London Lions Steal One in Leicester – BBL Round Up, Week 7

Image Credit: Joe Pinchin/Leicester Riders

It was a relatively quiet weekend in the BBL, with just four games taking place and one – London City Royals vs Leicester Riders – being postponed midway through the third after a leaking roof.

That didn’t mean there was any less action however, as one of the marquee match ups of the season so far saw London Lions steal one on the road to hand Leicester Riders their first loss of the year.

Here is a round up of all the action:

Friday 9th November

BBL Championship
Leicester Riders 73-76 London Lions
London Lions extended their lead at the top of the league table after handing Leicester Riders their first loss in the BBL this season, 73-76, on Friday night.

Lions led by as many as 14 in the first half before the Riders battled back and they took the lead in the fourth. However, a 7-0 run restored the visitors’ control and they closed out the game from the foul line.

Riders lost despite shooting a red-hot 53% from three point range, knocking down 15 triples.

Justin Robinson top scored for the Lions with 22 points in the win and held his nerve along with Jordan Spencer with free throws down the stretch, while Brandon Peel added 19 points and 9 rebounds.

Conner Washington led Leicester with 15, whilst JR Holder and Andy Thomson added 13 each.

“Tough game,” Riders Head Coach Rob Paternostro commented. “They jumped on us early and got out ahead, but after that I thought we really steadied the ship and did a really good job on defence. It came down to the last few minutes of the game and they made some of the plays and we didn’t. That’s a good team over there, and we know that.”

Vince Macaulay’s side move to 7-1, with Leicester sitting at 2-1.

Box score.

BBL Championship
DBL Sharks Sheffield 84-66 Cheshire Phoenix
DBL Sharks Sheffield recorded their third win in a row, 84-66 as they eased past Cheshire Phoenix on Friday night.

The Sharks used an 8-0 run to end the opening quarter to begin to pull away and they continued to stretch their advantage in the contest, leading by as many as 30 points.

Sheffield’s defence held Cheshire to less than 15 points in each of the first three quarters as they seized control.

Chris Alexander led the way with a 22 point haul for the Sharks with Rob Marsden narrowly missing out on a double-double with 18 points and 9 rebounds, while Anthony Collins handed out 10 assists and Matthew Don grabbed 10 rebounds.

Cheshire were led by 16 from Dii’jon Allen-Jordan and 14 from Jordan Session.

Atiba Lyons’ side take the season head-to-head as they improve to 6-3 to climb into third spot in the BBL Championship.

Box score.

BBL Championship
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 97-89 Worcester Wolves
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle bounced back from a double-losing weekend last week with a hard-fought 97-89 victory over Worcester Wolves.

The visitors had moved ahead in the third period, but Newcastle restored their advantage and were able to survive a strong rally from the Wolves in the fourth as they held on to secure the win.

Victor Moses had a big game for the Eagles with 31 points along with 15 rebounds for an impressive double-double, whilst adding three assists and four blocks. Jeremy Smith went 10-for-13 for his 27 points.

Darell Combs and Deshawn Freeman led Worcester with 20 each, the latter adding 10 rebounds, whilst Filip Kramer had 13 points.

The Eagles move into second with their sixth league victory with Worcester remaining bottom, now at 1-8 despite a promising debut from Deshawn Freeman.

Box score.

Sunday 11th November

BBL Championship
Plymouth Raiders 104-78 Manchester Giants
Plymouth Raiders made it back-to-back wins in the BBL Championship after seeing off Manchester Giants, 104-78, at home on Sunday.

Plymouth edged an even first period and then put up 30 points in the second period as they began to pull away. The lead moved beyond 20 early in the third and the Raiders were able to close out the victory.

“I keep saying we’re trying to make this a tough place to play and that’s what we’re doing,” Plymouth Head Coach Paul James said.

“Manchester have been playing with a lot of confidence, they’ve been in some very close games. We did our homework really well this week in practice and guys have really responded to what we’re trying to do and we came away with what was a really comfortable win in the end.”

Devontavius Payne set the tone with a 17-point first half on his way to 24 in the win with Josh Wilcher handed out nine assists to go with his 24 points, while Donte Nicholas contributed an all-round effort of 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Manchester were led by 22 points and 10 rebounds from Vlatko Granic, with Ingus Bankevics adding 17 and Willie Clayton an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Box score.