Teesside Mohawks 74 (18,43,61)
Essex & Hers Leopards 62 (12,37,53)

A poor performance saw Leopards return from their longest journey of the season empty handed, on Sunday. The Big Cats never really got going as their reliance on their two Americans proved their undoing. This was the kind of game that Jon Burnell’s team really needed to win if they are to make a run for a place in the top half of the table.

Mohawks came into the game on the back of a 34-point hammering against a Worcester Wolves side who Leopards had comfortably beaten in their last outing at Wodson Park. Point guard Hayden Herrin scored 20 of Leopards’ 37 first half points, but once the home side shut him down, the visitors struggled to score on a consistent basis. Scoop Wicker managed only six first half points before bouncing back to drain 11 in the third period as he matched Herrin’s 22 point haul.

It was Wicker who scored the Big Cats first four points as Leopards opened well, and a Herrin trey and a score from Laurent Irish kept them 9-7 ahead six minutes into the period, but the home side closed out the quarter with a 9-3 run to lead 18-12.

After seeing Mohawks extend their lead to eight with a Zambo Efuama basket, Herrin took over hitting back-to-back threes before draining three free-throws following a foul by Gavin Smith saw Leopards regain the lead at 21-20 with 7:07 on the clock. Despite Herrin draining another pair of treys before the half-time break, that proved to be the final time the Big Cats would lead. Teesside’s Mark Jackson made it a nine-point game in the dying seconds of the half, but a long-range buzzer-beater from Rodney Alexander saw Leopards cut the deficit to 43-37 at half-time.

Roger Lloyd scored the first four Leopards’ points of the second half, but the fact that it took six minutes for those points to come showed the extent of their offensive drought. The Big Cats were not helped by some puzzling calls by the officials, but when coach Burnell called a time-out with 3:57 remaining in the period, the home side had stretched their lead to 12 at 53-41. Wicker eventually broke his drought with a pair of free-throws, and the American guard went on to hit nine straight point for the Leopards to reduce the lead to eight. Roger Lloyd added a single free-throw before picking up a questionable fourth foul while battling for the rebound on his miss, but two Wicker scores from the charity stripe saw the Leopards trail by eight at the final break.

Both teams struggled offensively in the opening minutes of the final period, with the majority of the points coming from the foul line. Herrin scored his first points of the second half with 4:06 remaining to leave Leopards trailing 68-62, and even at this point they still looked capable of stepping up a gear and winning the game. That hope proved to be optimistic, however, as poor offensive execution and lack of discipline again let the visitors down, as they remaining scoreless during the final four minutes as Mohawks sealed the victory from the line.

Leopards: H Herrin 22, S Wicker 22, R Alexander 7, R Lloyd 5, T Christie 3, L Irish 2, M Quashie 1, M Eames, B Moore (DNP), C Mark (DNP)

Juniors
U16 Boys stay on track with a 66-58 win on the road at the London Capitals.

Full report to follow