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The Heat sealed
a 2nd leg win over the Plymouth Raiders to win the BBL Cup Winners'
Cup in a game that might have been different if the Raiders' had
been better from the free throw line. The 1st quarter was a story of
2 runs. Dean Williams opened the scoring for the Heat who took and
early 4-2 lead, with Carlton Aaron getting an early put back after
Terrence Durham's score. The Raiders responded with a 14-4 burst on
the back of 4 3 pointers from Andrew Lasker, forcing a 16-6 lead.
 The
Raiders bench picking up a flop warning from the officials after
Mike Martin pulled 2 back for the Heat. The Heat responded with a
17-4 run sparked by 4 from the captain and 4 from Tony Dorsey
scoring his first home points with a couple of free throws and a
trade mark fade away shot. James Jones and John Nottley getting
early minutes also picked up their first points at 'The Furnace',
Jones sinking an increasingly familiar triple, and Nottley draining
a nice baby hook in the paint under pressure as the Heat picked up
the defence towards the end of the quarter to take a 25-20 lead.
 The
early exchanges of the 2nd quarter was a battle of the number 9's. A
steal and dunk from Terrence Durham opened the 2nd quarter scoring,
with Anthony Martin following up to close the gap to 1. Tony Dorsey
sank both his free throws, and John Nottley added another to open a
4 point gap for the Heat. Durham added another 4 points, either side
of Chi Lewis-Parry's first home points, to which Dorsey responded on
the turn-around to maintain the 4 point gap. Triples from Mike
Martin and Dan Wardrope kept the Heat ahead, although the Raiders
were keeping in touch despite some missed free throws.
A technical foul
called on Heat Coach Paul James after Dan Wardrope's foul gave the
Raiders and chance to take a lead, but Andrew Lasker could only make
1 of his 2 and Terrence Durham missed both his to leave the Heat
still 43-41 ahead. with 1.6 seconds of the half remaining, Andrew
Lasker foul Brian Dux and also earned himself a Technical foul. Dux
made all four from the stripe, giving the Heat a 47-41 lead which
could have been more had Dan Wardrope's 3 on the buzzer not rimmed
out.
 Danny
Gilbert hit 2 triple at the start of the 3rd quarter in response to
scores from DeAntoine Beasley and Gaylon Moore, giving the Heat a 6
point lead. After Terrence Durham and Allister Gall halved the lead,
Mike Martin's steal and long 2 sparked 6-0 burst for the Heat.
Martin and Dorsey adding a pair of free throws each. The Raiders hit
back with an 11-0 run, on the back of 8 points from James Noel and a
triple from Gaylon Moore forcing a 2 point lead inside the final 40
seconds. On 12 seconds rookie John Nottley tied the game at 61 from
Tony Dorsey's assist.
DeAntoine Beasley put
the Raiders back in front early in the 4th quarter, only for Danny
Gilbert's deuce on the buzzer to spark a 10-3 surge for the Heat.
Gilbert followed that up with some great defence and a 3 pointer
which was countered from behind the arc by Anthony Martin. Brian
Dux' 3 point play was followed by more excellent defensive work from
Gilbert who stole the ball and broke away for a rare Gilbert slam.
James Jones capped the
run with a fine score from Mike Martin's assist for a 73-66 Heat
lead. As the Raiders started to come back, Gilbert drained a long
triple and Mike Martin's tip in opened a 10 point lead. A 6-1
Raiders burst pulled them back in it, and after a couple of Heat
scores they put together a 6-0 surge on the back of 5 from Andrew
Lasker including a nice steal and jam. A late 9-4 run from the
Raiders kept the Heat honest, but wasn't quite enough. Carlton Aaron
fouled out with 40 seconds left, and Terrence Durham's 3 point play
sparked the run. A couple of free throws from Dux were countered by
Anthony Martin's score before Allister Gall's 5th foul sent Mike
Martin to the line where he made
 both
to edge the Heat 93-87 in front. A further score from Durham was
followed up by 2 free throws from Jamie Burchell coming on as sub
for Anthony Martin who was the victim of an unsportsmanlike foul
from Brian Dux.
With no scores in the
final 10 seconds, the Heat ran out 93-91 winners with Mike Martin
being presented the Cup Winners Cup by the chairmen of both clubs.
Words:
Guildford Heat Web Site
Photos:
Damian Pudner
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