| Glasgow Rocks | 86 |
| Guildford Heat | 75 |
Two teams at the opposite end of the BBL geographically will meet on Sunday, as Glasgow Rocks make a somewhat daunting journey to Airwaves Plymouth Raiders. Last time the two sides played against each other, it was Gary Stronach's Raiders who came out the better, as they secured their second league win of the season via a 77-74 victory over the Rocks.
Plymouth held the Rocks scoreless over the last two minutes to post an 8-0 run which clinched them the points.
Raiders started brightly with an 11-4 run, but two Rob Yanders threes for Rocks formed the backbone of a 9-0 burst which gave Glasgow the lead. A further three from Steve Parillon and two Yanders free throws kept the visitors in front 16-18 at the end of the first quarter.
Jessie Sapp set the tone for a Rocks three-point barrage in the second period. The former Georgetown University star connected once from long range as did Yanders, but it was Michael Crowell’s three bombs that did the damage as Rocks led by 10 points (32-42) at half time. After Mike Copeland had extended Rocks’ lead to 12 points (32-44) the Raiders came storming back, inspired by Drew Lasker. The guard scored nine in a 10-0 run to trim the lead to two. He then notched another four in an 8-3 burst which gave Plymouth the lead at 50-49. After exchanging baskets Rocks eventually put together a 6-0 tear, which helped them enter the final stanza with a slim 57-58 advantage. An 8-2 run by Rocks gave them a 65-71 lead, but a 12-3 run, including the final eight points of the game was enough for Plymouth to celebrate victory.
Stronach remembers the game well: 'We defeated Glasgow just before Christmas and it was a game that went right to the buzzer' he said: 'Sterling (Davis) has had a winning record since taking over at Rocks and his teams are always very well prepared.
Player-coach Davis said: ' (Gary) Stronach is a proven coach in the league, and are always well prepared. The Rocks are currently connecting as a team, as a recent winning run has seen them jump up to fourth in the table, and Davis put a lot of this down to the play of his bench players: 'I wouldn't say we are deep but we are getting some of the best production
from the bench this season than we've had in a while' he added.
Posted on 22 January, 2010
