Leopards again came from behind to pick up a 81-79 win against Derby Trailblazers in front of a packed Brentwood Centre on Sunday, The Big Cats trailed for all but the opening and closing stages before Carl Josey hit a basket with 2:33 on the clock to give them a lead they would never lose.

Simon Cummings again top scored for Leopards with 27 points to add to his six boards and four steals and assists. Greg Hernandez and Josey both finished with 18 points and nine boards with the former adding four assists while Tom Martin had 11 points and five assists. The result lifted the Big Cats up to fifth in the table with 11 wins from 19 games.

Leopards started where they left off in Hemel as a pair of Josey free-throws opened the scoring before the new Big Cats’ captain pulled down a rebound to set up Cummings for a three-pointer that put them 5-0 ahead Nick Rose replied for the visitors with a trey, but it was all Josey as he answered from downtown. Cummings hit another three to keep Leopards ahead, but Derby big man Kingsley Okoroh kept his side in the game with six points to tie the score at 11, and made it eight personal to again level things at 15 before a Rose three sparked a strong finish to the period from Derby and they went into the first break 24-20 ahead.

Martyn Gayle, who scored 17 of his game-high 29 in the first half, opened the second period scoring with a pair at the foul line only to see a Josey jumper reply at the other end. But every Leopards run was answered by one from Derby, and although Martin tied things up at 30 with 5:34 on the clock, Simon Allaway replied from downtown almost immediately, and another bomb from Gayle sent his side into the locker room with a 47-39 lead.

Cummings opened the second half scoring, only to see Gayle drain from the Land of Plenty to give his side a game-high nine point lead. Josey answered with a trey off Youngblood’s assist before hitting a two, and Hernandez made it a two point game with just over two minutes gone.

That forced a timeout from Derby, and scores from Gayle and Rose saw them take control of the game again. Another Allaway three made it a nine point game again with two minutes left in the third, ad although Ish Fontaine also scored from downtown to cut the margin, Rose made it an eight point game before Cummings hit two free-throws to trim the deficit to 63-57 at the final break

Fontaine buried a three to open the fourth period, but after Cummings had split a pair at the foul line with six minutes left, Leopards had only knocked the lead deficit down to five. But Cummings began to dominate the game, hitting seven of Leopards’ next nine points to move his side within two.

Hernandez halved the lead with a single free-throw before Josey gave the Big Cats their first lead for over 30 minutes. With the momentum shifted, Martin made it a three point game off a Youngblood assist before Okoroh replied at the other end.

But that was as close as the visitors would come, with Hernandez hitting a long two before Cummings made it a four point game with a single free-throw.

Allaway scored from long range again to set up a grandstand finish with eight seconds remaining but a Cummings free-throw was enough to wrap things up and move Leopards into fifth spot.

Leopards: S Cummings (27), C Josey (18), G Hernandez (18), T Martin (11), I Fontaine (3), R Youngblood (2), D Dunscombe (2), L Brown, D Camile, J Davis (DNP).

2019 – Storm blow away Leopards

A poor third period saw Leopards go down 96-84 against Hemel Storm, on Sunday. The biggest crowd of the season at the Brentwood Centre saw a third period collapse help Storm to victory. Sam Newman had put the Big Cats 46-38 ahead heading into the final 20 seconds of the first half, but Blaine Freckleton gave Hemel hope with a trey and they carried that into the third quarter as they outscored the home side 34-12 to wrap up the win.
Asante Sandiford finished with a massive 30 point, ten rebound double-double, with Lee Hodges also adding ten boards to his 16 points. Newman added 15 points and five assists, while Findlay Wood also finished in double figures with ten points .
Hodges and Wood hit four points apiece in an even start to the game, before Sandiford and Rory Winter both scored from downtown.
Captain Newman hit a pair of treys as the three-point barrage continued but Hemel’s American forward Treyvonn Wright beat the clock to tie things at 23 going into the first break.
Former Leopard Will Ashby and Andre Lavinier exchanged baskets to open the second period before Hodges launched a 10-0 run capped with triples from Winter and Newman to give the Big Cats a 37-27 lead with six minutes gone. A pair of Findlay Wood baskets plus scores from Sandiford and Hodges kept Leopards ahead but Freckleton’s triple clearly gave the visitors hope, despite the former London Lion misssing the free-throw after being fouled by Newman.
Despite a pair of Sandiford treys, Leopards’ 46-41 half-time lead quickly evaporated as a score from another ex-Big Cats Bode Adeluola capped a 14-6 start to the half and gave Hemel a lead they would never lose. A free-throw from Hodges broke the run, but with Ashby scoring two of Hemel’s four treys in the rest of the period they outscored 20-5 in the space of five minutes to take a 75-58 lead into the final break.
Sandiford scored five points in a 9-4 run to open the fourth period but back-to-back Ashby treys ended any thoughts of a comeback and although three Sandiford triples took his tally to seven for the game and Wood also scoring from downtown, Storm closed out the win.
Adeluola led the visitors with a 27 point, ten assist double-double, with Wright and Freckleton adding 20 points and Ashby 14.

2012 – Key win for Leopards

Ousman Krubally and Vernon Teel combined for 61 points as Leopards recorded what proved to be a pivotal win at Bristol.

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