Basketball: Williams brings Jets down to earth

The Chester Jets stumbled in the race for the BBL Championship title last night with a 99-85 home defeat against the London Towers, while the second-placed Newcastle Eagles won 99-74 against Milton Keynes Lions to close the gap to two points.

The Chester Jets stumbled in the race for the BBL Championship title last night with a 99-85 home defeat against the London Towers, while the second-placed Newcastle Eagles won 99-74 against Milton Keynes Lions to close the gap to two points.

At the Northgate Arena, the Towers opened with an 8-0 burst and led the home team until the final buzzer, taking control in the third quarter to lead 71-62 as Jerry Williams scored 13 points out of his game total of 29. The Towers then opened the fourth quarter 10-2.

The Eagles trailed 46-45 at half-time in Milton Keynes but a 22-5 surge took them into an unbeatable 75-58 lead at the end of the third quarter, as their leading scorer Jeremy Hyatt punished the Lions with 25 points.

The Towers' win at Chester took them into fourthabove the Brighton Bears and towards home advantage in the play-offs.

The Bears' injury and flu-ridden squad had still been too strong for the Birmingham Bullets on Saturday. But the Plymouth Raiders were too strong last night, winning 79-75 in Sussex to strengthen their hold on eighth place and qualification for the quarter-finals in their first BBL campaign.