Leopards keep hopes alive with OT win
21st March 2011by Dave Ryan
London Leopards kept their title hopes alive with a hard-fought win against Derby Trailblazers on Sunday, but for the second successive week they needed overtime before making it seven victories on the bounce.
Mark Clark's side did it the hard way, though, as they let a nine point lead slip in the final three minutes of regulation time before blowing the visitors away with the first ten points of the extra period.
Leopards opened a 14-3 lead after five minutes, and only trailed for 48 seconds in the game, but were made to fight all the way by a Derby side they also meet next week and could play in the playoffs in a fortnight's time.
Ousman Krubally again led the home side with 27 points and 17 rebounds, with guards Josh Sharlow and Josh Johnson adding 20 and 19 respectively with the latter adding a career-high 17 boards.
Simeon Esprit added ten points and Keelan Cairns eight for a Leopards team who were also without Marlan Henry and Borja Pintor-Henningsen, and coach Clark had praise for his players after the game: "It was the best performance we've had as a group," he said. "The good young kids like Dominic Norton, Zak Wells and Lucky Olaniyi came in and really helped us out. We covered up well inside against one of the strongest teams inside without Leigh and Borja. Josh Johnson had 17 rebounds and that's the first time anyone's had as many rebounds as Ouse [Ousman Krubally]. Josh Sharlow and Ouse showed great leadership, and Keelan showed some great character to hit that big shot to break it open in overtime. Four players in double figures, including Simeon, is excellent."
Martyn Gayle led the Trailblazers with 20 points, with Mark Woodhouse adding ten and former Leopard Dave Attewell nine.
Krubally marked his first start by opening the scoring, and although Woodhouse levelled the score, there was no stopping the hosts in the first four minutes as Sharlow capped a 10-0 run, including three point plays from both Cairns and Krubally, to put the Leopards 12-2 ahead.
Krubally was forced to sit down after collecting his second personal foul, but Leopards went into the first break 22-13 ahead and they made it a double digit game again when Johnson opened the second period with a basket off Cairns' assist.
Esprit kept the lead in double figures, and the Leopards were up by 14 points at the midway stage of the quarter. However, that was the last time the home side scored before half-time as Attewell launched a 14-0 run. With Krubally forced to sit down on three fouls, the Trailblazers repeatedly went inside and Woodhouse scored with a put-back 24 seconds from time to send the teams into the locker room tied at 34.
Joel Madourie extended that run to 16 as Derby took their first lead of the game with the opening score of the second half before Sharlow finally ended the hosts' seven minute drought with a pair of free-throws.
Esprit scored a triple to launch a 12-2 run capped by a another pair of Sharlow foul shots, and although Simon Spencer finished a 5-0 run to close out the period, it was Leopards who took a 56-50 lead into the fourth period.
Krubally opened the fourth quarter with a pair of free-throws to make it an eight point game, but an 8-0 run from Derby levelled the score with Gayle draining from downtown.
The home side replied with six unanswered points and a Krubally put-back made it 71-62 with 4:18 on the clock.
In a virtual repeat of the end of the first half, Leopards then had a three and half minute drought as Attewell made it a three point game with a minute on the clock.
Johnson hit a pair at the line to make it 73-68, but Rema Lascelles replied before Attewell stole the inbound and fed the ball to Spencer, who levelled the score from outside and 26 seconds on the clock.
Johnson missed a jump shot and the visitors had a chance to steal the win but Spencer's shot from his own half was short.
Cairns opened the extra period with a three off Sharlow's assist, and Leopards never looked back as Johnson hit a long two and Sharlow buried shots from both inside and outside the arc.
A pair of Krubally free-throws made it a ten point game going into the last two minutes before he nearly brought the rim down with a huge dunk - earning himself the game's fourth technical foul in the process - to seal the win.