2011 – Leopards lose in Leicester

Leicester Warriors 92 (18,41,63) Leopards 89 (23,47,68)

LEOPARDS saw their hopes of picking up their first Division One win of the season end as Elliot Sentence hit a three pointer in the dying seconds, on Saturday.

Dejan Mihevc’s side looked noticeably tired after their BBL Trophy game , but even without Ousman Krubally and David Buchberger due to knee injuries, they controlled much of the game without ever being able to pull away and wrap things up. They led 23-18 at the first break and stretched that by a point to 47-41 going into the locker room at half-time.

That lead grew to as many as 11 points midway through the third period, but Warriors fought back to close the gap to 68-63 at the final break. Leopards were still up by two with eight minutes remaining when a clash between Zak Wells and a home player saw both players ejected from the game.

The loss of the seven foot centre clearly hurt an already under-sized Leopards team, but they were still level going into the final 20 seconds when England junior international Elliot Sentence hit a three pointer to seal the win for the hosts.

Teel finished with a game-high 36 points, out-shooting Leicester’s debut making American Eugene Pettway who finished with 31. Lukas Volskis added 12 and Josh Johnson nine.