Steve Ogunjumi’s team will now host either Scottish champions Boroughmuir Blaze or Plymouth Raiders in the quarter-finals at a venue and date to be announced .

Darrell Bethune led the home side with five three pointers in his 32-point haul, adding five rebounds and three assists for the Big Cats in his best performance since signing in early November.

But it was veteran Mike Martin who stole the show as he played through the pain barrier to lead his side to victory. The former England international looked to be out of the game when he was carried off early in the second half with a knee injury, but as his side looked to have lost the momentum midway through the fourth period he dosed himself up with pain killers, ripped off the strapping and limped back onto the court to steady the ship and help secure a famous win – finishing with 20 points and seven boards.

American guard AJ Roberts continued his good run of form with 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, while Dougie Bennett added ten points and three rebounds.

An even start to the game saw the visitors lead 17-13 with 3:21 on the clock before Martin’s jump shot launched a 13-0 run to close the quarter, with Bethune converting an and-one before Martin hit a three on the buzzer before completing a four point play at the foul line to send his side into the first break leading 26-17.

If Leopards fans thought that was as good as it got they were wrong as Bennett opened the second period with a trey and Bethune made it a 17-0 run with a foul shot to put his side up by 13.

Visockis eventually ended the run but another Bennett triple made it a 15-point game with 6:21 on the clock. The rest of the half was spent with both sides at the charity stripe – Leopards being called for a bizarre double foul at one stage which saw the visitors receive four shots and the ball back – as Giants chipped away at the lead but despite a dubious three-point foul call which allowed Creppy to convert three free-throws with seconds on the clock, the Big Cats ended possibly the longest ever second period with a 49-38 lead.

The second half couldn’t have started in worse fashion for Leopards as Jerelle Okoro (who led the Giants with 17 points) hit a trey before Martin went crashing to the ground – somehow picking up an offensive foul in the process – and had to leave the game.

Treys from Roberts and Bethune kept Leopards’ lead around the ten mark, and Bethune continued to torment the visitors with ten points in the period before a 13-5 run cut the home side’s lead to 65-62 at the final break.

But that lead evaporated as Traianos hit a triple and Okoro converted a lay-up to put the visitors 68-65 ahead.

Ogunjimi’s timeout with 7:45 on the clock saw Martin return after his enforced break and he hit a pair of baskets to keep his side within two points at the midway stage of the fourth quarter.

Bethune again found the basket from the Land of Plenty to put Leopards up by one and it was nip and tuck down the stretch as the hosts went into the final minute trailing 84-82.

It was Bethune who hit the go-ahead trey, converting off Roberts’ assist with 44 seconds on the clock before grabbing the rebound from Creppy’s miss 18 seconds later.

With six second remaining Bethune was harshly adjudged to have fouled Callum Jones, giving him the chance the put his side back ahead. But the pressure showed on the English guard as he rimmed both shots, leaving Perry Lawson to grab the rebound.

Lawson was fouled, but he too missed both free-throws only for Martin to grab the rebound and pass to Roberts, who was predictably fouled. The American guard missed the first shot before sinking the second and the Big Cats played some good defence in the remaining 2.5 seconds to seal a famous  win.

Sandiford had led the Big Cats with 37 points and 12 rebounds in a high-scoring game which saw the lead repeatedly change.

The teams were tied at 93 with a minute left before Lee Hodges converted a lay-up off Luke Mascall-Wright’s lay-up, only to Levi Noel’s trey put his side ahead with 32 seconds on the clock. Both sides missed before Sandiford was left with the ball in his hands and seven seconds on the clock. He drove to the basket and was fouled Leome Francis, but with the home fans in full voice he missed both foul shorts to send Leopards out of the competition.

Mascall-Wright finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Sam Newman added seven assists to his ten points . Former Hemel big man Hodges finished with a 13 point, ten rebound double-double, and his ex-Storm team-mate Chuck Duru came off the bench to add 12 points and seven boards.

Mascall-Wright had opened the scoring with a triple, and an assist from Sandiford to give Duru a lay-up saw Leopards lead 29-25 at the first break. A driving lay-up from Mascall-Wright and a Hodges dunk saw Leopards keep ahead and Sandiford’s basket kept them up by two at the mid-stage of the second quarter.

Former Leopard Shaq Lewis briefly gave the hosts the lead with a trey, but Findlay Wood answered from the Land of Plenty and three straight three-point plays from Sandiford saw the Big Cat go into the locker room with a 57-51 lead at the half-time break.

A poor start to the second half saw Hemel take control with a ten straight points before Sandiford broke the run and Leopards stayed in touch and Mascall-Wright drained from downtown to cut Hemel’s lead to 77-76 at the final break.

A Hodges lay-up an a three-point play by Sandiford tied the game and Mascall-Wright again levelled the score at 91 going into the final three minutes. Sandiford and Levi Noel exchanged baskets to set up the grandstand finish, but ultimately Leopards came up just short and will now look to concentrate on getting a place in the end-of-season play-offs.

Blaine Freckleton led the hosts with 35 points, while Francis added 22 and Noel 13.