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TIGERS GO DOWN TO RAMPANT LIONS

BBL Championship
Everton Tigers 91 (22,41,58) (Moore/Jones 22, Gumbs 17)
Marshall MK Lions 107 (23,51,78) (Holmes 29, Harrison 25, Morris 18)

The Marshall MK Lions leapfrogged over the Glasgow Rocks into third position in the BBL Championship table thanks to a 91-107 victory over the Everton Tigers at the Greenbank Academy on Friday night.

A Jerome Gumbs (PICTURED ABOVE) basket opened the scoring for the Tigers, but the Lions came straight back at them thanks to ten points from Frank Holmes helped the visitors into an early 4-15 lead midway through the first period.

Back-to-back three pointers from James Jones sparked a 15-3 response from the Tigers to retake the lead at 19-18 with two minutes remaining in the quarter, but a pair of free-throws from Holmes handed the Lions back the lead at 22-23 at the end of the opening period.

In the second quarter a 10-2 run from the visitors took the score out to 28-35 midway through the period. Another 10-2 Lions burst took the score out to 38-51, but another Jones three- pointer trimmed the deficit back to ten points at 41-51 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half both sides traded baskets throughout much of the third period, but back-to-back three pointers from EJ Harrison and Yorrick Williams helped the visitors into a twenty-point lead at 48-68.

The Tigers tried valiantly to close the gap for the remainder of the quarter but the Lions maintained their advantage at 58-78 heading into the final stanza.

In the final period the Tigers again tried valiantly to get themselves back into the game but they could not get closer than fifteen points off the back of a 12-3 burst to get the score back to 82-97 but the Lions remained strong through the closing stages and sealed the victory from the foul-line. Holmes led all scorers in the game with an impressive 29-point haul for the Lions while a combination of Trey Moore and Jones led the scoring for the Tigers as they netted 22 points a -piece.

TIGERS PREPARE TO TAME LIONS ... AGAIN

Tony Garbelotto will be hoping his players will bounce back as they prepare to take on the MK Lions at the Greenbank Academy on Friday night.

The Tigers suffered a crushing defeat to local rivals Cheshire Jets last weekend in a game that also saw the Tigers coach sent to the dressing room for two technical fouls.

Having let his emotions get the better of him, Garbelotto will be hoping his team keep a collective cool head as he serves out a one match touchline suspension.

Last week’s defeat combined with results from elsewhere has seen the team slip to the precipice of the play-off spots.

So with 4th placed MK Lions heading to Merseyside the importance of a clash against a potential top 8 rival is not lost on Garbelotto: The last time the two sides met, the Tigers came out on top with a 99-87 triumph over Vince Macaulay's side at Greenbank.

Garbelotto believes his side need a repeat performance in order to make it 2- 0 against the Lions this season. He said: 'In the first game we matched up pretty well with MK, but that was before our injuries and now our subsequent change of players. It is tough to say, they are one of the top teams in the league and we must be ready to produce a performance like the last game we played against them."

Garbelotto continued, “No team should lose after been up eighteen points at half time but we did last weekend. We completely switched off and that is not to take anything away from Cheshire. We stopped playing and they played incredibly well.”

“The injuries have been really hurting us recently so hopefully we will have some of the guys off the treatment table and back on the court as MK have a really strong rosta this year. "

He added, “I was pleased with Trey Moore’s contribution seeing as he only arrived in the country on Friday morning, so for him to play like he did is a credit to him. I am sure the fans will be looking forward to seeing him again this weekend. “

Tickets for the game are available from Greenbank Sports Academy on 0151 280 7757. Tickets for the Tigers’ next game at the Echo Arena on 7th February vs Worcester Wolves are now available from the venue’s box office or on 0844 8000 400.

EVERTON TIGERS CRUSH LONDON CAPITAL 106-62

Everton Tigers booked their place in the BBL Trophy quarter finals with a 62-106 victory at PAWS London Capital.

A balanced Tigers offence overwhelmed Capital after an even first quarter to set up a last eight fixture with Glasgow Rocks.

After Everton had shaded the first quarter 28-29 the game was broken open by the visitors in the second period. Runs of 7-0 and 10-0 helped Tigers to go up 32-51 and then a 17-3 burst before half time gave them a huge 35-68 lead at the interval.

Tigers continued to dominate after the break and went out to 48-86 after three quarters. Everton's Dzaflo Larkai (pictured above) led all scorers with 20 points.

TREY MOORE MAKES HIS EVERTON DEBUT BUT TIGERS LOSE

Everton Tigers fans finally got the chance to look at new signing and reigning BBL player of the year Trey Moore when he finally stepped on the floor for the Tigers against this former club the Cheshire Jets

This highly-charged game started in high-scoring fashion with the Jets taking an early lead at 4-9 after a pair of O'Reilly scores. But the teams were all tied at 11 after Thompson's three-pointer for the Tigers, and they would go on to be tied three times in the following two minutes.

Gayle's triple for the Jets marked the last time that the Jets would be level until the fourth quarter, at 16, before the Tigers posted a 6-0 run. The Tigers scored a further eight points within the final 48s of the quarter, sparked by another Thompson three, to lead 33-23 after ten minutes.

The Tigers stretched their lead as Thompson remained hot: his three-pointer made it 42-25 after three minutes. Babalola and Larkai combined for five points, and when they scored back-to-back again within the final minute the lead was twenty at 59-39. Marks made a lay-up for the Jets before the half drew to a close.

The Jets came flying back after the break, making headway with an early 11-3 run to make it 62-52 as the Tigers only scored three free-throws in the opening four minutes. That was shortly followed by a 9-0 surge, capped by O'Reilly's triple to narrow the gap to just 66- 61 with 2.32 remaining in the third. Former Jet Trey Moore halted the run with a three-pointer and the Tigers held on to lead 73-67 going into the decisive stanza.

But the Tigers could not contain Marks and O'Reilly in the fourth, who scored 15 and 9 points respectively in the period. Their intentions were signalled immediately as O'Reilly opened with a triple, before they took the lead at 75-76 as the same player capped a 6-0 burst. There were four quick lead changes before Peterson's three and two free-throws for Marks made it 83-88, but the Tigers were still within one shot, at 87- 90 heading into the last 1.30. But Marks took over, as the Tigers didn't score again, and he 6 points in a 8-0 close that won the game for the Jets.

The Jets were led by 24 points from Chez Marks and 22 from Colin O'Reilly. Dzaflo Larkai led Everton with 19, while recent acquisition Trey Moore scored 19.

The Tigers now make the road trip to London Capital for their next game before returning to Greenbank on Friday the 29th to take on the Milton Keynes Lion

JEROME GUMBS TOPS THE 'TEAM OF THE WEEK' STATS

Jerome Gumbs, of Everton Tigers, is top of the charts in this week's Team of the Week, as the British passport-holding forward had 28 points, on 13/17 field goal shooting, 100% from the charity stripe, and 6 assists in the Tigers' win over Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders last Friday. He was one rebound off a double-double, with 9 boards to his name, and also grabbed three steals in a forty minute display of all- round brilliance.

Worthing Thunder forward and Finnish International, Ville Makalainen, is the next big man in the line up, as he used his 9/13 shooting from open play to record 27 points in a victory against Newcastle Eagles. 9/10 free throw shooting, and 3 assists were his other notable statistics. At Centre, it is Flo Larkai of the Tigers, again for a solid performance against the Riders. He had 15 points, shot 5/8 from the field, 5/6 from the line, and grabbed 9 boards in only 24:05 minutes on court.

Next it is the two guards for this week, and the stand- outs are Evaldas Zabas, who was influential in the Thunder's win over the Eagles, as he had 26 points, knocked down all eight of his field goal attempts, and 3/6 from down town. He also dished out 3 assists and 2 steals.

EJ Harrison made a return to Team of the Week, as the Lions floor general had 19 points, on 50% three point shooting, 100% from the stripe, 5 assists and an incredible 9 steals, as Milton Keynes disposed of Essex Pirates.

TREY MOORE TO MAKE HIS EVERTON TIGERS DEBUT

Everton Tigers fans will finally get to have a look at new signing and reigning BBL player of the year Trey Moore after finally receiving clearance for him to begin his career on Merseyside.

Tigers head coach Tony Garbelotto revealed he had been looking to sign Moore for some time. He said: "Trey has made a huge impact on the BBL in recent years and he is a player that we have all been watching."

"His score sheet proves his strengths - averaging in excess of 20 points per game throughout his two seasons with Cheshire Jets and helping both the Jets and the Eagles to collect silverware."

And local bragging rights will be on offer on Friday evening, as Everton Tigers welcome local rivals Cheshire Jets to the Greenbank Academy.

With the Jets rivalling the Tigers for an end of season play-off berth and both sides arriving to the court in good form it promises to be another entertaining BBL encounter.

The Tigers know they will be facing a backlash from the Jets as they try and get last weekend’s valiant BBL Cup Final defeat to Sheffield Sharks out of their system. 

It was the Jets who triumphed 101-92 last time the two sides met at the Northgate arena earlier in the season so the Tigers know they have a score to settle with their North West neighbours.

Head coach Tony Garbelotto expects the usual feisty encounter against the Jets, although he is unsure how their Cup Final loss will affect them:  “It is tough to say how we will match up with the Jets. On paper, Cheshire are bigger and have more depth, but they are coming off a heart breaking cup final loss and it is tough to say how a team will react.“

Garbelotto added: “Jets coach Paul Smith has done a tremendous job with this team this season. What is most impressive about what Paul has done is how many close games they have won - that is the sign of good coaching.”

EVERTON TIGERS GRAB SENSATIONAL VICTORY OVER RIDERS

Dateline - 15 01 2010

Everton Tigers closed the gap to just two points on the Marshall MK Lions in third position in the BBL Championship table thanks to a hard-fought 94-89 victory over the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders at the Greenbank Academy on Friday night.

After a tight opening to the game where both sides traded baskets in the early going, a three- pointer from Darrell Bethune sparked a 13-3 burst for the home side to take the score out to 18-11.

Both sides traded baskets for the remainder of the period and it was the Tigers who held a six-point advantage at 29- 23 heading into the second quarter.

In the second period the Riders closed the gap to three points early in the quarter at 31-28, but a Jerome Gumbs basket instigated a 17-1 tear for the home side to break the game open and take the score out to 48-29. A 11-2 finish to the period for the Riders saw the visitors close the gap to ten points at 50-40 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half, both sides continued to trade baskets throughout the majority of the third period but the Riders closed the gap to just five points at 56-51.

The Tigers responded immediately with a 7-0 run to take the score out to 63-51. The Riders tried to keep themselves in the game and bought the deficit back to just nine points at 73-64 heading into the final stanza. In the final period the deficit remained at between eight and ten points throughout the majority of the quarter with the Tigers leading 91-81 with three minutes remaining in the contest.

The Riders responded with five points from Isaac Westbrook and a Dwayne James basket bought the visitors to within three points at 92-89 with 1:24 left on the clock. Both sides had chances to secure the victory, but it was left to Gumbs to secure the victory for the Tigers from the foul-line as time expired. Gumbs led all scorers in the game with 28 points for the Tigers while pulling down 9 rebounds and dishing up 6 assists, while Jason Johnson led the scoring for the Riders with a double double of 23 points and 11 rebounds.