Leopards made hard work of collecting their eighth league win as a big crowd at Brentwood saw a strong third period prove to be enough to beat basement side Manchester Magic 83-75, on Sunday. After rushing into a 17-5 lead, the Big Cats seemed to take their foot off the gas, and it took a 26-19 third quarter to put them in a position to win the game
They weren’t helped by Lee Hodges collecting two technical fouls midway through the second period and being forced to leave the action. Captain Sam Newman again led the way with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Asante Sandiford and Chuck Duru each had 17 points along with seven and six boards respectively.
Duru was on fire in the opening couple of minutes as he hit back-to-back three-pointers and after Hodges had made it 14-5 at the five minute mark, Duru drained another triple to put his side up by 12
A 7-2 run brought the visitors back into the game but Findlay Wood continued the barrage from downtown to send Leopards into the first break with a 23-14 lead.
The Land of Plenty continued to be Leopards’ home as Andre Lavinier took a matter of seconds following his introduction to drain a trey and Newman also got in on the act to make it 29-14 after 90 seconds on the second period. Newman took his personal run to six straight Leopards’ points but Magic dragged themselves back into the game as Richard Bell hit ten points in a 17-0 tear to cut the hosts’ lead to one with three first half minutes remaining.
That run included a couple of technical free throws as Hodges picked up an infringement for complaining about a no-call as he drove to the basket and was then ejected for cursing – apparently to himself – at the subsequent foul shot.
New signing Daniel Wagener broke the run at the foul line and, after the visitors had taken a one point lead, the German big man scored to send his side into the locker room 39-38 ahead.
Jonathan Barnes put Magic back ahead with the first shot of the second half but that proved to be the final time they were ahead as Newman hit a triple and Duru got back-to-back scores.
Sandiford also scored from downtown to give his side a 51-46 lead midway through the third period, and five straight Newman points sent his side into the final break with a 65-57 lead.
Newman and Wood both hit threes to take the Big Cats’ lead out to double digits early in the fourth period, Sandiford ensured it was still a ten point game as it headed into the final five minutes, and although three points from Ryan Lewis helped halve that lead with 80 seconds on the clock, scores from Duru and Rory Winter wrapped it up for Leopards.

2001 – Trophy woe for Big Cats

2007 – Marrast run defeats Leopards

Leopards 104 (28,50,72) Worthing Thunder 111 (24,43,72)

Calvin Fowler led the Big Cats’ scoring with 24 points against Worthing in a game which the home side really should have won. A 90 second period late in the final quarter saw the visitors scored nine unanswered points to give them the victory.
After seeing Thunder score the first four points, the hosts shaded the first period, leading 28-24, thanks partly to seven points from Fowler and six from James Nicholson, having led by six going into the final minute of the quarter before Janis Ivanovkis scored two late basket.
The second quarter saw the Big Cats again look the better side, and scores from Jerrid Campbell and Joe Ikhinmwin saw them open a ten-point lead with three minutes of the half remaining. That lead got as high as 13 following a Sam Salter three-pointer, but a late trey from American Alfredo Ott cut the lead to seven going into the locker room.
A pair of Campbell free-throws saw the lead go back into double figures midway through the third period, but Ott single handidly dragged his side back into the game, scoring 12 straight points for them as they cut the lead to two points with two minutes of the third period remaining. Six unanswered Worthing points saw them take the lead a minute from the end of the half, but three-pointers from Duncan Ogilvie and Fowler sent the teams into the final break level at 72.
The opening five minutes of the fourth quarter saw the teams exchange baskets, with Campbell hitting five straight points to keep Leopards level. A pair of Fowler free-throws put Leopards into a 93-92 lead with just over three minutes remaining.
However, four points from Ivanovkis and a Ryan Marrast trey in a 9-0 run saw Thunder take what proved to be a crucial lead. An and-one from Ogilvie cut the margin back to si points, but back-to-back threes from Marrast effectively ended the game as a contest.
Leopards: C Fowler 24, J Nicholson 20, D Ogilvie 20, J Campbell 19, S Salter 8, J Ikhinmwin 8, E Seaman 5, L Gardner, L Noel (DNP), N Wilson (DNP)