Edinburgh Rocks 81 (18,35,54) (Berry 26, Huntley 16, Gaines 14)
Leicester Riders 75 (26,40,56) (Blalock 21, Singleton 17, New 14)

Edinburgh Rocks raised themselves up to fourth place in the BBL Northern Conference and back into pole position to make the play-offs with a thrilling 81-75 win over rivals Leicester Riders at Meadowbank. 

Ted Berry's game high 26 points helped the Scots to come back from a 16 point deficit in the second quarter to steal a crucial victory with just three weeks left. 

"I thought we showed a lot of character and poise," said Rocks coach Kevin Wall. "Leicester gave us their best shot but my guys really stepped up."

Riders' tenacious zone defence saw them start the brighter, leading 14-6 after the opening exchanges. A 12-2 tear early in the second quarter saw Riders' lead extended to 38-22, but Rocks hit back with 22 of the next 24 points to lead 44-40 early in the third quarter. Riders re-established their lead by the end of the period at 56-54 and a tense final period ensued. 

The hosts hit five points in a row towards the end of the fourth to put them ahead 79-70 and Riders could get no closer than six points.

"We've got four games left though and I'm confident that we'll get it done over then," remarked Riders coach Billy Mims. "We played very well up here. With the injury situation we've had and the loss of one of our tough players, we've played very good basketball... I'm looking forward to Coventry and the play-offs."
 

Westfield Sharks Sheffield 99 (32,49,76) (Reinking 25, Stewart 14, Phoenix 13)
Pertemps Bullets Birmingham 89 (12,34,52) (Bailey 27, Johnson 17, O'Connell 16)

Westfield Sharks Sheffield boosted their Northern Conference hopes with a 99-89 victory at home to Pertemps Bullets Birmingham on Sunday.  However Birmingham's frustration boiled over with both coach Lance Randall and guard Rob Paternostro thrown out of the game.

"I felt sorry for (Lance)," said Sharks coach Chris Finch. "The sad thing was that they'll pay for this down the stretch.

The hometown Sharks enjoyed a great opening quarter, building up a 20-point lead at 32-12 by the end of the period. Bullets reduced the arrears slightly in the second quarter, but four technical fouls called on the Bullets in the closing minutes of the third period gave Iain McKinney eight free throws, all of which he duly converted to extend Sheffield's lead to 76-52 going into the fourth quarter. 

Randall was ejected from the game during this time and although Bullets hit back with the first 14 points of the fourth quarter, the deficit was too much for Bullets to make up. 

Nate Reinking hit three three-pointers in a minute to secure Sharks the win and he finished the game as Sharks' top scorer with 25 points; Bullets' Brant Bailey led all scorers with 27 points.
 

Leopards 107 (21,45,77) (Kimbrough 22, Dantzler 21, Alderson 19)
Derby 80 (23,38,57) (Griffin 23, Robinson 20, Paterson 16)

Leopards rose to third position in the BBL Championship Southern Conference with
a 107-80 success at home to Derby Storm on Sunday. 

Leopards started the game well with the first 11 points of the game, but still trailed 23-21 at the end of the first. An 8-2 tear in the second and a 15-0 start to the third broke the game open in Leopards' favour, giving them a 58-39 lead, which Derby could not recover. 

Rico Alderson, who suffered a broken nose and required stitches to a leg injury, was just one rebound shy of a triple double with 19 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds, but it was team-mate Jason Kimbrough who led Leopards' scoring with 22 points; Kevin Griffin added 23 for Derby. 

Leopards were without guard Rod Brown due to an ankle injury.

"Derby really took it to us in the first half but in the second, our guys fought hard and got it down," praised Leopards coach Chris Pullem. "Jason Kimbrough stepped back into his point guard role because Rod was but Ravonte stepped in and really made the difference."

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