Heat Scupper Pirates

The Guildford Heat could not have asked for a better start to BBL Championship competition last weekend, as they beat London Capital 95-65 on their home court and this weekend, they continued their fine run of early season form against BBL new boys, the Essex Pirates, as a decisive third quarter performance helped them to a 94-76 victory. The game was fairly level at the end of the first quarter, as a 12-10 run from the Heat closed out the first period of play and left the score at 25-21 to the home side. The second quarter was not quite as tight, as the Surrey side went on a 15-4 tear, with 6 points from the three point line from Julius Joseph, to leave the score at 40-25. The teams then exchanged scores until the half time break, when the Guildford Heat led 49-42.

A dynamic 19-2 burst by the Heat, with 10 points from Mike Martin, meant that the Pirates went scoreless for seven minutes at the start of the third, and this proved to be a decisive run in the game. After a threeball from Kenny Langhorne meant the scoreboard read 71-44 in the Heat's favour, and the sides then exchanged scores to take the game to 75-50, with Guildford in front, going into the final stanza. There was no way back for the Pirates, as Chad McKnight's team outscored them 26-19 in the final ten minutes to secure a 94-76 win. Guildford were led from the front by the American Langhorne, who top scored with 21 points, and was ably supported by British pair Martin and Joseph, who both had 18, and 'LA' Aaron Drakeford (17). The Pirates, in an encouraging display, were led in scoring by Walks Mumuni, who had 19 points, Sam Toluwase (13), whilst Dean Williams and Alan Metcalfe both notched 10 points against their former team. Heat Playcaller Chad McKnight was happy with his side's performance: ' Tonight was a good win on the back of a good team performance, with four players scoring almost twenty points. Nice to be one of only two undefeated teams in the league, and we are looking to build on this game for the rest of the season.'