Uniball Trophy : Towers pressure kills Rocks Trophy hopes
Haribo London Towers maintain their winning roll to hand Edinburgh Rocks a 79-87 defeat at the hands of London Towers at Meadowbank yesterday which ensures Towers passage and Rocks exit from the poll stages of the uni-ball Trophy.
With influential captain Iain Maclean sidelined with a back injury, Brandon shuffled his pack against the Towers and handed a first start to rising Scottish star Stuart Mackay. But it was American Joel Burns who made the immediate impact with two three pointers in the first three minutes as the Rocks led early on.
However with Towers' Steve Bucknall, one of only two Britons to reach the NBA, performing the tightest of defensive watches on McCord, the southerners forged ahead late in the first quarter, extending their lead to as much as 15 points midway through the third.
Ted Berry energised an impressive Rocks revival which trimmed the deficit to 73-76 with three minutes left but Towers stepped up to virtually secure their own passage into the quarter finals.
"I was pleased with the way we played defensively apart from the last five minutes," said winning coach Ron Abegglen. "We made some errors but thankfully, we got the win."
One win and one loss from their weekend's endeavours was not be enough now to prevent Edinburgh Rocks from exiting the trophy at the group stages for a second successive campaign while Towers now go on to meet to meet Derby Storm in the last eight.
"We had to win these two games and it's out of our hands now," admitted Brandon.
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