Essex & Herts Leopards 107 (30,55,82)
Solent Stars 64 (14,30,47)

Leopards set a new club record as they hammered Solent Stars by 43 points, at Brentwood on Sunday. The gap between the top and bottom halves of the EBL Division One was clearly seen at Brentwood on Sunday as the Big Cats steamrollered the Hampshire side.

Demetrice Williams was again in scintillating form, scoring 23 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals as the home side led throughout the game. Despite being without guard injured guard Steve Ogunjimi, there never looked any chance of an upset as Jon Burnell’s side scored the first ten points of the game.

Errol Seaman opened the scoring for the hosts off a Williams assist, and with Williams, Troy Selvey and Sam Salter all getting on the scoresheet, Stars coach Steve Chant was forced to call a time out after just 2:16 with his side trailing 10-0. The break made little difference as three-pointers from Williams and Brian Moore took the margin to 16-2. Sam Salter and Dave Jones also drained efforts from the Land of Plenty, and with James Warwick converting an “and-one” opportunity, Leopards led 30-16 at the first break.

Three straight baskets from Williams, two of which came off Roger Lloyd assists, extended the lead to 38-19 as coach Burnell ran his bench for most of the period. Williams scored a total of ten points during the quarter, and with Salter adding six, the Big Cats reached half-time with a virtually unassailable 55-30 lead.

A pair of Salter threes, taking his tally to five for the game, saw Leopards open the second half in style, and with Williams and Moore also scoring long range shots, the home side steadily built their lead to go into the final period ahead by 35. Only Williams of the Big Cats’ starting line-up played any part in the fourth quarter as he went close to becoming the first Leopards to post a triple-double before sitting down with four minutes remaining.

Despite Solent keeping most of their starting players in the action, the Leopards bench still managed to outscore them 25-17, with Roger Lloyd playing a staring role. The veteran big man collected nine rebounds in the final period alone, as he finished with an impressive 15 rebounds, six points, five steals, four blocks and three assists as he rolled back the years in style.

There was also time for Burnell to give a debut to new signing, Pole Michal Wrzosek as Leopards rounded off a excellent all-round performance to move back into fifth place.

Leopards: D Williams 23, S Salter 20, J Warwick 20, T Selvey 17, B Moore 8, M Eames 6, R Lloyd 6, D Jones 3, E Seaman 2, E Gregory 2, T Christie, M Wrzosek.