Leopards remain unbeaten in EBL Division One after ending Newham Neptunes’ winning streak with a 76-70 victory on Friday night .

The crowd who made it through the gridlock in the area were treated to a thrilling game which saw Leopards lead for most of the top-of-the-table clash before Kris Clark nailed a late three-pointer to seal the win .

Howard Crawford led the way with a 21 point, ten rebound double-double, while Clark finished with 17 points, seven assists and six boards. Ish Fontaine nailed four three pointers on the way to a 13 point haul and Courtney Van Beest added ten points and five rebounds off the bench .

Dave Ajumobi scored either side of a Crawford basket to give the visitors as early lead, and a Crawford and-one gave the Big Cats their first lead of the game at 5-4 .

A trey from Fontaine gave Leopards their biggest lead of the period at 15-11 but the game remained tight and a L Roberts basket cut the Big Cats’ lead to 16-14 at the first break .

Three Ajumobi points saw Newham regain the lead early in the second period, but captain Carl Josey capped an 8-0 Leopards’ run to put them 24-18 ahead, and they never trailed again in the half as Clark sent them into the locker room at half-time 34-30 ahead .

Crawford and Papa Dembe Kasse exchanged baskets to open the third period and a 9-0 run sparked by a Fontaine three saw Leopards take control, and their lead peaked at 14 midway through the quarter on another Fontaine trey .

But a 10-2 run saw the visitors get back into the game, and Leopards’ lead was cut to 52-50 at the final break as they went scoreless in the final two minutes of the period .

Crawford scored Leopards’ first three points of the final stanza, and six points from Van Beest saw Leopards retain their lead in the fourth period .

A pair of foul shots from Crawford kept Leopards ahead by five, but with 4:10 remaining Leopards lost veteran point guard Ronnie Baker with a dislocated shoulder .

Fontaine split the free-throws earned by Baker and with Josey hitting a trey down the stretch, Newham never got closer than five points as the Big Cats made it four league wins from as many games.

1999 – Kimbrough on form for Leopards

Thames Valley Tigers 70 (21,33,61)
Siemon 18, Gottfried 14, Christie 13
adidas London Leopards 80 (20,33,55)
Kimbrough 28, Brantley 19, Capers 16
Dairylea Dunkers Championship @ Bracknell Leisure Centre
adidas London Leopards held Thames Valley Tigers to just three points in the final six minutes to take the Dairylea Dunkers Championship points.
The Tigers led 65-57, but after a 10-2 Leopards blast had levelled the scores at 67-67, the Tigers began their points drought.
Bob Donewald’s men took the lead at 69-70, and netted the game’s last ten points to produce a flattering final scoreline. Jason Kimbrough led all scorers with 28 points for the Leopards.