The top two in the BBL Championship maintained their title bids on Sunday, while Sheffield Sharks and Cheshire Phoenix also picked up victories.Leicester Riders defeated Plymouth University Raiders 92-68 behind Drew Sullivan’s 20 points to remain top, while Esh Group Eagles Newcastle eased past Manchester Giants 115-81 on the road with Charles Smith leading the way with 23 points.
Meanwhile, Sheffield led from start to finish as they claimed the head-to-head against Glasgow Rocks with Antone Robinson netting 20 points in the 83-68 win away from home.
Also, Cheshire Phoenix moved into sixth place after a strong second half display saw them overcome the challenge of Surrey Scorchers with a 104-74 triumph.
BBL Championship
Leicester Riders 92 (27,42,71) (Sullivan 20, Walker 14, Bernardini 12)
Plymouth University Raiders 68 (14,36,54) (Corletto 20, Vigor 18, Bailey 16)
Leicester Riders continued their winning run to stay top of the BBL Championship after beating Plymouth University Raiders 92-68.
Drew Sullivan was influential as ever with 20 points and nine boards to lead the Riders, while Tyler Bernardini produced an efficient display with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The home side made four of their first five 3-pointer attempts to open up a 16-6 start and led by as many as 16 at 30-14 early in the second. The Raiders suffered a big blow as Cory Dixon picked up his second technical resulting in his ejection from the game.
However, Plymouth battled back with a 9-2 run to end the half as they cut the gap to just six points at the interval. The visitors then levelled at the start of the third, but Bernardini scored seven points in a 13-2 response from the home side to restore their double-digit lead.
Sullivan netted a three late in the third to make it a 17-point advantage for Leicester, and there would be no way back for Plymouth. Another three from Sullivan was in the midst of a 14-2 run early in the fourth and Rob Paternostro was able to empty his bench in the final minutes with the victory secured.
Corletto scored 20 points to lead his side as they fall to a 12-18 record, although they still hold on to the final Play-Off spot.
BBL Championship
Glasgow Rocks 68 (14,32,51) (Hall 18, Gillis 15, Achara 12)
Sheffield Sharks 83 (20,45,60) (Robinson 20, Odister 17, Hogg 15)
Sheffield Sharks claimed the head-to-head over Glasgow Rocks with an 83-68 triumph at the Emirates Arena whilst moving into joint third.
The visitors were without key point guard Jerrold Brooks with Colin Sing also absent, but all five starters reached double figures in a strong collective effort. Antone Robinson tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Kyle Odister added 17 points and dished out six assists.
Sheffield scored the first eight points of the game to establish early control with the Rocks struggling to find their rhythm in the opening quarter. The Sharks went on a 9-0 run in the second and led by as many as 16 before half-time with Odister netting twice from beyond the arc.
Down 40-55, Glasgow began to mount a recovery and closed to within seven points in the third, but that was as close as they would get. The gap was still in single figures midway through the final quarter, but the Sharks put together a 14-2 run to open up a 20-point lead to seal the win.
Will Hall led the home side with 18 points and 10 rebounds, but the Rocks suffered their second home loss against Sheffield this season.
Sheffield join Worcester Wolves on an 18-11 record, while Glasgow remain in fifth after falling to 17-13.
BBL Championship
Cheshire Phoenix 104 (25,51,77) (Taylor 23, Huffor 22, Rochford 21)
Surrey Scorchers 74 (22,46,56) (Anderson 24, Williams 19, Ogedengbe 16)
Cheshire Phoenix pulled away in the second half to defeat Surrey Scorchers 104-74 to move into sixth spot.
Quincy Taylor led the way with 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, while Danny Huffor and Kinu Rochford contributed big scores with 22 and 21 points respectively.
Cheshire scored 10 unanswered points early on, but the visitors responded well and took their first lead at 17-19. In the second, the home side went on a 14-3 run to begin to pull away only to be pegged back by the Scorchers once again as an 11-0 reply put them up by one.
However, 3-pointers from Taylor and David Aliu ensured Cheshire went into half-time with a lead and they continued the momentum when play resumed in the third. A dominant 19-5 spell saw Phoenix establish a 20+ cushion.
The lead soared above 30 points in the final quarter as the hosts moved into triple figures in style late on. Mike Anderson closed the game with back-to-back triples to finish with 24 points along with 10 rebounds as the Scorchers drop to 7-24.
Cheshire climb above London Lions into sixth after improving to 14-17.
BBL Championship
Manchester Giants 81 (11,34,55) (Okoro 25, Jones 13, Bankevics 12)
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 115 (26,51,85) (Smith 23, Fletcher 22, Martin/Lasker 16)
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle made it a successful weekend double-header after they eased their way to a convincing 115-81 win away at Manchester Giants.
Charles Smith led the way with 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists having started the game in the absence of Andy Thomson as all nine available players got on the scoresheet.
Rahmon Fletcher netted 22 points and dished out nine assists with Scott Martin and Drew Lasker adding 16 points apiece.
The Eagles stated their intentions early on and held their opponents to 11 points in the first quarter after making a 22-5 start to the game. Manchester were more competitive in the second and doubled their tally, but still found themselves down 17 at the half.
Fletcher scored 10 points in the opening four minutes of the third as Newcastle increased their lead to 30 points, which would remain the differential heading into the final quarter.
Both teams were free-flowing on offence in the fourth with the Eagles running their bench as they brought up their century midway through the period. The final winning margin was 36 points as the visitors improved to 26-3 in the BBL Championship.
Jerelle Okoro impressed again for the Giants and put up 25 points against the defending champions, although his side’s league record now stands at 7-23.
| P | PL | W | L | Pts | |
| 1 | Leicester Riders | 28 | 26 | 2 | 52 |
| 2 | Esh Group Eagles Newcastle | 29 | 26 | 3 | 52 |
| 3 | Worcester Wolves | 29 | 18 | 11 | 36 |
| 3 | Sheffield Sharks | 29 | 18 | 11 | 36 |
| 5 | Glasgow Rocks | 30 | 17 | 13 | 34 |
| 6 | Cheshire Phoenix | 31 | 14 | 17 | 28 |
| 7 | London Lions | 28 | 13 | 15 | 26 |
| 8 | Plymouth University Raiders | 30 | 12 | 18 | 24 |
| 9 | Leeds Force | 30 | 11 | 19 | 22 |
| 10 | Bristol Flyers | 29 | 8 | 21 | 16 |
| 11 | Manchester Giants | 30 | 7 | 23 | 14 |
| 12 | Surrey Scorchers | 31 | 7 | 24 | 14 |