BASKETBALL: There was plenty to talk about in the local basketball league as week five finished with only one team still retaining a perfect record, while at the other end of the table two teams still remain winless.

BASKETBALL

There was plenty to talk about in the local basketball league as week five finished with only one team still retaining a perfect record, while at the other end of the table two teams still remain winless.

Newcomers Suffolk College broke their duck when they visited Gainsborough, but it was a close affair. The scoring was evenly shared in the first quarter as five players on both sides found the target.

It was the College that edged ahead by eight as Gainsborough managed to miss four foul shots which was to prove costly later.

The College opened strongly in the second quarter and were soon ahead by 20 with Randall and Ghounie scoring 12 points between them.

Gainsborough rallied and with Miller and Brendish beginning to put it together on offence they narrowed the gap to just four points at half time.

The home side kept their momentum going in the third and took the lead by two going into the final quarter.

It was anyone's game as the College refused to give up and took the lead with five minutes left, only for Brendish to hit a big three-pointer and keep Gainsborough in it with just four minutes on the clock.

However, that was to be their last field goal and as they continued to miss from the foul line it was the College that finished the stronger to win by six.

With the two unbeaten sides meeting at Brightlingsea, something had to give and in a high-scoring and controversial game it was the home side that kept their 100 per cent record by defeating BT Lasers.

Lasers were slow to start and by the end of the first quarter the home side had a double-figure lead thanks to Ward and Sam Day finding their range.

To their credit, Lasers kept plugging away and reduced the gap to seven in the second quarter before Brightlingsea finished strongly to lead by 14 at half time. The gap at the end of the third was still in

double figures as Jovanovic fouled out for the visitors.

Early in the final quarter Ariyo became the second Lasers player to foul out. With two of Lasers'

scoring threats out of the game there was now added pressure on Kamariotis and Hale to step up for the visitors.

Two big three-pointers from Hale reduced the gap to seven with two minutes left, but as Kamariotis lost his cool and fouled out it was Brightlingsea that held their nerve to win by seven.

For the home side, six players hit double figures which accurately reflects their offensive options and with them still averaging over 100 points per game teams need to be strong tactically to match them.

The two Copleston teams have had mixed fortunes as their relative strengths might reflect. Apart from in the cup, Copleston seconds have had limited success since the opening week of the season and they fared no better this week when they met a Holywells side that seems now to be getting into its stride after a slow start.

Holywells began much stronger and made their experience count as they soon opened up a gap of

double figures, restricting the Copleston youngsters to just a single point in the opening four minutes.

Copleston fought back to score 15 points in the next six minutes but were still well behind going into the second period.

Only three field goals in the second period saw Copleston trailing by more than 30 at half time. With Holywells able to run their bench there was no way back for the home side as the visitors passed the 100 mark.

Copleston first team kept up the pressure on the leaders with a narrow win at Colchester Hornets.

It looked all over within the first few minutes as Copleston opened up a 17-point lead as early as the seventh minute as they picked up some easy baskets off the press.

Hornets kept plugging away and with the Syrett brothers and Jules Keeling beginning to control their offence they reduced the deficit to single figures in the second quarter before Copleston finished the quarter strongly to widen the gap to 11 at half time.

A strong start to the third quarter saw the home side take the lead as they outscored the visitors 14-2 in a three-minute spell. Unfortunately they could not keep up the momentum as the visitors hit 11 unanswered points at the start of the final quarter.

Colchester rallied again and pulled back to within three as Copleston hit foul trouble. With McGinley fouling out and Hall and Hendry on four the visitors kept their cool to win by four.

Next week sees a curtailed programme with games on Thursday evening at Holywells, Gainsborough and Whitton.

The league leaders' trip to Holywells could be a potential banana skin, while Gainsborough will be looking for their first win at the expense of Colchester Hornets.

With neither of the Copleston sides playing the league table could take on a completely different picture at this time next week.

Results

Brightlingsea 108 (A Ward 25, Smith 19, B Day 15, S Day 15), BT Lasers 95 (Kamariotis 27, Hale 20, Ariyo 12, Jovanovic 12).

Copleston II 44 (Fox 12, Barrett 10, Robinson 10), Holywells 10 (Taylor 18, O'Connor 16, N Newman 16).

Colchester Hornets 84 (Keeling 30, N Syrett 18, A Syrett 16), Copleston I 88 (Rudd 37, Hall 15, Pearce 14).

Gainsborough 59 (Brendish 19, Miller 13, Morsman 10), Suffolk College 65 (Randall 20, Ghounie 17, Stacey 10).