Leeds, PAWS, Reading win at home
17th January 2011by Dave Ryan
Reading Rockets moved up to second place in Division One with a 75-61 home victory against Durham Wildcats.
In arguably the tightest league in recent years, the Rockets now lead a pack of five clubs with five wins apiece who are chasing leaders Bristol Academy Flyers, with seventh placed Leopards also in the mix with games in hand over all of the sides above them.
"I am really pleased with the win because we were certainly not at our best, but I couldn't fault the effort and competitiveness the players showed throughout the game," said Reading coach Samit Nuruzade. "We have a number of things to work on going forward, however it was an important win over what has been one of the leading teams so far this season."
"We battled hard defensively, and despite holding them to 61, there is definitely room for improvement. Offensively, we just turned the ball over too many times but that is something we can rectify this week when we review the game.
The game began with neither team finding their shooting range as just seven points were scored in as many minutes, until a pair of Harrison Gamble threes and four quick points by Niko Scott gave the Rockets a 16-6 lead.
The second period saw Durham hit 21 points as they pierced Rockets' defence with 6'10" Michael Davies prominent, but with Scott scoring nine points, it was the hosts who went into the locker room with a six point advantage at (33-27).
Forty-two points were shared in the third period with Gamble again prominent at both ends, hitting a crucial three with the score tied on 42 points a piece ensuring Durham never had a lead throughout the whole game.
The final period began with four quick Will Hall points easing Rockets to a ten point lead at 58-48 before Durham hit eight unanswered points cutting that advantage to two.
Gamble again hit a crucial three to open the gap to five and they quickly made it an 11-point game with just three minutes remaining before wrapping things up at the charity stripe.
Gamble finished with a 20 point, 12 rebound double-double with Scott adding 22 points and eight rebounds, while Lohfink hit 13 points in less than 15 minutes court time. Chris Pearce and Davis finished with 21 points apiece for the Wildcats with Paul Elderkin adding 13.
"Credit to Durham, going into the game we knew they would be tough, and they certainly gave us a test and I know our return trip up there will be a much closer affair than the scoreline in this game suggests," said Nuruzade.
The return of Adrian Fenyn proved crucial as Leeds Carnegie joined Rockets on five victories with a 96-80 home win against Leicester Warriors.
The American forward had been out of action since early November, but he marked his return to Matt Newby's side with a 21 point haul leading his team to victory.
The home side shaded a tight first period 22-18, and a strong second period saw that lead grow to 53-40. A 29-25 third period saw the Leeds' lead grow to 17 at the final break, and although Karl Brown's Warriors side won the final quarter 15-14, there was no way back for the visitors.
Albert Margai added 18 and Marek Koltun 16 for the home side, while Rishi Kakad continues to impress following his move from cross-town rivals Riders with 24 points for Warriors. Emile Hopkins added 19 for Warriors with Stephen Danso chipping in with ten.
PAWS London Capital overcame a stubborn Coventry Crusaders side to win 67-62 at home and move level with Durham in third place.
Milek Jivens' Capital side again had Charlando Brown to thank for the win as he poured in 19 points, with Kaleston Wood adding 16 and Ibrahim Gariba 12 for the hosts.
Crusaders rushed into 21-12 first period lead, but were outscored 25-8 in the second period to trail by four at half-time. A 19-10 third period put Crusaders back into charge as they went into the final break ahead by five points, but Capital stepped up to win the fourth period 20-10 and take their fifth win of the campaign.
Casey Crawford led the visitors with 21 points, with Siman Stewart adding 12 and Damilola Fakunle ten.