Tigers win without Garbelotto

The Mersey Tigers claimed their second away win of their BBL Championship campaign by defeating Guildford Heat 82-77 in a close encounter.

The Tigers were without suspended Head Coach Tony Garbelotto for the game but they pulled up their socks and ran away with the victory. The Merseysiders were led by Devon Bailey’s 15 points but it was the Heat’s Martelle McLemore who led all scorers with 17 personal.

Tigers got into gear very early on with an impressive 13-2 tear to create a 15-5 lead in the opening period. Their opponents the Heat came blazing back in the second to bring the score within single digits at 20-15.

The hosts immediately hit back with a devastating 19-2 run to gain a healthy advantage. Guildford ran a poor offensive game up until halftime, shooting poorly at 19% from the field. they were lucky enough to still be within touching distance at the break with the Tigers in front by 39-26.

Myles Hesson ruined any chances of a heat comeback early in the second half sinking eight points in an 18-4 burst to open up a huge gap between the teams.

Guildford started the final stanza looking down and out but they responded positively with a surging 11-2 run but it was too late to salvage anything from this game.