Jets are savaged by Bulldogs

ALTHOUGH there was little change in Ipswich and District Basketball League positions following last week's fixtures, there were some significant moves, with only two points now separating the three teams in mid-table.

League leaders Bury Bulldogs took a step nearer to winning the title with no surprises being encountered against bottom team BT Jets.

Bulldogs rested Chris Dixon and Dean Rosembert, enabling Kerry Moore and Lois Nunn to be among the starters. Christian Lyne hit 10 personal for Bury in the first but Jets held them to a single-figure lead thanks to Gary Carson's six points.

Bulldogs opened the second with a 7-0 run and, although Jets hit six points in a couple of minutes midway through the quarter, another 10 unanswered points at the end of the quarter saw Bury pull away to lead by more than 20 at half-time.

To Jets' credit, they did not give in and should take some consolation from the whole squad getting on the scoresheet. For the Bulldogs, five players achieved double figures, with Lyne finishing on a game-high 32.

California Cougars took the opportunity to move up level on points with Holbrook Eagles when they defeated Stowmarket Slammers.

Ten points from Steven Eley helped Cougars control the opening quarter, with Ola Anderson and Duane Kostrzewski replying for the Slammers. Cougars hit 12 unanswered points at the start of the second.

Slammers continued to struggle in the third and only managed two field goals, by which time Cougars were ahead by almost 50. Ten of the Cougars made it onto the scoresheet as they reached a ton for the fourth time this season.

Game of the week was at Whitton Sports Centre where home side BT Lasers took on the Colchester Veterans. The season record was 1-1 so it was all to play for, with both teams having pretentions to the runners-up spot. There was little to choose between the teams in the first as John Barton and Lewis Giles combined to hit 17 for the Lasers, while Joe Matthews knocked down 12 for the Veterans.

Nathan Syrett stepped up for the visitors with a double-figure haul in the second and an 8-0 run just before half- time, gave Lasers a double-figure deficit to make up in the second half.

Nine points in two minutes from Matthews at the start of the third helped keep the Vets in control, while Lasers struggled to achieve any consistency with no player scoring more than three times in the whole of the quarter.

They also missed four times from the foul line and were behind by 13 going into the final quarter. Giles and Femi Ariyo pulled back some of the deficit in the fourth and Lasers hit 12 points in the final two minutes to put some respectability on the scoreline.

But it was crucially 11 missed foul shots in a seven-point game that was probably the difference.

The win sees Colchester move nearer to the teams above them and it will be interesting to see how they cope with a hectic schedule over the next few weeks if they are going to challenge for the runners-up spot.

Colchester's next game is away to Bury where they were successful in the cup, earlier in the season, while Lasers, with only two games left to play, host Holbrook Eagles.

The Under 16's have also seen some action recently with three matches at Bury. Bury A came out the most successful with wins against Bury B and Brightlingsea, giving the Essex side their first loss of the season.

Seniors

Bury Bulldogs 118 (Lyne 32, Knight 23, Utku 19) BT Jets 37 (Booth 10, Carson/Turner 8). California Cougars 104 (Eley 26, Rudd 15, Fox/Fitchett 11) Stowmarket Slammers 59 (Anderson 15, Harris 12, Vincent/Kay/Kostrzewski 8). BT Lasers 92 (Giles 26, Ariyo 23, Barton 13) Colchester Veterans 99 (Matthews 42, Keeling 19, N.Syrett 16).

Under 16s

Bury A 111 (Benford 41, Sheward 40) Bury B 75 (Barrett 27, Jordan 25), Bury A 82 (Benford 31, Sheward 19, Camps 12) Brightlingsea 76 (O'Hara 33, Collier 18, Robinson 12), Brightlingsea 134 (O'Hara 48, Robinson 26, Henson 25) Bury B 42 (Jordan 16, Mugridge 13).