Heat Repel Raiders
28 February 2012
The Guildford Heat, in front of a boisterous crowd, who were wowed at half-time by an awesome display from the AllStar Dunkers, put in an inspired second half performance to defeat the visiting Plymouth Raiders and end a three-game slide.
This was the Heat team who defeated the Milton Keynes Lions four weeks ago and from the opening tip, they took the game to the Raiders, establishing an early 11-4 lead, before pushing it out to 19-8 with three minutes to go. It was still 23-17 at the end of the first quarter, but in the second quarter, the Raiders struck back, an 11-2 run giving them their first lead, 32-29. The Heat tied the scores at 34-34 with four minutes to go, but then trailed for the rest of the quarter as the Raiders used an 8-3 run to gain some separation, going into the break ahead 48-42, having put 31 points on the board in the second quarter.
However, the Heat of the first quarter came back after the break and, feeding off the crowd's energy, they quickly erased the Raiders' lead, using a 10-3 run to put them ahead 52-51. After a Paul Williams three-point play for the visitors, the Heat took the lead for good with a 21-4 run to establish a commanding 73-58 lead with just under three minutes to play in the quarter.
After exchanging a free-throw each, the Raiders made a concerted effort to get back into the game, an 11-0 run spanning the end of the third and start of the fourth trimming the lead to four at 74-70. Frank Holmes stopped the rot, putting back a miss on the second attempt and triggering a 6-0 Heat run that put them back in control. Thereafter, every time the Raiders threatened, the Heat had an answer. Timely threes from Mike Martin and Martelle McLemore kept the lead in double digits and when Shaun Durant scored with a fade-away jumper in the paint to make it 90-78, the Heat were almost home.
Even a late wobble from the line which saw them go just 3-8 as the Raiders fouled to stop the clock couldn't derail the Heat. Fittingly Martelle finished the scoring with a fast-break dunk with 15 seconds on the clock to seal the win, 95-85.
Martelle led all scorers with 30 points, shooting at over 50% from the field and knocking down three of five from behind the arc, all of them coming at crucial moments. He also added seven rebounds and played hard defence on Jeremy Bell, the Raiders' leading scorer being held to 17 points. Tayo Ogedengbe chipped in with 15 points and Drew Lasker had 14 points against his old club. Mike Martin had 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
For the Raiders, Paul Williams had a big game inside, hauling down a game-high 15 rebounds to go with his team-high 24 points. Bell also added 13 rebounds to go with his 17 points, while Lehmon Colbert had 16 points. The Raiders shot 1-19 from three-point range while the Heat were an efficient 6-12 from behind the arc.
The Heat travel to Milton Keynes on Friday to take on the Lions and then host the Worcester Wolves next Sunday, 4th March, in front of the Sky TV cameras. The game tips-off at 3 o'clock at the Surrey Sports Park and tickets are available via the Box Office or on the door (subject to availability).
A full match report can be found on the Guildford Heat website.
