Loughborough Students Riders and Birmingham Mets both took big steps to securing top spot in their respective Patrons Cup pools after a full weekend of results.

 

Pool 1

 

76	79

Team Solent stay winless and Glamorgan continue their battle for a semi final berth in the Patrons Cup after the Welsh team won 79-76 on Saturday.

 

Gladiators' new American signing Matthew Gwynne poured in a game-high 31 in a match-up that was close from start to finish.

 

John Wilkins had 13 for Solent.

 

86	61

London Westside blew Mansfield Giants out in the first quarter on Saturday and went onto win 86-61 and close in on second place in Pool 1.

 

Westside led by 20 at the end of 10 minutes and left Giants with too much to do to get back in the game.

 

Gary Miles scored 18 to lead Westside while Giants were led by Dan Watts' 20 points.

 

66	63

Westside doubled their win tally on Sunday after a close encounter with Team Solent saw them move to 3-1 in Pool 1 after a 65-63 victory.

 

Nineteen points from French national Phillippe Kouda helped Westside move into a good position for a Patrons semi final berth.

 

Solent, who complete their Patrons campaign with an 0-5 record, were led by Clayton Milner's 14.

 

93	71

Due to the big showdown between NASSA and Loughborough being postponed on Saturday because of traffic issues, Netpunes' only game this weekend was against Mansfield and they won 93-71.

 

Karolis Stepanavicius led Neptunes with 23 points as they led for the majority of the game.

 

Giants are now officially out of the Patrons Cup while Neptunes have two important games to play against Loughborough and Westside.

 

65	82

Loughborough made up for their postponed game on Saturday as well by defeating Glamorgan Gladiators 82-65 on Sunday.

 

Riders blew Glamorgan out in the first quarter 22-9 and managed to stay in front for the rest of the game.

 

Emile Hopkins (Loughborough) and Philip Warren (Glamorgan) had 14 points each to lead all scorers.

 

Gladiators are now finished their Patrons pool games with a 3-2 record and await results from outstanding games to see if they will advance, although it looks unlikely at this stage.

 

Riders currently hold a perfect 4-0 record in Pool 1 and await the rescheduled game with NASSA.

 

Pool 2

 

81	60

Birmingham Mets won their first of two games this weekend on Thursday after an 81-60 victory over London United.

 

A close first half saw Mets leading by only two points (29-27) but they stormed out in the next two quarters to dominate coach Jack Majewski's team. Mets won the second half 52-33 to take the win.

 

Allan Bean led Mets with 16 points while Elvisi Dusha scored a game-high 27 for United.

 

94	85

A big game between Manchester Magic and London United saw the former win 94-85 at the Amaechi Basketball Centre.

 

The teams headed into the game with 2-2 records leaving a win crucial for either's chances of a semi final position.

 

Magic led from the early stages and heading into quarter four they were up 78-61. United, however, put in a big push in the final 10 minutes and despite winning the quarter 24-16, they were already down and out.

 

Josh Houghton scored 27 Magic points while Andy Tamayo had 30 for United, who are now eliminated from the semi finals.

 

68	69

Killamarsh Derbyshire Arrows pulled out a big win over Eastside Eagles on the road, 69-68, to keep them in the hunt for a Patrons Cup semi final berth.

 

A close game throughout saw Ronnie Baker lead all scorers with 19 points while import Rob Valentine had 17 for Arrows.

 

The loss officially puts Eastside out of the semi finals but Arrows can still qualify with a win over PAWS London Capital on 11 November.

 

90	66

Birmingham Mets booked the number one spot in Pool 2 and a trip to the Patrons Cup semis after a 90-66 thrashing of PAWS London Capital on Sunday.

 

Mets won all four quarters and dominated the second half (winning 44-26) and now await to see the who the runner-up in Pool 1 will be to find out their semi final opposition.

 

David Waite had 17 points to lead Mets while Ibrahim Gariba and Jamel Felix had 18 apiece for PAWS. PAWS are now out of the competition regardless of what happens in the game on 11 November with Arrows. If PAWS win that game, Magic are through and if Arrows win they will join Mets in the semi finals.

 

87	77

Manchester Magic lost a crucial game to end their Patrons Cup pool play as Eastside Eagles stole an 87-77 win at home.

 

The victory was Eagles' first and it could potentially cost Manchester a semi final position. Had the Magic won, they would have advanced alongside Birmingham Mets but as it stands. Manchester can only hope PAWS defeat Arrows on 11 November.

 

Eagles did most of their damage in the second half against Magic, winning the final 20 minutes 46-31, and they were led in scoring by Gary Davison (15 points).

 

Tom Ward had a big 29 point haul for Manchester.