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North East Connected

Hopping Across The North East From Hub To Hub

Results: Saturday 28 November 2015

British_Basketball_League_(emblem)Saturday night in the BBL Championship saw wins for Leicester Riders, London Lions and Worcester Wolves – all ending the night in the league’s top four.
Wolves, in second place, snapped a run of consecutive defeats to win 83-70 on the road at Bristol Flyers as Josh Cameron scored 19 points, and he and Ben Eaves combined with crucial scores late in the game.

Riders, currently third, had to see off a late surge from Cheshire Phoenix to win 86-79, beating their visitors for the 15th consecutive time in league and Play-Off action, with Tyler Bernardini hitting 17 points and Drew Sullivan adding 12, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Finally, London Lions forced their way into the top four with a dominant 95-61 defeat of Surrey Scorchers, behind 19 points each for Nick Lewis and Jamal Williams.

BBL Championship
Bristol Flyers 70 (19,38,55) (McFarland 20, McLaughlin-Williams 12, Edozie 10)
Worcester Wolves 83 (21,36,62) (Cameron 19, Blackwell 12, Mugica 12)
Worcester Wolves snapped a run of consecutive defeats to beat Bristol Flyers 70-83 on Saturday night, seeing them remain unbeaten – with five straight wins – against Flyers in the BBL Championship.
Flyers, who themselves have now lost three on the bounce, looked as though their form was picking up after an 11-2 opening. But it wouldn’t last long, as the visitors responded with a 16-6 spell to take the lead by the end of the first quarter at 19-21, with Javi Mugica scoring the last seven of those including putting them in front on the buzzer.
But the game remained tight and Wolves could never quite see off their hosts – Roy Owen levelling it in the third period with a three-pointer – after a previous game this season saw the teams separated by just two points. That was until Josh Cameron’s ‘and-one’ and a triple from Ben Eaves ended the third period with Wolves leading 55-62.
Wolves added another six in a row early in the decisive fourth quarter, Cameron and Eaves combining again, and when Mugica added a three-pointer the score was 71-58 heading into the final five minutes. Wolves had a massive 42 points from the bench on the night, with Cameron’s 19 leading them, supported by 12 from Perris Blackwell and 11 from Mugica.
BBL Championship
Leicester Riders 86 (23,49,68) (Bernardini 17, Watson 16, Wright 15)
Cheshire Phoenix 79 (21,35,61) (Williams 28, Ellis 14, Huffor 11)
Leicester Riders got back to winning ways in the league after seeing off Cheshire Phoenix 86-79 on Saturday night, making it 15 straight BBL Championship and Play-Off wins against Cheshire, dating back four and a half years.
Riders were beaten by Sheffield Sharks last time out on their home floor, and they had a nervy start and finish to this game with ten lead changes in the first quarter. But Conner Washington hit a three-pointer with their last offence of the first, for a 23-21 lead.
And they carried that momentum into a dominant second stanza, turning to their defence – the best in the league – to stifle their visitors. Neil Watson opened with a triple to spark 13 unanswered points, as Phoenix didn’t score for three and a half minutes. Leicester led 49-35 at the half and looked to be in control.
But Phoenix stuck around, and Danny Huffor hit five in a row to narrow the gap back to single-figures at 55-47 in the third quarter. And they came all the way back in the fourth period, hitting an 11-0 burst midway through, with Olu Babalola scoring five in a row, to shock the home fans and take the lead at 76-77.
Watson settled the nerves for Riders, putting them back in front immediately, and he scored again to send them into the final minute with an 83-79 edge. And they saw the game out from the free-throw line, with Tyler Bernardini leading Leicester’s scoring with 17, and Drew Sullivan posting the line of the night with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
BBL Championship
Surrey Scorchers 61 (18,31,48) (Schlitzer 13, Behrens 12, Felder 10)
London Lions 95 (24,45,68) (Lewis 19, J. Williams 19, Watt 18)
London Lions beat Surrey Scorchers for the eighth time on the bounce as they dominated their South East rivals to win 95-61, only five points off their record win against this opposition, on Saturday night. Nick Lewis and Jamal Williams, with 19 points each, led the Lions to their third win in the last four league games, with Williams also snatching 10 rebounds.
Lions never trailed after the first three minutes of this game, posting a 9-2 burst in which brothers Kai (4) and Jamal (3) Williams combined for seven points to make the score 24-15. And the lead went through double-figures when Jamal Williams capped a 10-2 second quarter spell with a three-pointer. He added another soon after that, his fourth for 14 first half points, and Lions led 31-45 midway through.
And they only pushed on after the break, as the lead went through twenty when Demond Watt hit four in a 7-0 tear, after Nick Lewis had scored his team’s first six points of the third period – he scored 10 of his 19 in the third, including two three-pointers.
The lead peaked at 95-59 on another Lewis score, after Jaron Lane hit five straight points late on, and Surrey were condemned to a third defeat in a row.
Capture
P   PL W L Pts
1 Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 12 12 0 24
2 Worcester Wolves 13 9 4 18
3 Leicester Riders 9 8 1 16
4 London Lions 10 6 4 12
5 Cheshire Phoenix 13 6 7 12
6 Glasgow Rocks 11 5 6 10
7 Leeds Force 13 5 8 10
8 Sheffield Sharks 10 4 6 8
9 Surrey Scorchers 8 3 5 6
10 Bristol Flyers 11 3 8 6
11 Manchester Giants 13 3 10 6
12 Plymouth University Raiders 9 2 7 4

By admin