2016 – HALLOWEEN HORROR SHOW FOR LEOPARDS

It was a Halloween horror show for Leopards as they crashed out for the National Cup with a dismal 94-67 loss at Kent Crusaders .

On a cramped court in Gillingham the Big Cats saw coach Steve Ogunjimi ejected midway through the third period for arguing with the referee in an erratically officiated game .

But the visiting side could have few complaints about the final result as they were outgunned by a young Kent side who chalked up their ninth successive win and took their second top flight scalp of the competition .

Leopards won the tip but that was as good as it got for the away side as they missed their first three shots, with Tosin Oyelese going scoreless at the foul line before AJ Robert finally got them off the mark to make it 4-2 in the hosts’ favour .

Ogunjimi called a timeout at the mid-point of the first period with his side trailing 18-10 but the break made little difference despite a Ladi Brown triple, and despite Kent missing a layup on the buzzer Crusaders went into the first break with a 32-16 lead .

Justin Hitchman opened the second period scoring with a pair of free-throws and Brown sunk another trey but the margin was still 16 halfway through the stanza and Kent pulled away to lead 54-33 at half-time .

Mike Martin  – who led the visitors with 14 points – opened the second half scoring with a long two-pointer but despite the Big Cats getting a rash of calls in their favour after Ogunjimi’s ejection the margin grew to 76-51 at the final break before they were outscored 18-16 in the fourth period .

Brown finished with 12 points while David Ajumobi added 11.

2011 – MK win the battle of the big cats

Leopards 65 (26,40,56) MK Lions 93 (25,45,68)

LEOPARDS gave full-time side MK Lions a Halloween fright before going down by 28 points in their latest BBL Trophy game on Sunday. The scoreline flattered the visitors who trailed 26-25 at the first break before edging ahead to lead 45-40 at half-time.

Will Ohuaregbo bounced back from an ankle injury suffered the previous days to lead the hosts with a 15 point, ten rebound double-double, while Vernon Teel added 14 points and five assists despite a tough shooting performance. Ousman Krubally and John Lister each finished with 12 points, with the former adding eight boards.

Howard Crawford and Demarius Bolds gave MK an early 5-0 lead, but a 5-0 run capped by a Lukas Volskis basket levelled things at 7-7. A Krubally dunk gave Leopards their first lead of the game at 16-15 with 7:14 gone, and Lister sent them into the first break with a single point lead as he sunk a trey.

Bolds hit a three to open the second period as MK took a lead they would never lose, but a three-point play from Ohuaregbo kept Leopards in touch and with Lister hitting five straight points to close out the half, the Big Cats only trailed by five going into the locker room.

An 8-0 run from the visitors put them firmly in charge at the start of the second half before Volskis drained from downtown and the Big Cats remained in touch in the third period, with Ohuaregbo cutting the deficit to 68-56 at the final break.

The hosts noticeably before they ran out of steam in the fourth period as Lions did a good job of closing down Lister and Krubally and closed out the win which put them in the semi-final.

Leopards: W Ohuaregbo 15, V Teel 14, O Krubally 12, J Lister 12, D Buchberger 5, L Volskis 5, Z Wells 2, R Alexis, D Norton, J Johnson, M Adomantis, J Lockkwood.