Red-hot Ash helps Cup holders beat arch-rivals
TILE Hill Trojans 1 took a massive step towards retaining the Bob Castledine Memorial Handicap Cup as they whipped arch-rivals Arden Griffins 100-77.
Griffins sorely missed their leading scorer Luke Hatfield who was on duty elsewhere, and they gave a good account of themselves in a hectic first-half which ended 49-48 to the Coventry side.
From the resumption though, it was a different story as Trojans piled into their visitors to pull away.
But the major factor was their stifling of hotshot Paul Roberts, who failed to drop an effort until the final quarter, by which time Trojans were 84-57 up and out of sight.
Ash Dickson led the charge with 29 points and Scott Owen showed a welcome return to form with 24 as Sam Workman provided some resistance for Griffins on 23.
It was not such good news for Trojans 2 who almost pulled off a shock win at Tamworth Tigers. Starting 30-10 up, Trojans were on the receiving end until just after the half-time interval, and with their lead being reduced to 62-59, things looked bleak. But they rallied and kept their noses in front until five minutes from the end of a pulsating game, when Tigers found something in their tank and swept to a 96-90 victory, with 41 coming from their star performer Lukasz Bolda.
The game with the tightest finish came at Aylesford where Hawks squeezed past Leamington Spartans 1 by the narrowest of margins thanks to a last minute three-pointer from star performer Joel de Lara Bond.
Starting at 15-25, Hawks had to work hard as Leamington continued their recent good form, which saw them successfully defend their advantage, and by half-time they had increased this as they led 60-47. But Hawks kept plugging away and they hit Spartans with a devastating burst into the final quarter to go five up, hurtling from 73-62 to 73-78 with four minutes left. Spartans finally responded in positive style to draw level, and they hit the front once more inside the final minute before that heartbreaker from de Lara Bond put them out.
The Challenge Trophy brought victories for unbeaten Division Two leaders JM Grizzlies who gave Nuneaton 2 a 50-point start but still won 101-83. Grizzlies controlled things from the off and caught Predators just after the interval, and had match-winners in Richard Ingham (29 points) and Daniel Valente who made 22.
For the first time in weeks, Westwood Rhinos welcomed back most of their squad and they had a field day as they faced off to Nuneaton Predators 1, who had only been on the wrong end of a score once all season.
Rhinos hurried into a 30-point lead after getting 15 on the handicap, and their team relished the arrival of their colleagues, going on to upset the form-book with a 107-73 success.
Ernesford Eagles had to battle it out with the untried youngsters from Coventry Tornadoes 2 who went down like their first team but have qualified for the second round by being the best losing side. Tornadoes 1 were crunched by Leamington 2 who took them out 94-73, whereas the experienced Eagles looked to heading for a landslide after pulling back the 40-10 handicap and going ahead in the third quarter.
Then a 100 per cent display of free shooting from Tornadoes brought them satisfaction as they pumped in ten shots in the fourth but could not overcome a late Eagles burst to win the match 90-85.
Ash Dickson led the charge with 29 points and Scott Owen showed a welcome return to form.