Riders Lose Perfect Start – BBL Week 10 Recap

LEICESTER RIDERS/JOE PINCHIN

The latest BBL round-up sees Newcastle Eagles extend their unbeaten start, while their nearest challengers slip up in pursuit.

Newcastle Eagles made it 11 straight wins in the league after defeating third-placed Worcester Wolves 95-88 at Sport Central, on Friday night. Darius Defoe had a very efficient shooting night, going 8-of-9 from the field in his 20-point display in 22 minutes of action, while Charles Smith weighed in with 19 points and eight rebounds from the bench. In an even contest, the visitors closed to within two inside the final three minutes, but hadn’t led since late in the first. Perris Blackwell had 31 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

The weekend went from bad to worse for Worcester Wolves as they suffered a third straight defeat at home as Plymouth Raiders picked up a 91-101 victory for their first on the road this season. Daryl Corletto led his side to the win with 24 points as the visitors netted a total of 13 triples, while Worcester struggled with just one 3-pointer from 20 attempts. Blackwell again produced a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Wolves drop to 7-4 in the league.

Leicester Riders saw their perfect league record ended by Sheffield Sharks on Saturday as Atiba Lyons’ side came away from Loughborough with a well-earned 79-85 success. Lively guard Jerrold Brooks led the way with 29 points in the win, while Mike Cook added a valuable 22 points and TJ Robinson posted an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double. The Riders, who were without Dzaflo Larkai and Tyler Bernardini, made a fast start before being pegged back and Sharks managed to hold on to triumph. Drew Sullivan had 20 points and nine rebounds as Riders fall to 7-1.

Cheshire Phoenix returned to the top four with another double-winning weekend as they defeated both Leeds Force and Manchester Giants. On Friday, they snapped Leeds’ three-game win streak as they recorded a 72-93 win on the road as Kinu Rochford and Akeem Ellis both netted 23 points apiece as Phoenix secured the 2-1 head-to-head series. Rochford then amassed a combined 62 points with Jordan Williams in Sunday’s 98-90 victory at home to Manchester.

Williams scored 19 of his 31 points in the final quarter as the hosts racked up 37 points in the fourth to overturn an 11-point deficit with less than eight minutes to go. Meanwhile, Rochford finished with a mammoth double-double of 31 points and 18 rebounds to continue his impressive run of form for Phoenix. Stefan Gill netted five times from beyond the arc in a 24-point display for the Giants, but they dropped to a 3-9 record.

Elsewhere, London Lions secured their fifth league win as Demond Watt made his return in a comfortable 57-84 win on the road at Bristol Flyers. The Lions announced prior to Friday’s encounter that Brian Voelkel had been asked to be released, but were boosted by Watt’s return and he tallied a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds in 20 minutes. Kai Williams top scored with 15 points as six Lions players hit double figures.

Results: Friday- Bristol Flyers 57-84 London Lions, Leeds Force 72-93 Cheshire Phoenix, Newcastle Eagles 95-88 Worcester Wolves; Saturday- Leicester Riders 79-85 Sheffield Sharks; Sunday- Worcester Wolves 91-101 Plymouth Raiders, Cheshire Phoenix 98-90 Manchester Giants.

Standings: Eagles 11-0; Riders 7-1; Wolves 7-4; Phoenix 6-6; Lions 5-4; Force 5-7; Sharks 4-5; Rocks 4-6; Scorchers 3-4; Flyers 3-7; Giants 3-9; Raiders 2-7.

Hoopsfix Star 5: Jerrold Brooks, Daryl Corletto, Jordan Williams, Darius Defoe, Kinu Rochford

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