Back in October the Tigers had defeated the Leopards at the Bracknell Leisure Centre, and on Saturday night it was time for the Leopards to right that performance and after previous victories at Chester and Milton Keynes to record their third successive 'on the road' win.

The Leopards went into the Thames Valley game without Rod Brown and Kojo Mensah-Bonsu both struggling to overcome knee injuries, and it soon became apparent that although David Attewell was suited to play, he would only appear in emergencies.

As a result Leopards Coach Donewald gave a place in the starting five to Gareth Davies, and it was Davies who opened Leopards account from the foul line in the opening minute.

His two free throws was the beginning of a Leopards run that saw them storm into a 14-2 lead.

The Tigers attempted to stop the Leopards momentum when the score stood at 8-2 by calling a time out.

This tactic was unsuccessful as the Leopards 'dynamic duo' of Jason Kimbrough and Rashod Johnson both hit three point shots, establishing a pattern as later in the quarter as the Tigers tried to regroup, Kimbrough and Johnson repeated the exercise to increase the lead to 13 points (25-12).

Leopards lead opened to as far as 16 points but in the closing stages of the quarter the Leopards got into foul trouble which allowed Thames Valley to claw their way back at the foul line meaning that Leopards held a ten point advantage at the end of the first period in which they had amassed 29 points.

With only a playing squad of seven players, Donewald wisely rotated his squad, ensuring that each player took a turn on the bench, but when Tigers' Tony Christie slammed the ball home at the start of the second quarter, Alderson returned to court immediately.

In spite of four quick points from Mo Robinson, the Tigers cut the lead to seven points.

However the threat was put aside when a Leopards steal sent Kimbrough to the hoop, fouled in the process, he made the shot and completed the "and 1" from the foul line.

As the quarter ran down, Martin began to become a real attacking threat for Leopards by scoring six points in the later stages of the period, but of greater concern was the foul count.

The officials called a series of fouls in quick succession which saw Davies return to the bench having reached four fouls and moments later Rashod Johnson,who by now was already on 15 points, joined him on three fouls.

While the Leopards' overall advantage never seemed in doubt at this stage, the introduction by Thames Valley of Mike Redd into the game had immediate impact as he drained two threes in the last minute of the half which meant Leopards carried a ten point lead into the changing room at half time (54-44).

At the start of the third period baskets from Martin and Robinson were cancelled out by Tigers Greg Meldrum.

Tigers had reduced the arrears to nine points at 63-54 when once again Johnson and Kimbrough went to work.

In the next two minutes Leopards hit four three point shots, Johnson hit three and Kimbrough one and the Brentwood side surged ahead, opening up an 18 point lead.

When Kimbrough was called for his fourth foul, Leopards readjusted with J.R.Alexander filling the gap.

Leopards were in determined mood, and this was summed up by one incident late in the quarter.

Robinson was stripped of the ball and it appeared that the Tigers would score an easy basket on fast break.

However Martin had other ideas racing the length of the court and producing an amazing block, sending Kelvin Robinson's basket bound shot crashing off the backboard.

Leopards maintained an 18 point advantage at the end of the third quarter (81-63)

A basket from Alderson at the start of the fourth quarter gave Leopards a 20 point advantage, their largest lead of the night.

However in the next minute the game swung sharply as first Tigers' Tony Christie and then Mike Redd found their range from behind the arc and the subsequent three point shots started to cut into the Leopards lead.

Christie's three "threes" reduced the arrears to eleven but Gareth Davies completed an "and 1" to steady the situation momentarily.

However the relatively inexperienced Redd took over and with three minutes remaining in the game Leopards had seen their lead cut to six points.

A minute later Tigers called a time out, as trailing by five points they had scored 30 points since the start of the fourth quarter.

Alderson made a foul shot to take the lead to six and Kimbrough was then sent away on a fast break which made the game safer as Leopards now led by eight points.

With the clock running down,Leopards protected the ball, keeping possession through spreading the court.

Tigers were forced to foul and Alderson, Kimbrough and Johnson all visited the foul line in the closing minutes as the Leopards came home by a margin of eght points.

The depleted Leopards had strengthened their grip on second place in the Southern Conference, while the Tigers now know that they are engaged in a real dog fight with the Birmingham Bullets for the fourth and final play off spot in the South.

Leopards left the court to the now customary chant of 'boom!' from players and supporters, having extended their unbeaten run to five games.

The Leopards points scorers were; Rashod Johnson 38 points, Jason Kimbrough 22, Rico Alderson 19, Mo Robinson 12, Michael Martin nine, and Gareth Davies nine.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.