THE Section Three title race could be heading for a photo finish after all three top teams recorded victories.

Knyveton Gardens racked up a full 14 points after their 82-64 home win over Argyll. Prize-winners for the Gardeners were Biddy Parkinson, Ron Straw, Ron Roberts and Ian Davies (21-15).

Iford Bridge settled for 10 points from their 88-79 win at Electric. Once again, the inspiration came from the dashing Alan Doughty and his merry tribe of Chris Quick, Dave Thirlway and Mike Emsley (30-13).

Pelhams closed to within one point of the Bridge as a result of their 96-65 hammering of Braeside. Bill Safe, Jim Widdicombe, Nigel Bunton and Davy Kerr were the pick of Pelhams’ four winning rinks.

There was no relief for the two bottom clubs Swanage and Kings Park.

Swanage tasted defeat on all four rinks at Branksome Park. The Squirrels emerged 86-68 winners, thanks largely to Russell Brown, Edmund Sandell, Roy Traylor and Martin Goss (23-16).

After a long trip, the Royals had to settle for two points at Milford. Paul Theobald, David Newman, Howard Farmer and Mike Bird (24-11) were the high-fliers in the Seasiders’ 86-72 victory.

  • Dominant Boscombe Cliff edged ever closer to the finishing line as they moved well clear at the Section One summit following a 76-69 win at Broadstone-Wessex.

Cliff’s two winning rinks were headed by Don Hamilton, Charlie Munden, Mike Squires and Mike Hutley (27-16). Roy Lench (18-13) gave the best response for the Wessex Men.

Southbourne consolidated second spot with a 10-4 (86-74) victory over third-placed Poole Park. Southbourne’s Brian Jones (27-19) combined with Alan Elkin, Chris Eames, Keith Norman and Peter Dockree (26-10) to cover Dolphins skips Peter Willats (22-12) and Alec McKenzie (23-21).

There was a maximum haul for Knyveton Gardens at Fording-bridge, where John Kellow’s rink of Mike Beales, Paul Beards and former Turks player Ron Barclay (23-14) inspired the Gardeners to an 87-61 success.

Ringwood moved closer to safety following their 10-4 home triumph over Poole Park A.

John Stone, Eric Knight, Barrie Seymour and Derick Faulkner (31-8) secured Ringwood’s 91-61 win. However, last-end pick-ups by Dolphins skips John Cresswell (19-18) and Graham Mould (19-18) restricted the Foresters to 10 points.

Alexandra Park captured 11 points from their basement battle with visitors Wimborne. Adam O’Connell, Bob Turnbull, Dave Baxter and Mike Stapleton (30-14) were the mainstays in Alex’s 88-74 success.

  • Section Two trailblazers Bournemouth extended their lead to 22 points following their 12-2 (86-73) win over Branksome Park. With three close rinks, the 23-13 return from Colin Bingley, Peter Shearing, Bill Belcher and Terry Chivers proved to be the match winner for Bournemouth.

New Milton remained in second spot despite their 90-72 defeat at Braeside. Roger Herlihy (18-17) and Bill Wallace (28-16) secured four points for the visitors, but the 31-12 win by Peter Barker, John Phipps, Brian Wrightson and Bob Penn set up the Carpetbaggers’ victory.

West Moors kept their promotion hopes alive with a 12-2 points tally at Southbourne. Alan Wells (21-17) and Eric Cook (17-13) found the winning formula for the Moors, who finished stronger to win 77-69.

There was a rare home win for Swanmore who shared rinks with bottom club Highcliffe but mana-ged to register an 86-58 success. The top Swans’ flight was Jack Sheppard, Roy Thompson, Kevin Diment and George Smith (29-10).

Boscombe Cliff emerged with 12 valuable points from their encounter with relegation-threatened Lymington. The experienced quartet of Tony Green, Brian Everard, Bill Ashworth and Brian Frith (24-12) guided the Cliff to a solid 85-68 win.

  • At the top of Section Four, Richmond Park opened up a 10-point gap following their 12-2 success at Wimborne. Steve Meech, John Butler, Mike Shenker and Dave Garrett (25-14) featured in HQ’s 80-63 win.

Moordown lost ground on the leaders after their 10-4 (80-77) defeat by visitors Broadstone-Wessex. Host skip Gary Menday logged in a 27-13 win, only to be upstaged by Broadstone’s combination of John Hall, John Bentall, Mike Sabine and Gordon Tompsett (30-14).

New Milton moved back into the promotion race following their 11-3 home win over Redhill Park. Terry Breen, Richard Wilson, David Morrison and Derek Tansley (26-7) were the backbone of Milton’s 83-61 triumph.

Knyveton Gardens continued their winning form with a 10-4 (86-83) victory at Christchurch. Priory skip Ron Woodcock recovered from a 24-19 deficit to win 25-24, but Bob Osler (23-15) and Ray Elrick (26-16) swung the game in the Gardeners’ favour.

Poole Park cruised to a 105-56 win over relegated Highcliffe. The Dolphins landed all 14 points.

  • Section Five leaders West Moors made it a clean sweep after brushing aside Boscombe Cliff to win 93-63. The top Moors men were Brian Burton, Ian Guest, John Simmons and Ken Hoare (33-15).

Argyll kept in touch by defeating visitors Ferndown. Ben Brown’s quartet of Alan Sandiford, Derek Chant and Alan Gosling (31-15) were on song for the Cliff Dwellers, who emerged 11-3 (83-77) winners.

Ringwood joined the party by winning on three rinks at Redhill Park. Alan Ford, Nigel Hurll, Ken Wyatt and Brian Tester contributed most to the Foresters’ 88-79 victory.

Lymington are not out of it yet and maintained interest with a 10-4 (87-75) home win over Branksome Park. The Lymos’ best were Mick Clark, Ian Pearson, John Hale and Les Ford (23-11). The Squirrels’ top performance was carded by Ron Emmitt (22-16).

Iford Bridge are in danger of dropping through the trap door after losing 83-63 to visitors Southbourne. Bob Pardy, John Matthews, Geoff Green and Larry Cox (31-9) headed the Towermen’s three winning rinks.

  • Poole Park took a huge stride towards sealing promotion when completing a 14-0 (105-58) win over Pelhams in Section Six.

Their chances were further enhanced when second-placed Ferndown suffered a 10-4 home defeat by Moordown. Adam Park, George Webb, Phil Morton and Chris King (35-11) laid the foundations for Moordown’s 86-84 success.

Bournemouth are back in the promotion race following their 93-61 victory at West Moors. Gordon Atkins, Alf Sylvester, Bert Mitchell and Malcolm Gray (27-13) were leading lights for the Marauders.

A massive 40-16 return from Ian Walker, Brian Harris, John Stanborough and Bryan Clay set up Southbourne’s 10-4 (94-85) win over Milford-on-Sea.

Richmond Park fell to the foot of the table following their 13-1 (82-52) defeat by Swanmore. The Swans’ best formation was Albert Gommers, Geoff Harradine, Colin Brooke and Gordon Parker (27-13).