Brentwood Sport
Leopards' struggle continues
11:56am Thursday 4th March 2010
BASKETBALL: Leopards’ relegation worries intensified with a pair of defeats over the weekend, but there were signs Jon Burnell’s team have turned the corner.
The Big Cats went down 96-91 at fellow strugglers Tees Valley Mohawks on Saturday and 97-91 at Reading the following day, but had chances to win both games and now appear to be pulling together as a team.
“I think we’re playing better together than in recent weeks,” said coach Burnell.
“We’re desperately short of numbers, but there’s nothing we can do about that, and we have to knuckle down and get on with it.
“With a little bit more luck, or a couple of different decisions down the stretch, we could have won both games over the weekend.
“If we continue to play like that, we’ll be OK.” The Big Cats host Bristol Academy Flyers at Barking Abbey on Sunday where they will look to repeat their 90-85 in December.
Leopards will again be offering free admission at Barking Abbey, with the action starting at 5.30pm.
Flyers have since won the National Cup, and are currently fifth in the division one table with ten wins from 15 games.
While Burnell’s team lost in Middlesbrough on Saturday, they did have the consolation that the five-point margin meant that they have won the head-to-head decider against the Mohawks, and if the teams finish with the same league record, they will be placed higher.
Led by 24 Carl Latham-Henry points, a strong second half couldn’t prevent the defeat in the north east.