BBL: Rocks tame the Wildcats to pick up the win

Glasgow Rocks picked up their first victory of the season thanks to a hard-fought 82-92 win over the Durham Wildcats at the Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre on Sunday night.

After a slow start to the contest, six points from EJ Harrison helped the Rocks into an early 5-11 lead midway through the opening quarter, however an immediate 9-3 response from the Wildcats saw the home side tie the game at 14-14. Both sides traded baskets for the remainder of the stanza and ended the quarter tied at 19-19.

In the second quarter, a Harrison three-pointer took the score out to 23-26 after three minutes of the period, but they could not hake off a resilient Wildcats outfit as the home side kept themselves in the contest thanks to a Mike Baldarelli three-point play to trim the deficit to just a point at 28-29. The Rocks kept their noses in front thanks to four points from Brice Fantazia and a Gareth Murray free-throw handed the visitors a seven point lead at 33-40, but the Wildcats bagged six of the last eight points of the half to trim the deficit to just three points at 39-42 heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half, a 7-2 Rocks start to the third quarter took the score out to 41-49 with seven minutes remaining in the period. The home side tried valiantly to get themselves back into the contest and managed to close the gap down to five points at 50-55 midway through the third quarter, but a strong finish from the Rocks saw the visitors close out the period leading 55-64 heading into the final stanza.

In the final quarter, the Rocks continued to stretch their lead through the early exchanges and opened up their biggest lead of the game at 68-82 with five minutes remaining in the contest. The home side picked up their intensity in the closing stages of the game at both ends of the floor, and three three-pointers from Baldarelli helped the Wildcats trim the deficit slightly, but it was all to no avail as the Rocks held on to get their first victory of the season.

A combination of Harrison and Gareth Murray led the scoring for the Rocks with 20 points a-piece, while new signing Baldarelli was the main man for the Wildcats as he netted a team-high 18 points.

Durham Wildcats 82 (19,39,55) (Baldarelli 18, Elderkin 17, Guinane 16)

Glasgow Rocks 92 (19,42,64) (Harrison/Murray 20, Davis 15)