Wednesday December 18th London Towers 86 (28,
49, 71) Birmingham Bullets 72 (19, 42, 58) London Towers scored a convincing victory over Birmingham Bullets in the BBL Trophy South 1 Group, winning by 14 points at Crystal Palace NSC tonight. The starting five for Towers were Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart, Sullivan Phillips and Dennis Mims. Bullets won the tip but Towers got the first points from a one handed slam from Jerry Williams. A one handed slam from Lynard Stewart helped Towers maintain a slender lead throughout the first period, going on a 7 - 2 run at the end of the quarter, to go ahead by 9. Towers had built up a 13 point lead by the middle of the second quarter at 40 - 27. However, the Bullets went on a 15 - 4 run to get back within 2. Rod Brown put up a long three to get the Towers back in the game, to finish the quarter up by 7. Towers went on a 15 point run to lead by 19, their biggest lead of the game with about 4 minutes left to play in the third. Bullets responded with 9 - 2 run to get back in touch. At the end of the third quarter, it was Towers by 13. A spectacular slam from Rod Brown after a steal, brought the score to 78 - 64. Danny Craven fouled out with 6.34 left to play and Birmingham's Michael Marshall fouled out with 4.56 left. Towers then went on a 7 point run to take a 20 point lead. Coach Robbie Peers put the three youngsters on with just under a couple of minutes left. Bullets' Skouson Harker fouled out with 1.11 left, then Martin Yabsley fouled out with 1 minute to go. Towers going on to win by 14. Rod Brown was the game high top scorer for Towers with 21 points. Report by Phil Redman |
Wednesday
December 15th London Towers 80 (28, 42,
57) Milton Keynes Lions 69 (18,
32, 54) London Towers went 2 and 0 against Milton Keynes Lions in the BBL Trophy at Crystal Palace NSC tonight, winning by 11 points. The starting five for Towers were Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart, Sullivan Phillips and, Dennis Mims. Towers won the tip and scored the first points of the game. A Rod Brown three took the Towers into the lead, then Towers began to pull away with an 11 - 2 run. Jerry Williams made a two handed slam to take Towers out to an 11 point lead with 4.12 to play in the quarter. A three from Sullivan Phillips as part of a 7 point run helped put Towers by 16. However, a three pointer from Longpre followed by 3 free throws brought the Lions back within 10 at the end of the quarter. Dennis Mims picked up his fourth foul with 8.56 left in the second as Lions continued with an 11 point tear to get within 5 points of the Towers. A one handed put back from Jerry Williams from a three point attempt by Rod Brown put the difference back to 10. A three from Sullivan Phillips and another put back slam from Jerry Williams helped keep Towers ahead, finishing the second quarter ahead by 10. Despite another three from Sullivan Phillips, Lions chipped away at the gap and were within 5 points with 2.54 left to play in the third. Sean Jackson put up a three, but Sullivan Phillips picked up his fourth foul with 33 seconds left and Lions within 4. At the end of the third quarter, Towers were ahead by just 3. Robert Youngblood put up a three to level the scores right at the start of the final period, shortly after, the Lions went into a 1 point lead. Towers hit back with another three from Sullivan Phillips, then yet another as part of 13 point run from Towers to go 12 points ahead. Jerry Williams and Sullivan Phillips netted another couple of treys Robert Youngblood picked his fourth foul with 22 seconds to go. The Lions were unable to come back, Towers winning by 11. Report by Phil Redman |
Sunday December 12th Milton Keynes Lions
94 (23, 47, 69, 84) London Towers 95
(21, 50, 74, 84) League leaders London Towers now also find themselves in the driving seat in BBL Trophy Group South 1 as they went top on Sunday night with a record of 2-0. After both teams also played on Saturday night Towers managed to overcome the Lions 94 - 95 in overtime after an energy sapping game. The Lions came out of the blocks quickly opening up a 20 - 12 lead after six minutes, only to be pegged back as Towers went 7-0, halted by a Dru Spinks three-pointer as the quarter ended 23-21. Towers opened up the biggest lead of the game early in the third as four of their first five shots connected from beyond the arc, giving them a 51 - 64 advantage. However Lions ate into that lead for the remainder of the quarter and were back within 5 at 69 - 74 going into the final period courtesy of strong play from Ishua Benjamin and Robert Youngblood. A 6 - 0 start to the final quarter put the Lions back in front but as the game heated up down the stretch Towers held the lead at 81 - 84 with 12s remaining before Ishua Benjamin made a game-saving three-pointer to force the extra period. Rod Brown nailed six points as Towers started overtime with a 7 - 2 run however, Pierre Henry-Fontaine and Brett Longpre were influential as the Lions got back in front 94 - 93 with 6s remaining. Towers' star Jerry Williams managed to penetrate into the key and was fouled on the buzzer, he made both free-throws to win the game for London. Towers' point guard Rod Brown led all scorers with 32 points. In the absence of Shawn Jamison after injury last night Lions looked to Robert Youngblood, the former Tower recorded a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Report from the BBL |
Saturday
December 11th London
Towers 81 (20, 33, 62) TCS
Chester Jets 75 (19, 48, 62) London Towers pulled off a dramatic victory over the Chester Jets at Crystal Palace NSC tonight, winning by 6 points after trailling by 16 at half time. The starting five for Towers were Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart, Sullivan Phillips and new boy, Dennis Mims. Chester won the tip and were the first team to score. Jets pulled away with a 10 point run to lead by 10 at 14 - 4. Towers chipped away at the lead, then came back with a 10 - 2 run to get within 2 points. Towers took their first lead right at the end of the quarter, finishing the period ahead by 1. Chester were soon back in the lead at the start of the second and began to pull away. Another 10 point tear took them to 31 - 48, a 17 point lead. At the end of the first half, it was Jets by 15. With the home crowd really getting behind their team, Towers started to battle back. A Jerry Williams slam helped inspire the home team but Dennis Mims picked up his fourth foul with 6.30 left to play. This was at the end of an 8 point run by Towers, cutting the gap to 8 points. Jerry Williams put up a three pointer, followed by a reverse slam. Sullivan Phillips banged in a three, then Jerry dunked again, this time with a two handed slam. After this fantastic effort by the Towers, at the end of the third quarter, we had a level ball game. The first points of the final period came from a Dennis Mims dunk, but he then fouled out with 6.16 to play and Towers down by 2. Towers edged ahead by 4 as part of a 9 point run, then there was an intentional foul by Trey Moore on Sullivan Phillips with 42 seconds left. Sullivan netted the free throws and Towers were up by 6. Rod Brown top scored for the Towers with 21 points. However, Trey Moore was the game high top scorer with 27. Report by Phil Redman |
Sunday December 5th Birmingham Bullets
82 (14, 33, 59) London Towers 97
(29, 49, 70) Birmingham Bullets suffered their second loss in BBL Trophy Group South 1 and qualification now looks almost impossible for them. London Towers join Milton Keynes on one win in the group after this 82-97 victory at the North Solihull Sports Centre. It was an even first quarter before Towers ended it with a 13-2 run to make the score 14-29. Bullets were then playing catch-up for the rest of the game, runs in the second and third saw them get to within eight points on a couple of occasions. They were no closer than nine in the final period and every time they got this close Towers, and especially Jerry Williams, kept pulling out enough to keep the home side at bay. Jerry Williams was outstanding yet again for Towers as he made a game-high 36 points, one less than the points haul he managed here two weeks ago. Encouragingly for Bullets it was new signing Lataryl Williams who led them with 32 points, he showed a strong all-round offensive game as he made 6/8 three-pointers. Report from the BBL |
Saturday December 4th London Towers 72 (18,
42, 51) Westfield Sharks
Sheffield 76 (22, 40, 55) Westfield Sharks Sheffield continued their fine run of form notching up their fifth consecutive Championship win with a 76-72 road victory over the London Towers on Saturday night. The Sharks took the initiative early on but despite being well paced by Sterling Davis' game high 29 points they didn't shake off a resilent Towers side until inside the final minute. Report from the BBL |
Saturday November 27th Leicester Riders 75 (18,32,41) London Towers 98 (21,43,72) After a week where the Towers had taken on UCONN in two friendly matches Robbie Peers would probably have been pleased to get back to the most important job in hand, the BBL and a trip to Leicester to meet the Riders at John Sandford Sports Centre. Robbie Peers opted for a starting five of Danny Craven, Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Sullivan Phillips and Lynard Stewart. The opening exchanges were very close as both sides traded baskets keeping scores close and the biggest lead of the period being six points for the Towers. Louis Truscott also seeing some early action as foul trouble on Danny Craven led to an early introduction from the bench. By the end of the quarter Towers had taken the lead out to 3 at 21 - 18. The second quarter saw Peers' side take control of the game by picking up large runs, led in particular by Williams, Craven and Stewart who were all playing excellent games at both ends of the floor. A 7 - 1 run into the half included a spectacular follow up dunk from Craven which nearly pulled the basket over. Towers were leading 43 - 32 at the half time break. The third period saw the Towers kill the game as a contest as they held their opponents scoreless for nearly five minutes whilst scoring at will at the offensive end. Williams and Stewart particularly enjoying themselves, both picking up double figure scores during the period. The Riders suffered an 18 - 2 run over the opening minutes with the score becoming 61 - 34 before another run of 9 - 7 over the final minutes saw the score go to 71 - 42 to the Towers and the game was effectively over. The fourth period saw the Riders place a measure of respectability on the game as they began to score freely whilst Williams continued his domination of the Riders defence on the way to a game high 31 points. By the end of the game, the Riders had pulled the score back to 98 - 75 giving Towers their 10th win of the season. The win took them four points clear of the chasing pack in the league whilst also improving to 7 - 0 on the road, making them the only team to have a perfect away record in the BBL. Top scorers were Jerry Williams with 31, Lynard Stewart with 19 and Rod Brown with 18. In fact such was Towers domination, that 5 of the 6 players used reached double figures with Louis Truscott picking up 9. illiams also added 14 rebounds to his points and Danny Craven also picked up a double double off 11 points and 10 rebounds in an MVP performance. Towers now host Sheffield on Saturday night before a trip to Birmingham to finally play in the BBL trophy. A set of games they will most likely look forward to, judging by previous results against the sides. Report from Jack Yeomanson |
Thursday November 25th London
Towers 74 (16, 34, 49) UConn Huskies 88 (26, 48,
69) The UConn Huskies avenged their recent defeat at the hands of the London Towers by 14 points at Crystal Palace NSC tonight. The starting five for Towers were Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart, Sullivan Phillips and Danny Craven. UConn won the tip and started the scoring with a slam dunk going on to score the first 5 points of the game. Rod Brown got things under way for the Towers with a three pointer which started a 9 point run. Jerry Williams intercepted, passing to Lynard Stewart for a one handed slam. Towers were ahead by 4. The Huskies then went away with a 17 - 1 run, which effectively won them the game, to lead by 14. Towers edged back a little, but at the end of the quarter, Towers were down by 10. Towers chipped away at the gap at the start of the second, a three from Jerry Williams getting them within 5. However, UConn finished the quarter with a 6 point run to lead by 14. UConn extended their lead to 20 with an alleyoop with Danny Craven picking up his fourth foul with 6.23 left in the period. At the end of the third, Towers were down by 20. Towers again chipped away at the lead in the fourth, going a a 12 - 2 run to trail by 11. Danny Craven put in a spectacular dunk helping Towers to get within 9. However, they were unable to get closer, losing the game by 14. Report by Phil Redman |
Tuesday November 23rd London Towers 95 (24, 54,
70) UConn Huskies 89 (22, 51, 74) London Towers gained a hard fought and deserved victory over last year's NCAA Basketball Champions, the UConn Huskies, winning by 6 points at Crystal Palace NSC tonight. The starting five for Towers were Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart, Sullivan Phillips and Danny Craven. Towers started the game well quickly building up a 9 point lead. Lynard Stewart contributed with a dramatic steal followed by a dunk. However, two long threes from the Huskies cut the lead down to just 3 points. At the end of the first, Towers were ahead by 2. The highlight of the second quarter was a one handed dunk from Jerry Williams. But the Huskies were battling gamely however, and were level inside the first three minutes. Towers kept their edge throughout the quarter but couldn't pull clear. At the end of the half, it was Towers by 3. Within five minutes of the third quarter, the teams were level again. Towers edged away but Sullivan Phillips picked up his fourth foul with 2.44 left to play. The teams were level yet again with 2.27 left and then for the first time in the game, the Huskies went ahead. At the end of the third, Towers were down by 4. Then came the thrilling final quarter. Towers scored the first 3 points to get within 1, but then UConn responded with an 11 point run which included a dramatic alleyoop, going into a 12 point advantage. Rod Brown replied with a three pointer to start the Towers' fight back as the Huskies number 22 fouled out. Towers then went on a 9 point tear and with 3.31 left were back within 1 point. Danny Craven fouled out with 2.45 left and Towers back ahead by 1. Towers kept their nerve and despite the Huskies best efforts, won the game by 6. Report by Phil Redman |
Saturday November 21st Birmingham Bullets 77 (26,
41, 58) London Towers 118 (35,
60, 91) London Towers took a two point lead at the top of the BBL Championship table with a 118-77 success over the Birmingham Bullets. The Bullets found themselves on the receiving end of a Towers backlash, after their defeat at the hands of Brighton, as the visitors raced into a 35-20 1st quarter lead and never looked back. Towers Jerry Williams led all scorers with 37 points, including 18 first quarter points. Report from the BBL |
Saturday November 20th London
Towers 64 (14, 38, 51) Brighton
Bears 71 (16, 35, 52) London Towers suffered their second league defeat of the season going down to Brighton Bears by 7 points at Crystal Palace NSC tonight. The starting five for Towers were Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart, Sullivan Phillips and Danny Craven. Towers won the tip and scored the first 5 points of the game, starting with a three from Sullivan Phillips. Bears came back and edged into the lead at 9 - 10. However, after an intentional foul on Jerry Williams Towers levelled, but then Bears went on a 6 - 0 tear to get ahead by 6. The quarter ending with Towers down by 2. Towers levelled again with a three from Sullivan Phillips then went on a 9 - 1 run which included another three from Sullivan gaining a 6 point lead at 30 - 24. Bears came right back abd edged ahead again to lead by 1 at 34 - 35, before Towers retaliated to finish the half up by three. Towers scored the first points of the second half, but were uable to hold off the Bears as they came back with a 6 point run to lead by 2 with 2.20 left to play. The third quarter ending with Towers down by 1. Bears came out to start the final period with a 5 point run to go ahead by 6. Towers trailled through the quarter missing opportunities to get on top, mostly through poor free throw shooting. Rod Brown picked up his fourth foul with 1.15 to play and Towers down by 6. Then Louis Truscott picked up a fourth with 1.06 left and Lynard Stewart with 36 seconds left. Bears' Andrew Alleyne fouled out with 22 seconds left. Despite a final effort, Towers were unable to close the gap, losing by 7. Louis Truscott was the game high scorer for Towers with 21 points. Report by Phil Redman |
Saturday November 13th London Towers v Milton Keynes Lions London Towers won the game 2 - 0 but due to a technicality the referees left the arena after Milton Keynes walked off the floor. This is the first time in BBL history that such an event has taken place. London Towers apologize profusely to fans and visitors. We understand that the game not taking place is a huge disappointment and ask ticket holders to retain their tickets for use at a future BBL game at Crystal Palace. Unfortunately these tickets cannot be used at the upcoming UCONN games. |
Friday
November 12th Springfield
Honda Newcastle Eagles 99 (21, 52, 75) London
Towers 101 (28, 51, 79) These two teams produced another intense two-point ball game at the MetroRadio Arena as London Towers reversed the result from the BBL Cup first round. Eagles were seven points down at the end of the first and trailed by as many as thirteen at 23-36 in the second before getting into gear and making a come back. They went in at half-time with the home side up by one point at 52-51. The teams traded baskets in the third with Towers edging it and regaining the lead by four points going into the final period. Newcastle then took the lead early in the fourth courtesy of a T.J. Walker three-pointer. They held the lead and went into the final minute 99-96 up, at which point Louis Truscott is fouled but makes the basket and one from the line for a 3 point play to tie the game. Jeremy Hyatt then misses for Newcastle and Sullivan Phillips hits back with two points that gives the Towers the lead. With five seconds left Andrew Sullivan heads up court for the final offense where he is mobbed by the Towers defense and fails to make a lay up. T.J. Walker led all scorers with 27 points closely followed by Towers' Rod Brown who made 26 points. Report from the BBL |
Saturday November 6th London Towers 60 (12,
25, 42) Chester Jets 78 (19,
33, 48) London Towers lost their unbeaten league record, with a disappointing display, losing to Chester Jets by18 points at Crystal Palace NSC tonight. The starting five for Towers were Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart, Sullivan Phillips and Louis Truscott. Jets won the tip and scored the first 5 points of the game going on an 11 - 2 tear to build up an early 9 point lead. Towers responded with a 10 - 2 run of their own to pull back to just one point before Jets pulled away again to finish the quarter up by 7. The start of the second saw some frantic end to end play including a tremendous block from Sullivan Phillips. It was about 2 minutes before the first points were scored with Towers getting the points from a two handed dunk from Louis Truscott. A three pointer from Sullivan Phillips helped keep Towers close but Jets scored 6 unanswered points and were leading by 7 with 2.10 to play. Rod Brown ended the run with a three, but the Towers were still adrift at the end of the half by 8 points. A technical foul was called on Jerry Williams after the half ended. For half time entertainment, Neil the DJ put up £20 if Simon Wade could make his next shot from the half way line. Simon made the shot and Neil duly handed over the money. Jets soon built up a 10 point lead at the start of the second half. Towers went on a 7 - 1 tear to get with 4 points but the Jets pulled away again with back to back threes to finish the quarter up by 8. Jets started the final period with another pair of back to back threes. Towers came back with a three from Sullivan Phillips but Jets were soon up by 19 after an 12 - 2 run. WIth 2.17 left, Lynard Stewart picked up his fourth foul. Chester's DJ Harrison fouled out with 54 seconds left but Towers were unable to take advantage despite an 8 - 2 run, losing by 18 points. Louis Truscott top scored for Towers with 19 points. Report by Phil Redman |
Saturday October 30th London Towers 99 (31, 48,
73) Milton Keynes 79 (22,
40, 55) London Towers remained undefeated picking up their seventh straight league win of the season and going clear at the top of the league by four points, beating Milton Keynes Lions by 20 at Crystal Palace NSC tonight. The starting five for Towers were Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart, Sullivan Phillips and Louis Truscott. Lions won the tip, but the first points of the game came from Louis Truscott after Lions were denied by a superb block from Sullivan Phillips. James Hamilton put up a three and got the and one in response to a long three from Longpre as part of 13 - 3 run from the Towers which also included a James Hamilton dunk. Towers took the lead out to 13 before Hudson ended the quarter with a buzzer beating three and Towers up by 9. Towers started the second quarter in dramatic form with the first score coming from a Jerry Williams dunk. The Lions began to chip away at Towers' lead and with five and a half minutes gone had shortened the gap to 6. However, Towers kept up the momentum with a strong slam from Louis Truscott, ending the half up by 8. Lions got off to bad start to the third quarter when Brett Longpre picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench. Towers began to pull away again and were leading by 15 after Sullivan Phillips sank a three just over half-way through the quarter. Jerry Williams picked up his fourth foul with 3.16 left to play. Towers responded with a dramatic dunk from Louis Truscott followed by a beautiful quick pass play between Rod Brown, Lynard Stewart and finished by James Hamilton and Towers were up by 19. Fontaine fouled out with about 40 seconds left and James Hamilton picked up a fourth foul with 11 seconds left, then finished the period with another three pointer, putting Towers up by18. Jerry Williams missed a one handed slam at the start of the fourth as Lions went on a 9 - 2 run. A technical foul was called against Rod Brown for diving as the Lions narrowed the gap to 11. Then Rod Brown sank a three and Jerry Williams slammed the dunk with 3.41 left. Lynard Stewart fouled out with 3.23 to play as Towers went on a 10 - 2 run, ending with Jerry Williams fouling out with 34 seconds on the clock and Towers up by 20. Louis Truscott was the game high scorer for Towers with 31 points but the MVP was James Hamilton. Report by Phil Redman |
Wednesday October 27th London Towers 90 (24, 51,
71) Westfield Sharks Sheffield
73 (16, 36, 50) London Towers maintained their perfect start to the BBL Championship season with a surprisingly comfortable 93-70 success over the Westfield Sharks Sheffield. After a relatively tight first stanza former Shark Jerry Williams rattled off 7 points in a 13 - 4 Towers burst which moved them 40 - 26 clear. Thereafter the Sharks could not trim the deficit into single figure. Towers, who now enjoy a two point cushion at the top of the table, were once again led by Jerry Williams with 30 points. Report from the BBL |
Thursday
October 21st
BBL Championship Milton Keynes Lions
95 (23, 39, 56) London Towers 98 (20,48,75) At 4 - 0 Robbie Peers would have been pleased with how his Towers side has begun the season. He would have no doubt been delighted if they could go to 5 - 0 with a win over the Lions in Bletchley. However they came closer to a defeat than anyone could have thought, when they looked at the scoreboard at the end of the third quarter. Having won the jump ball, Ishua Benjamin of the Lions made the first score of the ball game and after 2 minutes of the period had a 7 - 1 lead over their visitors before Jerry Williams began to enter the fray and pull the lead back. The quarter ended with a Ryan Cadogan 3 pointer to give Milton Keynes the lead at 23 - 20 going into the first break. The second period of the game was completely different to the first, as Towers began with a six point run to give themselves a lead of three points before a Brett Longpre trey tied the scores back up. The Towers never looked likely to slow the game down and with a six point lead, went on an 8-3 run including what can only be described as a humourous goaltend from Milton Keynes from Thomas Gillespie. He put his hand up through the basket when the ball was going nowhere near the basket. A Brett Longpre basket cut the deficit slightly for the Lions as they went in nine down at 39 - 48. Shawn Jamison began to impose himself on the game with five quick points at the start of the third quarter, cutting the Towers lead to just four, before Sullivan Phillips nailed a three that started a 16-2 run taking the Towers 20 clear and looking as though they were already off into the sunset. However, Longpre and Benjamin helped eventually cut the lead to 19 at the end of the third at 56 - 75. The fourth quarter was something that nobody could have possibly expected to happen, as Lions stormed back into the game going on a 14 - 0 run to cut the lead to 5. A pair of free throws from Towers took it back out to seven points before Dru Spinks, Kingsley Hudson and Longpre all nailed threes. A Jamison shot gave the Lions the lead at 80 - 79 having looked absolutely dead in the water as London were held to just four points in 9 minutes of the period. A Robbie Peers time out allowed Jerry Williams to score and hand the lead back to the Towers before two Dru Spinks free throws saw the lead change again. An and one play took Towers back out to a three point lead before there was another horror goaltending call on James Hamilton catching the ball on its way down, again with the ball nowhere near the basket. With one Towers offence left, the ball came to Danny Craven who headed for the basket before barreling over a Lions player. The result was a charging foul and overtime The extra period began with Shawn Jamison making another skyhook to give the Lions the lead before three pointers from Rod Brown and Sullivan Phillips gave Towers some breathing space and Lions began to foul intentionally to put Towers on the line. Another Brett Longpre trey kept MK in the game before another pair from the line for London. With 14 seconds left and Towers up by four the game should have been dead, not in the eyes of Pierre Henry-Fontaine as he nailed a monster 3 from just inside the Towers half cutting it to one and prompted Robbie Peers to take a time out. The play set from the time out worked perfectly as Jerry Williams drew an unsportsmanlike foul from Ishua Benjamin and made both free throws to take the score to 98 - 95 and Sullivan Phillips ran off the final 3 seconds to secure a victory for the Towers that probably should have been far greater than it was. MVP for the night was again Jerry Williams who was the go to guy on many occasions and probably won the game for Towers in the end as he again top scored for the game. Report from Jack Yeomanson |
Saturday October 16th London Towers 84 (24,
38, 60) Newcastle Eagles 86 (27,
46, 70) London Towers failed to book their place in the next round of the BBL cup tonight, losing to Newcastle Eagles by 2 points at Crystal Palace NSC. The starting five for Towers were Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart, James Hamilton and Louis Truscott. Newcastle won the tip and made the first score with a three pointer. The Eagles soon built up a 9 point lead going on a 12 - 2 run. Towers came back with some athletic boards from Louis Truscott and a pair of threes from Jerry Williams. The first quarter ended with Towers down by 3. Towers were soon within 1 point at the start of the second quarter. However, Eagles again pulled ahead going on a 12 - 2 run taking their lead out to 11. Towers came back to within 5 but by the end of the half, they were down by 8. A technical foul was called on Coach Robbie Peers at the start of the third quarter, setting Newcastle off on another tear, going 17 - 3 to lead by 21. James Hamilton picked up his fourth foul with 4.39 left and Fab Flournoy did the same with 4.11 on the clock. Charles Smith picked up his fourth with 2.02 left as Towers pulled back with an 11 point run to get the gap to just 8 points. Then with 1 second on the clock, Rod Brown was called for a technical for his shirt not being tucked in. Newcastle missed the throws but from the resulting possession, Rod was called for a holding foul. Eagles sunk the two free throws to lead by 10 at the end of the third. Towers went on an 8 - 1 run at the start of the fourth to get to within 3 points. Newcastle's Charles Smith fouled out with just under 6 minutes to play. Lynard Stewart picked up his fourth foul then fouled out with 49 seconds left, as Towers fought back to get within 1 with 25 seconds to go. Towers had possession with 13 seconds left but were unable to make the basket to take the game to overtime, losing by 2 points. It has to be said that the difference between the two sides was the accuracy of the shooting. Game high scorer was Jerry Williams with a massive 43 points. Report by Phil Redman |
Friday
October 15th Brighton Bears 78 (16,38,64) London Towers 83 (15,45,62) Tonight's top of the table clash was an enthralling encounter with two teams desperate to hold on to their 100% records in the BBL Championship with the lead changing hands at the end of each quarter. And it was London Towers who led at the end of the game and moved 4 points clear at the top of the table. In a surprisingly low scoring game the excitement went right down to the final minute of the final quarter, Towers led by one point with a minute remaining and held off the Bears as Louis Truscott and Rod Brown scored the decisive last four points of the game which gave Towers victory. Prior to that, Brighton were quick out of the blocks to an 11-2 lead but Towers came back enabling Brighton to only just edge the first quarter by one point. Towers were dominant in the second winning it 30-22 and going in 45-38 up at half-time, this was achieved by a 14-0 run at the start of the period. The lead changed again when Bears came back into the game in the third quarter leading 64-62 by the end of it before Towers managed to edge them out late on. Jerry Williams was top points scorer yet again for Towers with 24. Louis Truscott also impressed for Towers with 15 rebounds a feat matched by Andrew Alleyne. Report by the BBL |
Sunday October 10th Scottish Phoenix Honda
Record Rocks 71 (17, 38, 53) London Towers 103 (24,
42, 70) When the fixture list conspired to send Jerry Williams back to the Braehead Arena this early in the season he would have liked a favourable result. However, he could never have expected it to be this favourable. Looking at it from a different angle, one could always say that what a difference a year makes. Coming into this game on the same weekend exactly a year ago, Towers were 0 - 2 and down in a rut at the bottom of the table and Jerry Williams top scored for the Rocks with 26 points. A year later, Towers were 2 - 0 and Williams would again top score for his side. Towers made one change to their starting line up with James Hamilton starting in place of Louis Truscott. The Londoners were further handicapped by the loss of Danny Craven to back spasms, who didn't even make the trip up north. The first period was nip and tuck in truth as both sides traded baskets before the Towers began a run of 13 straight points to take them in at the period break 24 - 17 to the good. During the quarter, Steve Swanson found himself warned about his behaviour by official Dale Atchison and Rod Brown and Lamont McIntosh also found themselves in trouble after a verbal exchange about the talents of either player. The second quarter saw Steve Swanson's side change their game plan and move into a zone defence against the Towers and gently pull back the deficit. But, never getting close enough to make a move to take the lead, as Robbie Peers' side kept their opponents at arms length, eventually making it into the half time break with a four point lead at 42-38. By the mid way point of the third quarter the game was over as a contest as Rod Brown and Williams began to take centre stage shooting 3's for fun. The two would combine to hit 8 of 14 shots from behind the arc. Finally, a 13 - 4 run in the quarter meant Towers could go into the break with a 27 point lead at 70 - 53 and it was simply a case of how many the Londoners would win the game by. The fourth quarter continued in a similar vein to the third as the Rocks simply gave up. The period saw 3 huge dunks from the Towers, 2 from Williams and 1 from Lynard Stewart pulling the lead up to 41 at its peak. Tthe Rocks pulled the score back towards a slightly more respectable 31 before Michael Bishop and Sam Betts saw their first action of the season with just over a minute left. Towers picked up win number three of the season and kept their unblemished record going for another week perhaps. MVP for me was Rod Brown who made 23 points and 6 assists and won the game effectively for Towers in the third period. The flight back to London consisted of the fact that on the same journey back last season Towers were 0-3 and looking down the barrel and talk was of where the first win would come from. The answer was the next game against bitter rivals Brighton. This season Towers are 3 - 0 and go to Brighton on Friday night hoping to extinguish the Bears 2 - 0 record and pull further clear at the top of the BBL. The following night Towers play host to Newcastle in the BBL Cup, a one off winner takes all game with the reward of a trip to Chester to play the Jets on Halloween. Report by Jack Yoemanson |
Sunday October 3rd Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 71 (15, 30,
49) London Towers 80 (31,45,65) The first Towers road trip of the season took them to the newest venue in the league - the Plymouth Pavilions to meet the Raiders. Both teams came into the game on the back of success the previous night with Towers having beaten Thames Valley and Plymouth having annihilated Milton Keynes. Raiders game night experience is something to behold with some spectacular light shows and pyrotechnics work to add to the atmosphere there. Towers came out with the same starting five as Saturday with some changes in shirt numbers whilst Raiders also used the same five as the night before. From the tip Raiders took the first possession and made the score to give them their first and only lead of the game at 2 – 0. But, from then on quite aptly for a club playing in a theatre it became the Jerry Williams show as he caused chaos amongst the Raiders defence and all over the court picking off passes, making threes for fun and generally working hard. By the end of the quarter, Towers had already extended their lead to 16 points at 31-15 as Raiders looked like they would become lambs to the slaughter. By the end of the first, Williams had 13 points alone. The second period saw both sides trade baskets with Raiders making small but significant inroads, keeping the Towers just within sight before Sullivan Phillips stepped up to nail what could have been considered a real dagger to the heart of the South West side nailing a 3 on the buzzer to take the lead out to 15 at the half 45-30. The third period saw Towers begin to assert some dominance on the game taking the lead out to 19 on two occasions but Raiders seemed to answer every Towers blow with one of their own. However, the lead at the end of the period would probably have been considered enough to have the game in the bag with a score of 65 - 49. The fourth period showed that perhaps leads should never be considered impenetrable as Raiders produced a spirited comeback to force the London side to begin sweating slightly as the lead gradually grew smaller and smaller until it reached five points with 2 minutes to go in the ball game. Sullivan Phillips eventually fouled out in the last two minutes however it was Rod Brown who stepped to the forefront of the Towers offence making 4 from 4 at the line to ice the game for Towers. For the Raiders they can take a large amount of comfort that for a rookie side they were able to more than hold their own in the league when they could have easily been beaten by 30 points. Highlights for Plymouth were Terrance Durham with 19 points and 19 rebounds and Gerrick Morris with 12 blocks for the game. Towers MVP was the inspirational Jerry Williams who picked up 31 points for the game being followed by Lynard Stewart on 14 and Sullivan Phillips with 13. Towers now go to Glasgow next Sunday to face the Rocks at Braehead before a trip to Brighton on the 15th and a cup game with Newcastle on the 16th . One final thing to note is that Towers game at Milton Keynes has been put back 24 hours to Thursday 21st. Report by Jack Yoemanson |
Saturday October 2nd London Towers 88 (20, 42, 64) Thames Valley Tigers 81 (12, 36, 54) London Towers won their opening game of the season tonight, beating Thames Valley Tigers by 7 points at Crystal Palace NSC. The starting five for Towers were Rod Brown, Jerry Williams, Lynard Stewart, Sullivan Phillips and Louis Truscott. Tigers won the tip-off but it was Towers who got the the first score and took control of the first period to finish the quarter up by 8. Tigers went on a 9 - 2 run at the start of the second quarter to get within 1 point of the Towers. However, Towers responded with a 6 point run of their own to lead by 7. At the end of the first half, it was Towers by 6. Towers began the second half with a dynamic 9 - 2 run started with a three from Sullivan Phillips to stretch their lead to 13. Two more back to back threes from Sullivan helped the Towers to a 17 point advantage at 60 - 43, their best of the game. Tigers weren't conceding defeat that easily however, pulling back to just a 10 point defecit at the end of the third. A 6 point run from Tigers early in the fourth quarter brought them back to within 6 at 76 - 60. Louis Truscott fouled out with 2.32 left to play in the game and Tigers still within 6. James Hamilton then fouled out with just one minute left. Despite Tigers best efforts, they were unable to close the gap, Towers winning by 7. Joshua Murray was the game high scorer for the Tigers with Rod Brown top scoring for Towers. Report by Phil Redman |
Pre-Season Friendlies 18 Sep. Towers Towers 70
- Gravelines 67 19 Sep. Towers 78
- USA Select 84 22 Sep. Kilarney Lakers 63 - Towers 83 23 Sep. Neptune Cork 81 - Towers 105 Neptune had six foreign players guesting for them and Towers were without Rico Alderson who is injured. Rod Brown and Jerry Williams scored 24 points each. 24 Sep. Kilarney 72 - Towers 108 Rico again missed the game with a sore ankle. Jerry Williams tops scored with 28 points and Louis had 16 boards. |
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