| Glasgow Rocks | 86 |
| Guildford Heat | 75 |
Shawn Myers and Colin O'Reilly led the Cheshire Jets to an emphatic 88-83 victory over the Glasgow Rocks tonight, after one period of overtime. Both bagged 20 points, with Chez Marks stepping up when needed to finish with 19 points personal. The Rocks were led by Rob Yanders, who had 26 points to his name. After a first quarter in which there was little to tell between the sides (20-19), the second quarter saw the Rocks take a slight lead, as they were 32-39 ahead going into the locker rooms. The third stanza was then a miserable one for the Jets faithful, as the Rocks blasted the home side away meaning that thirty seconds into the final period, the Jets were 23 points down, at 66-43.
Cheshire then made a brave 23-7 run, to slice the visitors' lead to just seven points, and outscored their opponents 31-10 in the period to draw level for the first time in the game, 74-74, with just fourteen seconds left. This forced overtime, which proved to be the most lively part of the match, as the Rocks went into the lead straight away via a Mike Copeland score. BBL veteran Shawn Myers then drained a three for the home side to put them up 77-76. Paul Peterson then took the ball to the rack to stretch his side's lead to 79-76, only for the Rocks point guard Rob Yanders to tie it at 79 a piece with a long ranger. Irish International Colin O'Reilly then replied in the same fashion for the Jets with a trey of his own, to nose them ahead 82-79.
Intense defensive play then became a deciding factor for the Jets, who ensured that the Rocks failed to score in a 24 second offense. This meant that they had to foul Jets' talisman Chez Marks, who nailed both of his freebies to put the Jets five points ahead. Yanders, who was basically the only scoring threat for the Rocks at this point, then slotted one home from behind the arc to trim the deficit to 84-83 with ten seconds left. Copeland then got himself a technical, meaning two free throws, which Marks put away. Marks was fouled again on the next play, hitting both free shots again with ease, leaving the scoreline at 88-83. With five seconds left, there was simply too much for the Rocks to do in too little time.
Smith commented on the game: 'I am both delighted and mightily relieved to have got this result, which is a reward for the team that never gave up. It will no doubt set us up well for the important games we have coming up in the next few weeks.'
Posted on 14 November, 2009
