UH West Herts Warriors 71 (15,24,48)
Essex & Herts Leopards 81 (20,49,61)

Leopards statistics.pdf

Leopards survived a second half comeback from Warriors to progress to the last 16 of the National Cup, where they will face Nottingham Knights at Wodson Park. The Big Cats produced a first half performance of almost total domination to lead by 25 points at half-time, but relaxed in the third period to allow the hosts to fight their back into the game.

With only one import player allowed in National Cup games, Big Cats’ coach Jon Burnell was forced to leave Scoop Wicker out of the Leopards line-up and give Barry Gooch his first start of the season, but it was player/assistant coach Brian Moore (pictured) who led the visitors with a 20 point haul.

Leopards had a clear height advantage, and they used it to good effect in the opening minutes as Mark Quashie scored their first six points to take a 6-5 lead. Moore hit eight straight points for the Big Cats, including two three-point plays, to take the visitors’ lead out to 15-9, and although Warriors replied with six unanswered points, a Matt Eames two and a Hayden Herrin trey sent Burnell’s team into the first break with a 20-15 lead.

With Eames and Ben Wallis performing well off the Leopards’ bench, the Big Cats proceeded to completely dominate the second period, opening with an 10-2 run, and even a time-out failed to halt their charge as six unanswered points took the lead to 38-20 with four minutes of the half remaining. A Roger Lloyd put-back ensured that all eight of the Big Cats team were on the scoreboard, and another 6-0 run to close out the period saw Leopards reach half-time with a commanding 49-24 lead.

Danny Scott opened the second half scoring with a pair of free-throws, but Warriors refused to lie down, and replied with eight straight points. With Herrin having a quiet game, the visitors struggled offensively throughout the third period, with Scott’s free-throws proving to be only points from the starting five. Eames prevented the hosts closing game significantly with seven points, while Lloyd added three, but Warriors closed out the third period with an 8-1 run as the final break arrived with Leopards leading 61-48.

The final quarter proved to be a tense one for the large travelling contingent, but five points from Moore helped Leopards split the first 14 points, as they went into the final six minutes with a 68-55 lead. Another Lloyd put-back helped increase the advantage to 14 with four minutes remaining, and although the home side cut that lead to eight points with two minutes remaining following a Quashie technical foul, time was running out for Warriors, as three-from-four foul shooting from Herrin helped the Big Cats seal the win from the free-throw line.

Leopards: B Moore (20), M Quashie (16), M Eames (13), R Lloyd (11), H Herrin (9), B Wallis (8), D Scott (3), B Gooch (1).