25th March 2008 SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 82-85 Marshall MK Lions OT

BBL Championship Match Preview

vs.

In the crucial battle for fourth place in the BBL Championship table, and homecourt advantage in the BBL Championship Playoffs, the Marshall MK Lions scored a decisive victory over the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks, and took the head-to-head series between the teams in the meantime.

Yorick Williams was the MVP with 24 points, whilst Terell Brown had 16 and Tony Windless 13. Maurice Hampton led all scorers with 25 in vain for the Rocks.

Live on Setanta Sports 1 and in front of 2,417 fans at the Braehad Arena, the game started tightly until Sterling Davis made an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Rocks 11-6 up, before Dru Spinks hit a rare three-pointer to keep the teams close. The Rocks established a strong lead in the closing stages of the opening stanza as Maurice Hampton hit 5 points in a 10-3 finish that saw them 23-15 to the good.

The Lions hit the first two baskets of the second, including a Kevin Griffin triple, before the hosts broke the game open. Julius Joseph hit the next 6 points, including a stunning highlight for the cameras with an 'and 1' play on a baseline jump shot. Soon afterwards the Rocks hit another 8 straight points, including further three-pointers from Hampton and Joseph, to give the Glaswegians a 37-24 lead. The Lions kept the game alive as Yorick Williams hit a three-pointer and Mike New scored a tough shot on the half-time buzzer.

The game changed immediately after the break as the Lions posted a 10-3 burst to get back to within two at 45-43, before equalising at 48-48 on a Terrell Brown three. The Lions took their first lead since the opening play as Mike New made it 50-52 with 4:30 left in the quarter. The Lions then finished the quarter strongly as Brown and Williams hit three-pointers in a 7-1 run and the Lions led 55-61 going into the decisive period.

The pendulum swung once more in the fourth as the Rocks hit the first 7 points as Hampton gave them the lead back at 62-61. However, former Rock Tony Windless hit all of the points in a 7-2 response that put the visitors 64-68 up with 1:20 left. Scores from Yanders and Wohlers tied the game, before Davis (Rocks), Brown (Lions), and Yanders (Rocks) all missed three-point efforts to win the game.

The Lions came out strongly at both ends of the floor in overtime. Youngblood and Williams blocked two shots each as the Lions posted 7 straight points to lead 71-77. Wohlers hit two three-pointers, with Williams and Brown responding from the free-throw line and it was 77-80 with under a minute left. The Lions thought that they had seen the game out, but Joseph hit a triple with 7 seconds left to make it 82-84. Mike New made 1/2 from the line before Wohlers missed the buzzer-beating three to the disappointment of the home fans.

Download Stats>>

.

.