Molten BBL Play-Off Semi-Final, First Leg
Glasgow Rocks 80 (11,36,48) (Bunyan 22, Gillis 21, Achara 9)
Sheffield Sharks 91 (19,43,71) (Brooks 25, Tuck 20, Odister 15)

Sheffield Sharks will take a double-digit advantage into Sunday’s Molten BBL Play-Off Semi-Final second leg against Glasgow Rocks, after a 91-80 victory at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on Friday night. It’s the third time this season that the Sharks have won north of the border, but a late rally ensured that the Rocks stay within striking distance of a place at the O2 Arena.

Sharks led this first encounter from early on as Jerrold Brooks – who paced all scorers on the night with 25 points – hit a long three-pointer to set the tone. Kyle Odister added another, sparking a run of eight unanswered and the lead was already in double-figures at 19-9.

Sheffield are the second best defensive team in the league, and they held their hosts to just 11 first quarter points, and scored 12 first half points from the seven turnovers that they forced.

Jonny Bunyan – who finished the game with 22 points after hitting all of his shots in the first half – twice hit three-pointers in the second stanza to keep the Rocks in touch, as they got as close as 38-34.

But Brandon Hogg hit a dagger three-pointer on the half time buzzer and, despite the break, the Sharks carried that momentum into the second half. A decisive 10-1 push re-established their margin, and it went through twenty at 64-44 on Mike Tuck’s basket. Brooks nailed another three-pointer to open the fourth period, and that looked to have buried the Rocks.

But they rallied in front of a raucous home crowd, as Warren Gillis made a triple and Will Hall capped a run of 11 straight points. Tuck’s experience kept Sheffield ticking over, causing trouble inside and making his free-throws, but they couldn’t hold the Rocks off down the stretch. Riley Grabau scored twice from long range in the closing minutes to get the final deficit down to 91-79.

That margin may be significant, as anything above 15 would have meant that Glasgow needed their biggest ever win in Sheffield to progress. But it’s still a tall order, as they have only twice won there in double digits in BBL history and Sharks finished the regular season with a run of eleven straight home wins – Glasgow being the last side to beat them at the English Institute of Sport.

Rocks close out regular season with 11-point win over Play-Off opponents.

BBL Championship
Glasgow Rocks 80 (23,40,58) (Hall/Stephens/Clarke 15)
Worcester Wolves 69 (21,36,58) (Aaron 16, Couisnard 13, Jackman 11)

Glasgow Rocks wrapped up their regular season with an 80-69 triumph over Worcester Wolves with the two teams meeting again next week in the first round of the BBL Play-Offs.

Both teams spread minutes throughout their rosters with the Rocks benefiting from a balanced scoring attack with Will Hall, Andre Stephens and Jordan Clarke all netting 15 points each.

The home side made a hot start from downtown in a 13-3 opening, but Worcester produced a strong finish to the quarter with an 8-2 close to cut the gap to two points. The visitors then moved ahead with an 8-0 run, but this time the Rocks enjoyed the better finish with a seven points in a row to lead 40-36 at half-time.

Glasgow led by seven midway through the third period before Worcester set up an exciting finish as the two teams went into the final quarter level. However, the Rocks would go on to secure a comfortable win as they pulled away with a 15-4 burst in the fourth.

Jordan Aaron had a game-high 16 points for the visitors with the two teams finishing with identical 19-14 records, but Worcester claim a top-four spot having already won the head-to-head series.

Rocks produce strong display with victory benefiting Cheshire Phoenix.

BBL Championship
Glasgow Rocks 87 (23,49,74) (Achara 17, Gillis 14, Stephens 12)
Plymouth University Raiders 77 (11,31,55) (Corletto 28, Vigor/Sturt 13)

Glasgow Rocks recorded an 87-77 victory against a depleted Plymouth University Raiders side to deal another blow to the visitors’ Play-Off hopes.

The Rocks were already assured of a fifth placed finish ahead of the fixture, but returned to winning ways as Kieron Achara led the way with a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds with four other players reaching double figures.

Achara was influential early on with nine points in a 15-5 start as the GB veteran passed 1,000 points in the BBL Championship. The Rocks maintained their double digit advantage and led by as many as 14 points.

Glasgow were still in control in the second and went into half-time with a commanding 18-point advantage. Riley Grabau and Jonny Bunyan netted triples in a 10-0 run in the third as the lead peaked at 24 points.

The Raiders faced a 19-point deficit heading into the fourth, which proved too much to claw back although they did score the final five points of the game to finish 10 points adrift.

Daryl Corletto led his side with a game-high 28 points as they battled without Cory Dixon with extended minutes given to the three academy players coming off the bench. Duane Bailey finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

The result means that Cheshire Phoenix become the seventh team to qualify for the Play-Offs with the final spot to be decided between Plymouth and Leeds Force, who will secure their spot with victories from their last two games.

Eagles make no mistake as they step up their title defence…

BBL Championship
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 98 (23, 47, 76)(Defoe 18, Smith 17, Martin 17)
Glasgow Rocks 71 (15, 34, 59)(Hall 17, Achara 13, Grabau 12)

Esh Group Eagles Newcastle capitalised on Leicester Riders’ slip with a 98-71 victory against Glasgow Rocks – on a landmark night for Charles Smith.

Smith became just the third player in history to reach 7,000 career points in the BBL Championship as Eagles beat Rocks for an incredible 16th time in a row.

The triumph took Eagles level on points with league leaders Riders, after they suffered a shock defeat at Leeds Force, with the top two set to meet in seven days.

It looked like this could be a long night for Fab Flournoy’s men when the Scottish club came out firing and connected on a flurry of three-pointers early on.

But Joe Chapman replied with a triple of his own midway through the second quarter to spark a 14-1 close to the half and put the hosts in control.

The lead grew as Smith began to find his range and passed his milestone early in the second half.

Despite 15 turnovers, Eagles controlled the majority of the second half and ran out comfortable winners behind their 51% field-goal shooting.

Six Eagles scored in double figures but it was Darius Defoe that led the way with 18 points as Smith added 17 to go with 10 rebounds and five assists.

Will Hall had 17 points and 10 boards in a losing effort for Rocks, who must re-group ahead of a Wednesday meeting with Plymouth Raiders.

Surrey Scorchers 65 (26, 40, 49)(Ogedengbe 19, Anderson 16, Schreiber 11)

Glasgow Rocks 103 (20, 56, 80)(Bunyan 21, Hall 19, Achara 17)

Glasgow Rocks’ hot streak continued as they cruised past Surrey Scorchers 103-65 on Friday to move level on points with Sheffield Sharks in fourth position in the BBL Championship.

The Scottish club went into the game having lost just one of their previous eight contests and set about building an early lead.

But an improving Scorchers side were still in the game until one of Jonny Bunyan’s six first-half three-pointers helped to spark the decisive sequence.

Sterling Davis’ men scored 20 unanswered points during a stretch that extended into the third quarter and put the result beyond any doubt.

Scorchers, limited to just six active players, battled on behind 19 points from captain and former Rock, Tayo Ogendengbe.

But Rocks had too much for their hosts, Bunyan leading the way with 21 points as five of his team-mates also scored in double figures, Kieron Achara adding a 17-point, 10-board double double.

The victory sets things up perfectly for Rocks’ crunch clash against Sharks on Sunday.

Glasgow Rocks 77 (17,41,62) (Gillis 34, Stephens 12, Mazic 10)

Leeds Force 65 (13,27,47) (Waller 18, Marsden 16, Klassen 13)

Warren Gills poured in an impressive 34 points to lead Glasgow Rocks to a 77-65 victory over Leeds Force at the Emirates Arena.

The American guard went 12-of-19 from the field in 29 minutes of action as Glasgow recorded their second win over Leeds in as many weeks.

Andre Stephens and Amin Mazic added 12 and 10 points respectively from the bench, while Kieron Achara just missed out on a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds.

Achara and Gillis netted from downtown in a 10-2 start for the Rocks, but the visitors settled and tied the game at 13 with a strong response. However, Glasgow scored the next 14 points across quarters to gain the upper-hand, and the gap would remain the same heading into the half-time interval.

The lead peaked at 18 points early in the third, but a 7-0 reply from Leeds hinted at a second half comeback. Gillis continued to be a strong scoring threat for the home side and helped the Rocks into a comfortable 15-point cushion ahead of the final period.

Another 7-0 run from Leeds cut the gap to nine points, but that was as close as they would come as Glasgow wrapped up the win with Gillis netting his fourth triple to take his tally to a season-high effort of 34.

For Leeds, Kwan Waller top scored with 18 points, while Rob Marsden added a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double with their Play-Off hopes taking another severe hit.