Edinburgh Rocks         96     (32,49,71)       (Berry 26, Gaines 23, Gardner 17)
Leicester Riders          86     (19,43,66)       (Singleton 23, Moore/Blalock 17)

Only six points now separate Edinburgh Rocks and the fourth and final Northern Conference play-off berth after Kevin Wall's men overcame nearest challengers Leicester Riders 96-86 at Meadowbank. 

However Riders coach Billy Mims was left fuming at the referees who sent the hosts to the foul line 18 times in the final period, 13 more than the Midlands outfit. "I think the officiating tonight was a disgrace," rapped Mims. "The referees decided this game. They decide too many games in this league and I'm tired of it."

The Scots had suffered a damaging loss at Derby on Saturday but rallied impressively against the reigning champions. Led by Ted Berry's 26 points, Edinburgh took an early 14 point lead against a lethargic Leicester. However they allowed their guests to briefly rally back in front in the third stanza before coming out decisively ahead in the final period's penalty shoot-out.
 

Chester Jets           126     (39,68,99)       (Davis 40, Thomas 28, Hamilton 25)
Newcastle Eagles   108     (31,61,85)       (Hyatt 31, Myers 23, Whyte 20)

Chester Jets got the better of Newcastle Eagles with a 126-108 win in a high-scoring all-Northern Conference clash at the Northgate Arena on Sunday night. Jets were boosted by the return from injury of John McCord, but it was team-mate Calvin Davis who did the most damage with a game-high 40 personal points. Jets built up a 41-31 lead early in the second quarter, before Eagles rallied with a 12-2 burst to tie the score at 43-43. John Thomas hit back-to-back three pointers at the end of the second quarter and then repeated that at the start of the third to give Jets an 80-67 lead. Eagles' Jeremy Hyatt did his best to peg the score back with some fine long range shooting, but it was not enough to prevent defeat. Hyatt led Eagles' scoring with 31 points.
 
Sheffield             85     (27,45,69)       (Scantlebury 17, McKinney 12, Stewart 8)
Derby Storm           54     (13,28,43)       (Griffin 13, Kennedy/Miller/Robinson 7)

Westfield Sharks Sheffield bounced back to winning ways on Sunday afternoon, with an 85-54 home victory over a woeful Derby Storm. Sharks never trailed in the game, instead they built up a 27-13 advantage after the first quarter and then started the second with ten unanswered points to lead 37-13. Although Derby rallied with a 10-3 tear, Sharks still enjoyed a 17-point lead at 45-28. When Sharks started the third with a 14-2 tear, there was no way back for the Storm. England veteran Peter Scantlebury was the game's top scorer with 17 personal points for Sharks, while Kevin Griffin led Derby's attack with 13 points.
 
Leopards Kool Kats   111     (28,52,77)       (Brown 30, Kimbrough 27, Robinson 20)
Thames Valley        102     (25,50,68)       (Jamison 23, Burks 17, Bowman 16)
 
Leopards moved up to fourth position in the BBL Championship Southern Conference table with a 111-102 home win over Thames Valley Tigers on Sunday evening. Following a close first quarter, Leopards pulled out an eight-point lead in the second quarter at 50-42, before Tigers responded with an 8-0 burst to tie the game at 50-50. In the third quarter, Barry Bowman fouled out and Shawn Jamison was ejected as Leopards' took advantage to lead 77-68 heading into the final period. The closest Thames Valley got in the fourth quarter was four points at 98-94 with 1.15 left on the clock. Rod Brown led all scorers with 30 points for Leopards, while Jamison bagged 23 points for Tigers.

London Towers                   92     (22,41,64)       (Myers 19, Robbins/Cheung 13)
Birmingham        95     (22,49,79)       (Bailey 34, O'Connell 25, Johnson 13)

Pertemps Bullets Birmingham secured an important win to aid their Southern Conference aspirations, with a 95-92 success away to top-of-the-table Kinder London Towers on Sunday evening. Nothing separated the two teams in the first quarter, with the score tied at 22-22, but Bullets hit nine points without reply towards the end of the second quarter to lead 49-36. Towers hit seven straight points late in the third, before Bullets closed out the quarter with the final six points to lead 79-64. Towers  responded strongly in the fourth quarter, enjoying a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to just two points at 83-81, but they could get no closer. Terrell Myers led Towers' scoring with 19 points, but Birmingham's Brant Bailey led all scorers with 34 points to his name.
 
Milton Keynes Lions   98     (29,55,72)       (Payne 29, Brown 22, Siemon 16)
Brighton Bears          99     (23,38,66)       (Duck 22, Farrington 21, Davis/White 15)
(After overtime; score tied at 87-87 after regulation time)

Brighton Bears won a thrilling 99-98 overtime game over Milton Keynes Lions on Sunday afternoon. Although they trailed for almost the entire game, Bears forced overtime when their latest recruit, Rodger Farrington was fouled with one second of regulation time remaining and he scored both free throws to tie the game at 87-87. When he bagged another two foul shots and a lay-up two minutes into overtime, Bears took their first lead of the game at 91-90. Randy Duck, who led Bears' scoring with 22 personal points, extended Bears lead before Nigel Lloyd and Victor Payne brought Lions back into it at 95-97 with 20 seconds remaining. Sterling Davis scored for Brighton to ensure victory and although Lions found the basket again, it was not enough to avoid defeat. Payne led all scorers with 29 points

Click here to discuss this story