Derby Storm 70 (15,37,49) (Griffen 18, Millar 14, Robinson 10)
Chester Jets 97 (24,52,72) (Davis 26, McCord 23, Thomas 19)

Chester Jets began their 2001/02 season in style, safely disposing of the Derby Storm 97-70 on the road. The Jets took top spot in the Northern Conference on Saturday night, after taking control of the game early on. Jets started the game with 13 of the opening 17 points and an 8-0 burst later in the first quarter saw them take a 24-15 lead, which they were never to relinquish. 

Kevin Griffin provided the brightest point for the Storm ' the American led Derby's scoring with 18  points on his debut. Meanwhile, Jets' Calvin Davis led all scorers with 26 points in his first game.
 

Leicester Riders 83 (19,39,59) (Blalock 26, Brown 19, Singleton 17)
Brighton Bears 80 (18,42,59) (Johnson 23, Davis 22, Duck 21)

Leicester Riders bounced back from their opening day defeat to the Pertemps Bullets Birmingham last Thursday with a 83-80 success over the Nick Nurse's Brighton Bears. The Riders took control late on with three pointers from Ralph Blalock, Jermaine Brown and Jon Gaines sealing the victory. Earlier Brighton had enjoyed the biggest lead of the game for either side at 36-30 just before the half time interval. 

In a close game, it was Riders' Ralph Blalock who led all scorers with 26 points; Randy Duck and Wilbur Johnson added 23 each for the Bears.
 

Kinder London Towers 65 (19,33,48) (White 34, Kent 16, Hicky 10)
Edinburgh Rocks 64 (15,29,48) (Berry 22, Bunyan/Huntley 10) 

Kinder London Towers began their BBL Championship Southern Conference defence with a surprisingly tense 65-64 success over the under-manned Edinburgh Rocks on Saturday night.
 

New signing John White continued where he left off after a couple of seasons away from the BBL with a game-high 34 points. That included a three-point play with just 10 seconds remaining, which nudged the Towers 65-64 in front. The Rocks, led by 22 points from Ted Berry, could not find the winning basket in the final seconds, as an effort from Brendan Graves rimmed out.
 

Thames Valley Tigers 96 (16,41,62,82) (Bowman 38, Burks 18, Meldrum 10)
DG London Leopards Kool Kats 90 (21,44,61,82) (Robinson 26, Kimbrough 23, Brown 18)

Thames Valley Tigers began their 2001/2002 campaign with a hard fought 96-90 overtime success over the DG London Leopards Kool Kats on Saturday night.

Leopards' Martin Henlan scored his only basket of the night to level the scores at 82-82 to force the extra period, but it was the Tigers who seized the initiative in the extra period, outscoring their hosts 9-1 to take a 91-85 lead with just 65 seconds remaining. Earlier, the Leopards had enjoyed the better of the first half, leading 38-28 after a 10-1 second quarter tear. Tigers fought back in the third quarter to set up the exciting finale. 

Barry Bowman top scored in the game with 38 points for the Tigers, while Maurice Robinson scored 26 for the visitors.
 
 

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