SECTION One big guns Boscombe Cliff survived a spirited challenge from Knyveton Gardens to emerge 85-78 victors – despite losing a player for the second half.

The leading lights for the Cliff men were again Alan Geary, Chris Martin, Derek Ridyard and Tony Geary (24-15). The Gardeners’ main challenge came from Dave Hart’s bucks (25-15) before John Blair (25-24) collected three shots on the last end to give Knyveton four points.

Southbourne made it three wins on the trot following their 88-63 victory over Poole Park’s second string. Graham White, Mike Newton, Dave McKenna and Brian Jones (25-10) were back in the driving seat for the Towermen. Dolphins skip Graham Mould (17-16) denied Southbourne a full house.

Poole Park had to settle for four points when losing 88-84 at Broadstone-Wessex with Chris Weekes (27-14) topping the Dolphins’ winning rinks. The match-winners for Wessex were Josh Perren, Dave Gibb, Barry Duxbury and Harry Hinton (27-18).

There were mixed fortunes for the basement clubs and Alexandra Park suffered a 10-4 (81-75) home defeat at the hands of Fordingbridge. The top Turks were Roly Ford, John Woodward, Mike Lugg and Brian Waldren (32-8).

Ringwood clocked up their second win of the season when overcoming hosts Wimborne 87-67. The Foresters’ three winning rinks were headed by John Thomas, Mike Vogt, Steve Van Wyk and Peter Ward (27-15). Brian Shepherd (20-18) held on for the Minstermen’s two points.

n There was no change at the top of Section Two as both Bournemouth and New Milton achieved 12-2 home victories. The Meyrick Marauders turned up the heat in the second half and, spearheaded by Les Cousins, Barry James, Roy Bray and Gerry Potts (22-13), pulled away to win 79-67.

New Milton completed the double over Swanmore and handed them a rare away defeat. Brian Gordon, Tony Reed, John Nibloe and Ron King (25-13) featured in Milton’s 88-69 success.

West Moors retained third spot despite suffering a shock 87-71 defeat by bottom club Lymington. A respectable 30-15 return by Mick Burfield’s squad was well covered by the Lymos’ three winning rinks, which were headed by Duncan Beck, Peter Drodge, Geoff Mapes and Ken Streek (27-11).

Branksome Park banked 12 points and moved above Swanmore following their 94-78 triumph over lowly Highcliffe.

Southbourne put up a fine display on the Magic Carpet but had to settle for four points after Braeside edged a 76-69 win. Peter Barker, John Phipps, Brian Wrightson and Bob Penn (23-11) were the main contributors to Braeside’s victory.

n Section Three leaders Knyveton Gardens ran out of steam as Electric collected 11 shots on the last end to land a 10-4 (74-67) victory. Mike Sykes, Rob Burchell, Richard Haynes and Peter Cutts (20-14) were the top Sparkies.

Pelhams and Argyll closed in on the frontrunners with 10-4 wins over Kings Park and Swanage, respectively. Bill Safe, Nick Boswood, Nigel Bunton and Davey Kerr (23-15) were the cornerstone of Pelhams’ 74-66 triumph over the Royals.

Argyll’s winning margin was much greater over Swanage as John Memory, Alan Fitzpatrick, Barry Wootton and Mark Howard (26-8) paved the way for a 94-71 victory. The Purbeck club’s best riposte was carded by Brian Beeston’s squad (24-15).

Branksome Park slipped into the drop zone following their 12-2 (82-61) defeat at Milford-on-Sea.

Iford Bridge moved into fourth spot after their 10-4 (87-68) win over Braeside. The intuitive Alan Doughty and his crew of Barry Short, Gordon Greenwood and David Thirlway (35-12) led from the front for Iford.

n Moordown increased their lead at the top of Section Four after taking maximum points at Highcliffe. Alan Tavener (35-5), John Long (30-10), John Humber (31-11) and Gary Menday (17-14) led Moordown to a massive 113-40 victory.

Richmond Park remained second after their 11-3 (84-77) home win over Redhill Park. HQ’s David Wakelin (22-22) denied the Rangers a second winning rink. Team-mates Steve Meech, John Butler, Frank Chawe and Eric Trim (22-12) were the top contributors to Richmond’s winning total.

Poole Park stayed third after their 78-74 triumph over near rivals New Milton. With rinks shared, the 27-16 return by Ted McIndoe, Bob Walford, Bill Ogden and Gordon Brown proved crucial to the Dolphins’ triumph.

There was a close call at Christchurch where Joe Spicer ran the jack through to snatch a 65.5-64 victory over Wimborne. With two rinks apiece, the 18-16 carded by Brian Wilson, John Scott, Ken Dean and Steve Burns proved decisive in the final tally.

Knyveton Gardens moved out of the drop zone following their 10-4 (73-64) success over Broadstone-Wessex. Jeff Mann, John Bristow, Gus Sinclair and Bob Osler (26-12) won the Gardeners’ top prize.

n Section Five pacesetters West Moors suffered only their second defeat of the season at Ringwood – with both inflicted by the Foresters. Ringwood’s three winning rinks were headed by Nigel Hurll, Tim Wesbury, Frank Billett and Brian Terry (20-11) in their 84-76 victory.

Second-placed Argyll lost 10-4 (89-70) at Lymington, the hosts going third after a match-winning display from Dennis Pitcher, Al Gourley, David Stopp and birthday boy Brian Perrett (36-8).

Ferndown slipped to fourth after losing 10-4 (85-76) at Southbourne, while Redhill Park emerged with maximum points from their basement battle with Iford Bridge (95-48). Branksome Park remained in the relegation zone despite an 84-62 win over visitors Boscombe Cliff.

n In Section Six, Poole Park secured a 12-2 (105-56) win over lowly Richmond Park.

Rivals Ferndown closed the gap when taking all 14 points from their 95-56 defeat of West Moors.

Bournemouth bagged a 103-49 victory at Swanmore, while Pelhams moved into mid-table after their 10-4 (78-68) home win over Southbourne. Moordown moved out of the basement after their 12-2 (89-55) win over Milford.