Eagles, Riders Unbeaten – Cup Begins – BBL Week 5 Recap

By Bradley Gains on October 19, 2015

BBL

Check out the latest action from around the BBL as two teams remain unbeaten in the league while the BBL Cup started and reached the quarter-finals stage.

Newcastle Eagles made it a magnificent seven wins in a row as they dismantled Cheshire Phoenix with a high-scoring 118-80 victory at Sport Central. Charles Smith posted the first triple-double of the season after another scintillating display from the veteran as he finished with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds as well as adding four steals. Scott Martin had an all-round display of his own with a 17-7-7 stat-line as seven different players hit double figures.

Kinu Rochford led his new side with 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Jordan Williams had another strong scoring night with 17. Cheshire had won all three games on the road heading into the encounter but the defending champions proved too tough to overcome, as the Nix drop to 3-3.

Worcester Wolves improved to a 4-1 start as they claimed the head-to-head over Glasgow Rocks with a 92-85 win at home. Perris Blackwell had a dominant 21-point, 17-rebound double-double, while Spaniard Javier Mugica scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the final quarter whilst adding five boards and five assists.

The Rocks had the lead at 57-56 late in the third before the home side opened up a 16-point lead in the fourth with a dominant 23-6 spell that was capped by back-to-back Mugica triples. Kieron Achara was again limited to eight minutes of action as the Rocks were led by Riley Grabau’s 15 points with four other players in double figures as Rocks dropped to 2-3.

Leicester Riders made it three straight wins on Saturday, as they ended the winning run of Leeds Force with a convincing 87-59 win on the road. Jamell Anderson led a balanced scoring effort with 15 points on 6-7 shooting with Neil Watson adding a further 14 as Shane Walker made his debut for the club. For Force, Zak Wells double-doubled with 14 points and 10 rebounds but the visitors were down 22 at the half, and never recovered.

The Riders then made it a perfect 4-0 start 24 hours later as they produced another effective defensive display in an 82-62 home win over Manchester Giants. TrayVonn Wright top scored with 20 points and added seven rebounds and five blocks to send his side second. Walker added nine points and seven rebounds while Drew Sullivan also had nine points along with eight boards and five assists from the bench as a strong 31-12 second quarter ensured the Riders remained unbeaten.

Sheffield Sharks set a quarter-final BBL Cup clash with Leicester Riders as they held off a late fightback from Manchester Giants to win 82-77 in the First Round. Mike Tuck led his side to victory with 20 points while TJ Robinson added 18 points and 13 boards in the win. For the Giants, having trailed by 12 with less than five minutes to go, they rallied to cut the gap to a single point before the Sharks held on from the free throw line. Stefan Gill had 26 in the loss.

Bristol Flyers eliminated South-West rivals Plymouth Raiders in the First Round of the Cup for the second year running after winning 88-77 on the road. All five starters hit double figures for the Flyers as Mathias Seilund netted 23 points and Tyrone Lee continued his impressive start with 19 points and 13 rebounds as the visitors pulled away with a convincing second half display.

The Raiders were led by the 20 points of Daryl Corletto while fellow Aussie Auryn MacMillan added 16 points and nine rebounds on 7-9 shooting from the field. However, it wasn’t enough as Plymouth suffer another early exit as they still await their first win of the season, in any competition.

London Lions needed overtime to see off Surrey Scorchers after the home side had battled back to force the extra period before falling 89-81 in their First Round Cup encounter. Surrey took the final quarter 30-14 as they overturned a nine-point deficit inside the final two minutes with Henry Wilkins scoring a three with 14 seconds of regulation left to make it 77-77 – he would finish with 17 points alongside Tayo Ogedengbe and Nick Schlitzer.

Nigerian international Olumide Oyedeji scored six of his seven points in overtime to get the Lions over the line as he made his second debut for the club. Jaron Lane top scored with a game of 18 points with Nick Lewis adding 15 to help the capital based side advance.

On Sunday, the complete quarter-final line-up for the BBL Cup was complete as Glasgow Rocks finished strong to defeat Leeds Force 85-64 at the Emirates Arena. Kieron Achara came off the bench to put up 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead his side to victory. Leeds had battled back after a slow first half, where they trailed by 15, to close within eight in the fourth only for the Rocks to respond with a 12-2 run to seal the win. D’Andre Bullard had 23 for the visitors.

BBL CUP QF Draw:
Newcastle Eagles v Glasgow Rocks, 30 October
Leicester Riders v Sheffield Sharks, 8 November
Worcester Wolves v London Lions, 6 November
Cheshire Phoenix v Bristol Flyers, 15 November

Results: Friday- Newcastle Eagles 118-80 Cheshire Phoenix, Leeds Force 57-89 Leicester Riders, Worcester Wolves 92-85 Glasgow Rocks; (BBL Cup) Sheffield Sharks 82-77 Manchester Giants. Saturday- Leicester Riders 82-62 Manchester Giants; (BBL Cup) Surrey Scorchers 81-89 London Lions OT, (BBL Cup) Plymouth Raiders 77-88 Bristol Flyers. Sunday- (BBL Cup) Glasgow Rocks 84-65 Leeds Force.

Standings: Eagles 7-0; Riders 4-0; Wolves 4-1; Phoenix 3-3; Lions/Scorchers 2-2; Rocks 2-3; Giants/Force 2-4; Flyers 1-5; Sharks 0-2; Raiders 0-3.

Hoopsfix Star 5: Charles Smith, Mathias Seilund, TrayVonn Wright, Tyrone Lee, Perris Blackwell

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