Leopards seal win despite not hitting top gear (From Echo)

Leopards seal win despite not hitting top gear

6:55pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in Sport By Chris Phillips

LEOPARDS head coach Dejan Mihevc was pleased by the result but not the performance as his side battled past Leeds Carnegie 76-72 at the Basildon Sporting Village.

Leopards surged past their visitors late on to secure an exciting victory.

And Mihevc was relieved to come out on top.

“It was a very difficult and I’m happy to have won,” said Mihevc, whose Leopards team have not been beaten in the league since December. “Both teams played hard and were fighting for every ball.

“We didn’t play our best game but in the end we showed some character and won so we’re pleased.”

The victory came courtesy of a stunning late comeback which saw Leopards bag 11 of the game’s final 14 points.

Vernon Teel was once again Leopards’ main man as he scored the final six points and came up with a big steal in the dying seconds.

That helped him net 36 points and he also contributed eight steals, seven rebounds and five assists.

Ousman Krubally finished with another double-double, adding 15 rebounds to his 20 points, while Zak Wells also had a good night on the boards with 10 rebounds and six points.

Leopards, who were missing injured trio John Lister, Joe Lockwood and Lukas Volskis, were 22-15 in front at the end of the first quarter.

But, led by the impressive Sean Clifford, Leeds scored more frequently in both the second and third periods to lead 60-59 at the final break.

That advantage was stretched to 69-64 with 3.35 minutes remaining but Krubally started the comeback with a pair of free-throws, and Teel came up with a steal and a basket before Dominic Norton also stole the ball and fed Krubally to put Leopards up by a point with 2:53 on the clock.

Teel then made it a three point game, but that lead was trimmed by an Armand Anebo free throw.

Teel put the Big Cats 74-70 up going into the final 90 seconds before Leeds’ David Ajumobi halved that lead at the foul line with 38 seconds on the clock.

Teel missed a shot with 12 seconds remaining but redeemed himself as he stole the ball off John Houghton and buried a jump shot to seal another memorable victory.

Leopards now sit sixth in the English Basketball League and have at least three games in hand on all of the teams above them in the table.