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Archive for March, 2010
March 31, 2010 at 8:13 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Matt Clear
Ben Eaves’ Rhode Island team suffered a season-ending loss to North Carolina in the NIT semi-finals last night.
The Rams went down 68-67 in overtime, and were unlucky not to come out with a victory after UNC’s Larry Drew appeared to trip Lamonte Ulmer on the last play of the game. But after no foul was called, the Tar Heels will move on to the NIT final.
Eaves played 17 minutes for the Rams, scoring four points on 1-3 shooting, all three-pointers. He also had two rebounds and blocked one shot.
The junior swingman was the last Brit still playing in NCAA competitions.
March 31, 2010 at 6:37 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Dave Ryan
Chris Finch and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers failed to move closer to the Western Conference title in the NBA D-League. As they Vipers went down 143-137 in overtime at Utah Flash on Tuesday evening.
If they beat Idaho tonight and Austin go down against Idaho, they will seal the title, before hosting Dakota on Friday and Saturday.
Picture courtesy & copyright of NBAE/Getty Images.
An early 10-2 run helped Vipers lead 29-27 at the first break, and extended that lead to 11 points early in the second, but Flash fed had 10-2 run of their own to level the game 61-61 going into the locker room.
Ten Antonio Anderson points in the third period kept Vipers in the game as the home side led 93-91 going into the fourth period, before another 10-2 run early in the fourth quarter put the Flash ahead by seven points.
However, Finch’s team slowly closed the gap and took the lead in the final minute of play behind Will Conroy’s 11 fourth quarter points. A Greene dunk off an inbounds play and two clutch free throws from Andre Ingram tied the game with 4.6 seconds to play in regulation. The Vipers failed to score at the buzzer and the game went into overtime.
The Flash dominated the extra period, outscoring the visitors 20-14 to take the win.
Vipers were led by Will Conroy’s 28 points and 10 assists while Julian Sensley finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds and Anderson added 25 points.
Meanwhile Nick Nurse’s Iowa Energy look likely to be without guard/forward Cartier Martin going into the play-offs after he was called up by Washington Wizards.
He is expected to join the Wizards today on the road and be available tonight when the team faces the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center in Texas.
Martin’s 31 games for the Energy this season have seen him average 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 29.6 minutes. He has scored in double figures 25 times, and notched one double-double. He recorded a season-high 37 points in a 127-120 loss at Erie BayHawks on March 6.
It will be his second stint in the NBA this season, having played for Golden State Warriors in January.. In ten games, two starts, with the Warriors in January, Martin averaged 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in 27.6 minutes. During his stint with Golden State, Martin scored in double figures three times, including an NBA career-high 20 points in a 99-96 road loss to the Sacramento Kings.
March 30, 2010 at 6:27 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Dave Ryan
Nick Nurse and the Iowa Energy have wrapped up the NBA D-League Eastern Division title, despite splitting their games against Dakota Wizards last weekend.
Curtis Stinson finished with a triple-double and Cartier Martin scored 30 points to lead the Iowa Energy to a 112-108 overtime victory on Friday night. Stinson’s finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists as he set the record for the most assists in any D-League regular season (516), while Earl Barron added 25 points and 14 rebounds in the victory.
It was their 36th victory of the season, which equals the record set by Idaho Stampede two years ago.
Pat Carroll made a lay-up with 70 seconds left, and centre Earl Barron hit two free throws to ice the game with three seconds on the clock.
The visiting Wizards gained revenge the following night as they outscored Energy 55-40 in the second half to claim a 107-99 victory.
Led by 28 points from Martin, Energy won both of the opening periods to go into the locker room with a 59-52 lead before Dakota stepped up to take the win.
Stinson finished with a 26 point, 13 assists double-double as he played all 48 minutes, while Barron also had a double-double of 18 points and 14 boards.
Energy now wrap up the regular season with a double header at Tulsa on Friday and Saturday.
March 30, 2010 at 2:17 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Chris Scruton
Performer of the week – Joel Freeland
Kieran Achara – Angelico BI ( Italy Serie A)
Angelico suffered a second successive defeat away to Banca Tercas at weekend. Going down 78-71 Kieran has another off day scoring just 1 point in 12 minutes and fouled out to top off a miserable weekend for im. Angelico now lie 12th on a 9-14 record with just 7 games to go in the regular season.
Robert Archibald – Malaga ( Spain ACB)
The same old story of Malaga’s season continued at weekend as they once again failed to capitaliseo n last weekends win by going down to Valencia 92-87. Robert was well below par scoring only 2 points, 1 steal and 1 block in 15 minutes of court time. Malaga slump to their 14th defeat of the season, and stay 7th on a 12-14 record.
Andrew Betts – Aris (Greece)
Similar to Malaga’s season, Aris’s is very stop start. At weekend they were defeated by Kolossos 79-73. Andrew was nuder par with his performance registering just 5 points and 5 boards in 13 minutes. Prior to this game, last wednesady saw Aris take on Valencia in the first leg of Eurocup quarter final. Aris went down by 7 at home, 71-64 and now face an uphill task to make the final 4. Andrew scored 8 points and 5 boards, but also turned the ball over 5 times. A dissapointing week for both Andrew and Aris as they look to bounce back strong this week.
Pops Mensah Bonsu – CSKA Moscow ( Russia )
CSKA look well on course to make the Euroleague final 4. Last Tuesday they easily despatched Caja laboral 88-63 in the first of a best of 5 game series. Pop’s did not feature in this game. On to last Thursday and once again CSKA dominated Caja, this time 83-63. Pop’s this time did play and made a telling contribution scoring 10 points in just 11 minutes off 6-10 shooting and 3 boards. Cska now just 1 win away from the final 4 and a step closer to regaining the Euroleague title.
Flinder Boyd – Ourense ( Spain LEB Gold)
After 6 consecutive defeats Ourense finally managed to get a win. In a thrilling game Ourense managed to edge it 64-63 against Breogan. Flinder chipped in 5 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 28 minutes. Ourense move on to a 13-17 record and are 14th in the table.
Dan Clarke – Estudiantes ( Spain ACB)
Estudiantes claimed a comprehensive win at weekend as they totally out played Manresa. the game finished 96-67 with Dan impressing with a haul of 11 points off 5-6 shooting in just 18 minutes. Estudiantes stay 6th on a 14-13 record.
Joel Freeland – Malaga ( Spain ACB)
It seems to becoming the norm me now saying Joel had another good game. Although Malaga have struggled for consistency this season, Joel rarely has! A game high 20 points off 11-15 shooting, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals in just 24 minutes is great going, but once again his team mates fail to oblige and they go down again.
Nick George – Fastweb ( Italy Lega 2)
Fastweb’s good season continued as they won a thrilling game away to Prima Veroli 78-77. Nick was a little quieter on the offensive from putting up just 6 points and 4 boards, but another victory will be pleasing as it leaves his team 4th on a 15-10 record just 3 games back on top spot with 5 games to go.
Jarret Hart – Keravnos ( Cyprus )
Keravnos wrapped up their quarter final tie as they dominated Apollon 84-75 in game 3. Jarret scored 8 points in the victory. Game 1 of the semi final against AEL saw Keravnos defeated by a solitary point, 75-74. This time Jarrett scored just 4 points. Game 3 on Friday night was another thriller and it took OT to separate the teams. This time though Kervavnos got the vital win 98-96. This time Jarrett played a crucial part nailing 12 points.
Michael Lenzley – Nymburk ( Czech Republic )
Nymburk shot themselves in the foot last week surrendering a vital 10 point lead in the first leg of the Eurocup Quarter final against Bilbao. The spaniards stifled the Czechs in the second half, and game eventually finished 59-47 to the Spanish visitors. Michael had a poor game scoring zero points off 5 missed attempts. A game definitely one to forget all around as they now need to beat Bilbao by 13 or more to progress. It was however business as usual for Nymburk in the league. At weekend they beat Praha 84-60 and edged closer to the league title. Michael only played 6 minutes scoring 2 points in the process. Nymburk stay top on a 34-3 record.
Nate Reinking – Mons ( Belgium )
Mons recorded a thrilling 2 point win over league leaders Liege at weekend. In a low scoring game that ended 61-59, Nate once again did not play and I can only put this down to injury. Mons are now 5th on a 11-12 record.
Andrew Sullivan – Newcastle Eagles
Eagles kept up their momentum at weekend to stay top of the BBL. They defeated the Rocks last Thursday night 91-82. Andrew had an up and down game scoring 22 points but this was off 14-27 shooting. He also grabbed 8 boards, and 3 steals in 31 minutes. With just 5 regular games left Eagles know that they can’t afford to slip up as Sharks are breathing down their necks.
March 29, 2010 at 11:35 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Dave Ryan
Chris Finch and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers closed in on the NBA D-League Western Conference title with a pair of home victories against Los Angeles D-Fenders over the weekend.
On Friday night they survived a torrid night from outside the arc to win 110-95 in front of a 5,377 crowd.
After leading 21-14 going into the final three minutes of the first period, Finch’s team conceded eight straight points to trail by one at the first break, but despite only scoring one of their 14 three-point attempts in the first half, they led 46-41 at half-time.
A 32-27 third period put Vipers in charge, and they repeated that in the final stanza to take their 32nd win of the campaign.
Ernest Scott hit 5-of-11 three-pointers while finishing with a game-high 23 points while Jonathan Wallace hit four of his nine attempts outside the arc, finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Will Conroy finished three rebounds shy of a triple-double while scoring 10 points and dishing out 10 assists.
It was tighter the following night, but a 120-117 victory against a dogged LA team moved them within a single victory of the title and second seed in the play-offs.
Wallace finished with 19 points while Will Conroy scored 24 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Antonio Anderson recorded a double-double with 19 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, three steals and one block.
Vipers won each of the first three periods by two points to lead 89-83 going into the final period, but the D-Fenders hung around and Ryan Forehan-Kelly had a shot on the buzzer to tie the game – only to see it rim out.
Finch and his team now visit Utah on Tuesday and Idaho the following night before hosting Dakota on Friday and Saturday.
Picture courtesy & copyright of NBAE/Getty Images.
March 29, 2010 at 11:35 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Dave Ryan
It doesn’t get any better for Ben Gordon and the Detroit Pistons as they have suffered three losses against fellow strugglers in the last week.
Tuesday evening saw them travel to Indiana Pacers, and they set another unwanted record as the away side completed their first season sweep over the Pistons since joining the NBA in 1976.
After a tight first half which saw Gordon’s team trailing 51-49 at half-time, they were outscored 27-17 in the third period and 21-17 in the fourth on the way to a 98-83 home loss.
Gordon again played 29 minutes, finishing with 12 points off five from 14 shooting, adding four assists and two boards.
The 26-year-old was Pistons’ second highest scorer in the game, and with four of the five Detroit players who were in double figures coming off the bench, it suggests that they have already given up on the season.
They then moved onto New Jersey Nets, who were busy trying to avoid the worst ever NBA season, and helped them out by losing 118-110.
Gordon finished with eight points off a three from nine shooting night, adding four assists in 21 minutes.
Having led by six at half-time, Pistons were outscored 71-57 in the second half as they suffered their 14th loss in their last 16 road games.
With Gordon’s former team-mate Luol Deng still missing from Chicago Bulls’ line-up, it should have been a good time for him to show his old team what they were missing, but Gordon finished with just three points as Detroit suffered a 110-103 loss against the Bulls on Sunday.
A 62-44 first half paved the way for Bulls to keep alive their play-off hopes, and with Deng expected to return in around a week, it looks like he’ll still have something to play for when he returns.
Gordon played only 14 minutes, converting just one of his five field goal attempts, and added a pair of rebounds and two steals.
While Detroit now languish in 13th place with a 23-50 record, Bulls have the same amount of wins as eighth placed Toronto, having played a game more – and it looks a straight fight between the two for eighth spot.
Pistons will look to snap an eight game losing streak when they host Miami on Wednesday before Phoenix are the visitors on Friday an they travel to Atlanta on Saturday.
Meanwhile the Deng-less Bulls will host Phoenix on Tuesday before visiting Washington on Friday and hosting Charlotte on Saturday.
March 29, 2010 at 4:13 am · Filed under EBL
LEOPARDS have announced that head coach Jon Burnell will step down from the job at the end of the season.
Burnell will coach the Big Cats for their remaining league game, at Sheffield on Easter Saturday, and the home Essex Cup game against Essex Pirates on Sunday April 11 before leaving the job after six seasons.
“We’d like to thank Jon for everything he’s done for Leopards” said chairman Fred Dicker. “However, it’s become clear that we need to take Leopards in a new direction, and due to Jon having a full-time job, it’s not possible for him to continue as coach.”
Burnell had coached the Ware Rebels club that was taken over by Leopards in the summer of 2004 during their final season, and has led the Big Cats throughout their six year existence.
He led them to the National Cup title in 2005/6, and three semi-finals in 2009 as well as third spot in the EBL Division One.
However, this season has seen the Big Cats struggle, and although they are now comfortably clear of the relegation zone, the club’s board of directors have decided that major changes have to be made.
“It was a tough decision for us to replace Jon” admitted general manager Dave Ryan. “He’s been our coach for six years, and we’re all friends.
“But it’s become increasingly clear that the way the club is currently recruiting players isn’t working and we have to make changes.
“There will be some announcements over the next couple of weeks, and there’s a good chance that Jon will still be involved with the club. It will be an exciting time for the Leopards, and the work that Jon has put in over the years had helped us get to the point that we’re now ready to take a major step forward.”
March 26, 2010 at 10:36 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Matt Clear
The Washington Huskies were defeated 69-56 last night by West Virginia, ending their NCAA tournament run.
Eleventh-seeded Washington hung with the second-seeded Mountaineers during the first half, as both teams forced plenty of turnovers and struggled to get their offense going.
But WVU pulled away thanks to plenty of second-chance points, and Washington, bothered by the length of the Mountaineers, didn’t have the offensive firepower to claw their way back.
Matthew Bryan-Amaning wasn’t able to get much going offensively as West Virginia crowded the paint. He finished with four points on 2/7 shooting, two assists, and three turnovers.
MBA led the Huskies with eight rebounds, but didn’t get much help as his undersized teammates were outmuscled by West Virginia’s forwards. The Mountaineers got 23 offensive rebounds, compared to only 18 defensive boards for Washington.
Bryan-Amaning tied a career high with five blocks in the game, adding two steals and generally doing a good job defensively, aside from a second-half sequence where Mountaineer reserve forward Deniz Kilicli scored six straight points on him with alarming ease.
Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said: “I’m really proud of our team. For the last two months I thought we played exceptional basketball. We played against an exceptional team tonight, however, and they did a very good job against us. We just couldn’t get it done and we give West Virginia a lot of credit.”
March 25, 2010 at 11:50 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Matt Clear
Matthew Bryan-Amaning’s Washington Huskies will face West Virginia tonight with a place in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament at stake.
The Huskies are full of confidence after defeating Marquette and pummelling New Mexico. But they haven’t yet faced, much less beaten, a team as good as WVU this year. The Mountaineers finished the regular season ranked No. 6 nationally, and were unlucky to miss out on a 1-seed in the tournament. They dispatched their first- and second-round opponents with relative ease, and boast one of college basketball’s top clutch players in Da’Sean Butler.
Unusually, the Mountaineers start four forwards – most NCAA teams use a three-guard lineup – and all four are 6-7 or taller. The Huskies will need to overcome their high disadvantage to get defensive stops and force the turnovers that fuel their high-scoring offense.
As Washington’s tallest player, Matthew Bryan-Amaning will be crucial to this. MBA’s rebounding sometimes suffers due to his tendency to try and block every shot in the paint, so the Londoner will need to stay at home more to prevent West Virginia’s posts from cleaning up on the offensive glass.
Bryan-Amaning will also need to get out in transition, as he did frequently against New Mexico, in order to tire the Mountaineer forwards and perhaps get them into foul trouble. With 6-8 WVU posts Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks averaging 25 points and 15 rebounds per game between them, this will surely be the toughest game of MBA’s career.
You can watch the game online legally and for free courtesy of CBS’s March Madness on Demand service, available at http://mmod.ncaa.com. Tip-off is at 11:27pm GMT.
In other NCAA news, Ben Eaves and Rhode Island are through to the NIT semifinals after two wins this week.
First, the Rams beat Nevada 85-83 on Monday. Eaves had one of his better games this season, shooting 3-7 for seven points in 14 minutes. The junior forward also had two steals, an assist and a rebound. Unfortunately, Patrick Nyeko did not play for the Wolfpack.
Rhody followed that up with a 79-72 victory over Virginia Tech last night. This time Eaves went scoreless, missing his only shot in eight minutes.
The reward is a trip to Madison Square Garden, where they’ll play North Carolina in the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Andrew Lawrence’s post-season is over after Charleston lost to Virginia Commonwealth in the CBI quarter-finals. Lawrence played 24 minutes, tying a season high, and also recorded a season high in assists with four. His shooting wasn’t quite as good as his passing, however – he took nine shots but only made two. All of his shots were three-pointers.
March 24, 2010 at 6:08 am · Filed under EBL
By Dave Ryan
While the top eight in EBL Division One are already assured of a place in the play-offs, there’s still all to play for at both ends of the table.
Starting at the bottom, last week’s home defeats against Manchester Magic and Taunton Tigers means that Sheffield Arrows are consigned to a place in the bottom two, and they are now left waiting to see whether Division One is extended to 14 teams and they awarded a reprieve. Relegation would be a bitter pill for the Arrows to swallow, the 2004/5 season saw them a shot away from a clean sweep, but they still won the league, play-offs and Trophy. This weekend sees them travel to London Mets knowing they need at one victory from their final three league games to stand a chance of avoiding bottom spot.
Another fallen giant, Tees Valley Mohawks, are also staring down the barrel relegation-wise, and it doesn’t get any easier for them this week as they host title-chasing Derby Trailblazers in a game neither team can afford to lose. Paul Douglas’ Mohawks side need to win on Saturday in the hope of setting up a final day showdown against Coventry Crusaders.
Crusaders go into a tough weekend on the road knowing that one more win will assure them of Division One basketball next season. They visit a Leicester Warriors side who they have already beaten this season on Saturday, before travelling to Bristol Academy Flyers on Sunday evening.
With ninth placed Leopards having nothing to worry about any more – other than the realism that their sixth season in the top flight has been the most disappointing of their history – we move on to the top of the table.
Leeds Carnegie will look to take another step towards the Division One title when they visit current champions Reading Rockets on Saturday evening. Last weekend’s win against previous leaders Derby followed by Sunday’s victory at Crusaders put Matt Newby’s side top of the table with a 15-5 record as they have the head-to-head decider over both their nearest rivals. They now need victories in both of their remaining games to assure themselves of a fourth straight league championship, with the run having started with a 2007 Division Four North title.
The Rockets are seventh in the table with a 10-8 record, but could move up to as high as fifth in the final fortnight of the campaign. When the teams met in Leeds in January, a thrilling game saw Adrian Fenyn lead Carnegie with 24 points as they chalked up a 73-72 victory.
Derby are now left hoping that Leeds slip up, either at Reading on Saturday or against Manchester on the final day of the season. They travel to a Mohawks side who they have already hammered 105-41 at home, though the north east side have added American Nate Connolly since, and Clarence Wiggins and his team cannot afford any more mistakes if they are to take the title.
Bristol Academy Flyers remain in the title race, but are definitely outsiders. They go into their game at neighbours Taunton Tiers in third place with a 14-5 record, and have a game in hand over the top two with the same number of losses. With Leeds having the head-to-head decider over the Flyers, they would need to lose one of their remaining two games, while Bristol need to win all three of their remaining games (including a visit to Derby on the final weekend of the season) if they are to stand any chance of winning the title.
Meanwhile, Tigers are enjoying their most successful season in the top flight and still have a slim chance of snatching fourth place. They go into the game in fifth place – holding the head-to-head decider over Leicester Warriors – with a 12-8 record.
Flyers host Coventry on Sunday evening, and if the top three teams all win their games, Bristol and Derby would meet on the last day of the season knowing that the winner of the game would be guaranteed second spot, and would take the title if Leeds lost at Manchester.
Magic still have an outside chance of the title, they travel to Barking Abbey to face the Leopards on Sunday knowing that a victory is a must if they are to keep those dreams alive.
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