ever 1000
plus crowd, Leopards trailed for just 44 seconds in
the game, but Westminster still had the ball with
five seconds remaining and it took some tough defence
to prevent them having a shot to send the game into
overtime.
Josh Sharlow finished with 13
points, seven rebounds and three assists, with Josh
Johnson adding 12 points and Josh Owen-Thomas ten.
Baker led the visitors with 17
points, with Yannick Bulambwe adding 15 and
player-coach Junior Williams 13.
Former England international
Williams opened the scoring from the foul line for
the visitors, but four straight Greenan points
sparked a 15-2 run which looked to have put Leopards
in control and despite Greenan being forced to sit
down on two fouls, the home side went into the first
break 19-10 ahead.
The visitors scored the first
four points of the second period before Owen-Thomas
ended the drought with a three pointer, and the Big
Cats still held a 24-18 lead at the mid-stage of the
quarter.
A Baker trey made it a five point
with 75 first half seconds remaining, but a timeout
from Clark steadied things, and Greenan’s basket
sent the Big Cats into the locker room leading 32-27.
That lead was wiped out at the
start of the second half as treys from Baker and
Williams in an 8-2 run saw the visitors take their
second brief lead of the game.
Sharlow buried a trey to end the
run, and the American point guard hit another shot
from long range to put Leopards back in charge.
The hosts’ lead was seven at
the midway stage of the period, and a pair of Johnson
free-throws saw their advantage grow to ten going
into the final two minutes of the quarter before
Owen-Thomas sunk a triple to beat the buzzer and send
Leopards into the final break with a 57-45 lead.
Williams opened the fourth period
scoring, but Johnson replied from downtown and he hit
another long range effort to give Leopards what
appeared to be an unassailable 64-50 lead with six
and half minutes remaining.
The lead was still in double
figures with three and half minutes remaining after a
Borja Pintor Henningsen trey, but the visitors
chipped away at that advantage and a Lucas basket
made it a six point game going into the final minute.
Marlan Henry, who had a poor
shooting game with just one of his 11 field goal
attempts going in, hit one of two foul shots, to make
it 71-64 with 30 seconds remaining but Baker sliced
that lead with a jump shot.
Johnson converted only one of
four free-throws as Warriors fouled to stop the
clock, and Baker drained a trey to set up a frantic
final five seconds.
Henry was sent to the foul line,
and although he missed both shots, some frantic
defending saw Leopards hold on for the win.
Leopards: L Greenan 24, J Sharlow
13, J Johnson 12, J Owen-Thomas 10, B Pintor
Henningsen 6, M Henry 6, K Cairns 1, S Espirit, S
Dunscombe, R Alexis (DNP), F Adeleke (DNP), L
Robertini (DNP)
16 October 2010
Leopards lose at Capital
PAWS
London Capital 73 (22,35,55) Leopards 56 (18,34,41)
LEOPARDS’
need for another offensive threat was plain to see as
they went down 73-56 in the National Trophy at
Capital City Academy on Saturday evening.
The
Big Cats have averaged only 58.3 points in their
three games against Division One opposition this
season, and only two players finished in double
figures as they went lengthy spells without scoring.
The
club’s management are now expected to step up
their search for a scorer ahead of next week’s
Division One opener at Brixton Topcats.
Simeon
Espirit led the scoring for Mark Clark’s team
with 12 points, with Josh Johnson and Josh Sharlow
each adding nine.
Charlando
Brown led the hosts with 28 points, while Chiedozi
Offiah added 15 and Ibrahim Gariba 13.
The
visitors’ pre-game plans were left in tatters as
they arrived in north west London to find that the
court had been marked out under the post 2012 rules
which feature a wider key under the basket and a
three point arc that is a further metre out that the
old markings.
Predictably,
Leopards struggled with the different lay-out, with
none of the players having encountered those
dimensions before, with a poor three-point average
and several shots clearly passed up by the young Big
Cats team.
An
Espirit trey – the only the visitors hit in the
first half – put them 5-2 up early in the game,
but Capital answered with an 18-0 run which saw
Leopards held scoreless for over five minutes.
A
timeout from coach Clark with a score at 8-5 made
little difference, and it took until the 3:32 mark
for Leopards to trouble the scorers again when Leigh
Greenan hit a long jumper.
That
sparked a 13-2 run from the Leopards, with Josh
Johnson converting an and-one before scores from
Espirit and Cairns sent them into the first break
trailing only 22-13.
Scores
from Josh Johnson, Cairns and Greenan saw Leopards
narrow the deficit to three, and a four straight
Sharlow free-throws saw the Big Cats take a 34-33 lad
with 95 seconds on the clock before Brown netted the
final points of the half to send his side into the
locker room 35-34 ahead.
Having
survived that first period drought, Leopards were
never able to repeat the trick after the half-time
interval and they managed just two points in the
opening eight and half minutes in the second half as
Capital built a 53-37 lead.
Sharlow
broke the run, and although Josh Owen-Thomas also
sunk a long two-pointer, the Big Cats went into the
final break trailing 55-41.
Five
straight Owen-Thomas points made it a nine point game
early in the fourth period, but that was as good as
it got for the visitors as Brown sunk a trey to
launch a 7-0 Capital run and despite another timeout
from Clark, the home team closed out the run.
S
Espirit 12, J Johnson 9, J Sharlow 9, L Greenan 8, J
Owen-Thomas 7, Cairns 5, L Olanigi 4, B Henningsen 2,
M Henry
10 October 2010
Sharlow leads the way for Leopards
Leopards
100 (25,51,74) Hackney White Heat 65 (17,31,51)
JOSH
Sharlow led the way with 17 points, 15 assists and
five rebounds as Leopards comfortably progressed to
the National Cup third round.
In
a tie switched to Barking Abbey, Sharlow didn’t
take a shot in the first half but dished out nine
assists, before hitting four of his five three-point
attempts after the break to lead the Big Cats to
victory.
Leigh
Greenan and Lucky Olanyi each added 14 points despite
playing only 14 and 23 minutes respectively, with
Keelan Cairns (13), Simeon Espirit (12) and Josh
Owen-Thomas (11) all getting in double figures.
Leopards
started slowly as only Greenan scored for them in the
first three and a half minutes, with Hackney rushing
into a 7-2 lead, and the Division Three team were
still 15-9 ahead with just over six minutes gone
before the Big Cats finally sparked into the life.
Josh
Johnson started what proved to be a key 13-0 run, and
with Cairns draining a trey and Olanyi hitting four
points, the Big Cats grabbed a lead they would never
lose before going into the first break 25-17 ahead on
the back of an Owen-Thomas three-point play.
Five
Greenan points and another Cairns three pointer saw
that lead grow to 33-19 after three second period
minutes, and Olanyi made it 43-24 with four minutes
of the half remaining.
Hackney
did manage a 6-2 run to reduce the arrears, but
Marlan Henry capped a 6-0 tear to close out the half
with Leopards 51-31 ahead.
P
Ousemeka opened the second half scoring for White
Heat, but five points from Sharlow in a 10-0 run saw
Leopards’ lead balloon to 28 points, and a pair
of Espirit treys helped Mark Clark’s side go
into the final break 74-51 ahead.
C
Morris – who led Hackney with 21 points –
and Ousemeka cut that lead with the opening baskets
of the final period, but Sharlow answered from
downtown and although White Heat made it an 18 point
game Leopards wrapped the win with a 17-0 run,
Espirit hitting six points and Sharlow five.
The
Big Cats will now host Westminster Warriors in the
last 16 at Brentwood on Sunday October 31.
Leopards:
J Sharlow 17, L Greenan (14), L Olanyi (14), K Cairns
(13), S Espirit (12), J Owen-Thomas (11), B Pintor
Henningsen (9), M Henry (6), J Johnson (4), L
Robertin, R Broadmore (DNP), D Akibo (DNP)
9 October 2010
Leopards shot down by Flyers
Bristol
Academy Flyers 82 (10,43,59) Leopards 63 (16,28,49)
LEOPARDS
failed to build on a strong start as they went down
82-63 at Bristol Academy Flyers on Saturday evening.
The Big
Cats rushed into a 16-1 lead, but then allowed the
home side back into the game as never recovered the
momentum.
“That
start was probably the worst thing that could have
happened for us” admitted coach Mark Clark.
“Once they got back into the game we started
taking silly shots, and we’re not going win
games like that.”
Clark
gave debuts to American point guard Josh Sharlow and
big Spaniard Borger Pintor Henningsen, with the
former finishing with 11 points and an impressive
eight assists while the latter struggled with foul
trouble but showed flashes of his potential late in
the game.
Simeon Esprit had an excellent
game on the way to 15 point haul, with Leigh Greenan
also scoring 15.
Leopards won the tip, and Sharlow
missed a three-point attempt and it took nearly two
minutes before Flyers’ Doug McLaughlin-Williams
hit a single free-throw to open the scoring.
It was Espirit who sparked the
Big Cats run with some good hustle as he hit
back-to-back baskets before Sharlow scores his first
basket in a Leopards’ vest.
Keelan Cairns made it 9-1 with a
three-pointer before a pair of Greenan baskets and
one for Josh Owen-Thomas saw the Big Cats take a 16-1
lead and force a timeout from Bristol coach Andreas
Kapoulas with five minutes of the game of the game
gone.
The move worked, and Tyrone
Treasure – who led the hosts with 20 points -
hit a three out of the break to launch a 9-0 run as
Bristol made it a six point game at the first break.
McLaughlin-Williams buried a
three to open the second period, and although Greenan
and Sharlow kept the Big Cats ahead, the home side
took the lead for the first time with three minutes
gone when Treasure hit a free-throw to make it 21-20.
Flyers never trailed again,
helped by somehow avoiding being called for a foul in
nearly 14 minutes, and they closed out the half with
a 23-8 run to lead by 15 going into the locker room.
Espirit
was the key again for the Big Cats in the third
period as they finished the period strongly. He eight
points, including a pair from downtown, as the
visitors cut the deficit to 59-49 going into the
final break.
That was
as good as it got for the visitors, though, and
Robert Loftman opened the fourth period scoring to
launch a 6-0 Bristol run and despite another Espirit
trey and seven points from Greenan, the home side
closed out the win with a 23-14 quarter.
Leopards
will now need to win at PAWS London Capital next
Saturday to keep their National Trophy hopes alive.
Leopards:
S Espirit 15, L Greenan 15, J Sharlow 11, K Cairns 5,
J Owen-Thomas 5, B Pintor Henningsen 4. M Henry 4, J
Johnson 2, M Adomaitis 2, D Norton
26 September 2010
Leopards lose opener
LEOPARDS
still have lots of work to do following their 83-54
home loss against Reading Rockets on Sunday.
With
American point guard Josh Sharlow still in The
States, and other signings to follow, it was a young
Leopards team who faced Rockets in their opening
National Trophy game at the Brentwood Centre.
“We’re
still a long way from the finished article”,
said general manager Dave Ryan. “By the time we
return to Brentwood in five weeks we’ll
definitely have Josh, and we’re also looking at
adding two other senior players.
“That’ll
change the whole dynamics of the team, and give us
some more experience. The kids did well, and it was
good to see that Friday’s rush to get Keelan
Cairns’ international clearance was worthwhile,
we just need to give them a bit of help.”
Marlan
Henry, the team’s veteran at 27, led the scoring
with 14 points, while Simeon Esprit and Cairns each
added nine points – the former also pulling down
nine rebounds.
The
Big Cats had no answer to Rockets’ American Niko
Scott who led all scorers with 28 points in just 24
minutes, with Louis Sayers and Matt Guymon each
adding ten points.
Espirit
opened the scoring with a pair from the foul line,
and scores from Henry and Cairns helped Leopards into
a 7-4 lead after four minutes of action.
But Scott gave notice of what was to come with eight
straight points as Rockets grabbed a lead they would
never lose, and despite Cairns and Henry both scoring
treys, the visitors led 24-19 at the first break.
Espirit
again opened the scoring in the second period, and a
Josh Owen-Thomas trey made it a two-point game before
Scott capped a 13-2 run with five points to put
Rockets into a double-digit lead.
The
visitors closed out the half strongly with the final
12-0 run, with Junior Jack hitting a pair of treys
– including a buzzer beater – to send his
team into the locker room leading 53-30.
Matt
Gymon opened the second half scoring for Reading, and
although Espirit hit four points in a 6-0 run,
Leopards were never able to get the margin below 20
as four Sayers points put Reading 71-42 up at the
final break.
An
8-2 run early in the fourth period sparked by Dominic
Norton did give the home fans something to cheer
about but Reading comfortably held on for the victory
and the Leopards’ coaching staff will be looking
to strengthen their squad before returning to action
on October 9 at Bristol.
Leopards:
M Henry 14, S Espirit 9, K Cairns 9, L Greenan 8, J
Johnson 5, D Norton 4, J Owen-Thomas 3, L Annan 2, S
Dunscombe, M Adomaitis, Z Wells, D Akibo (DNP)
10 September 2010
Leopards fall to Americans
LEOPARDS’
season opened with a defeat against a strong looking
Team USA Select side at Brentwood, on Friday as they
went down 56-74.
With
20-year-old Leigh Greenan the Big Cats’ second
oldest player, it was a youthful home side who took
to the floor, but with two senior players still to
join up with Mark Clark’s team there were plenty
of positives for the Leopards.
Greenan
finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 19
points, while Marlan Henry added 13 points, four
rebounds and two steals with Josh Johnson chipping in
with eight points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Eddie
Marrs led the visitors with 17 points, five boards
and four steals, with Jarvis Hill and Devon Carter
each adding 13 points, and the latter pulling down
five rebounds.
The
Big Cats out-rebounded the Select team 39-30, but
struggled offensively and also turned the ball over
23 times.
Greenan
opened the scoring with a three-point play, and a
tight first period saw the visitors go into the
second quarter with a 23-21 lead.
They
never gave up that advantage as a 13-0 run saw USA
take control of the game, and they went into locker
room with a 42-28 lead.
A
low scoring third period saw the visitors shade it
10-8 to lead by 16 at the final break, and they
wrapped things up with a 22-20 fourth stanza.
Leopards
continue their pre-season warm-up when BBL play-off
champions Mersey Tigers visit Barking Abbey on Sunday
afternoon. Tip-off is 4 pm, with admission by
programme priced at £2.
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