Essex & Herts Leopards 94 (21,50,69)
Worcester Wolves 77 (27,44,55)

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Hayden Herrin overcame 'flu' to hit 31 points as Leopards recorded their first back-to-back victories of the season. The American point-guard was in superb form as the Big Cats broke their Wodson Park duck with a well-deserved victory against the National Cup semi-finalists.

As well as his game-high scoring, Herrin finished with nine steals, eight assists and seven rebounds. Herrin was not the only Leopard to shine, with forward Matt Eames continuing his fine run of form, finishing with 16 points to help the Big Cats to a victory they could have sewn up earlier if they had turned their dominance into points.

The hosts started strongly, with Herrin scoring five points as they took a 7-3 lead, but although the former NAIA national champion in the USA scored 11 points in the first quarter, some poor defence from Leopards allowed Wolves to put together a 15-6 run and lead 27-21 at the first break.

New signing Laurent Irish scored the opening five points for the Leopards in the second period, but the former Milton Keynes Lions player was also called for a harsh intentional foul to allow Wolves to stay in front. Scoop Wicker broke his scoring duck two minutes into the second period but, after some superb defensive play from Herrin had seen him steal the ball, score a lay-up and then drain a trey, Wicker picked up his third foul of the game. A long three-pointer as the shot clock expired with 2:13 of the half remaining put Leopards 41-40 ahead, and the Big Cats never trailed again.
The trey formed part of a 7-0 run for Leopards, with Eames hitting three-from-four foul shots, but it was Rodney Alexander who rounded off the half in style with a half-court shot as the buzzer went to double the home side’s lead to six at the break.

Herrin started the second half in style with a three from the side of the key, and then drained the bonus after being fouled in the act of shooting. Those four points launched a 10-0 run for the Leopards, with Wicker, Eames and Mark Quashie all contributing, and a trey from Wicker just before the final break saw the Big Cats maintain the 14 points lead as they started the fourth period.

The first three minutes of the final quarter saw Leopards in control, with a finger roll from Quashie taking the margin to 16 with 7:09 remaining. However, back-to-back three point plays from Renaldo Edmonson and Ben Potts cut the lead to eight, and further scores from Ty Shaw and Chiverton saw coach Jon Burnell a time-out with Leopards lead down to five points with 5:22 remaining. That proved to be as close as Wolves came, as a Roger Lloyd lay-up ended the run, and sparked an 14-0 streak for the Big Cats during which time they took plenty of time off the clock to wrap up their first victory of the season at Wodson Park.

Leopards: H Herrin (31), M Eames (16), S Wicker (13), M Quashie (10), R Alexander (9), L Irish (8), R Lloyd (7)

Juniors
The U16 boys were beaten in the cup 51-46 in a low scoring encounter at London Towers. Better news for the U18s who returned to winning ways with a 55-45 win at Waltham Forest. Full reports to follow