BBL Results 16th – 18th December 2016

Results: Friday 16th December 2016

The Eagles were 10 points down early, but battled back to win 89-82 on the night for an overall 176-162 success with Rahmon Fletcher netting 33 points.

Meanwhile, the Flyers scored the final seven points of the game to defeat Worcester Wolves 74-81 on the road as Aaron Cosby finished with 22 points.

Esh Group Eagles Newcastle will play Glasgow Rocks in the 2017 BBL Cup Final after recording an overall 176-162 aggregate win against London Lions.

Fab Flournoy’s side were down 10 early on, but battled back to record an 89-82 victory on the night.

Rahmon Fletcher put up 33 points and added seven assists, while Scott Martin scored 15 points on his return from a brief injury absence.

The Lions came out firing with the opening nine points to move into an overall lead in the tie. Newcastle faced a 5-15 deficit before Fletcher moved to 13 points to haul his side back within three.

Seven straight points across quarters from Alex Owumi restored the double-digit lead for the visitors, but the Eagles enjoyed a dominant spell to storm in front and went up by six at the half.

The Lions fell behind by 10 in the third but continued to fight and cut the gap to two points heading into the final period after an 11-3 close.

However, Fletcher scored 14 points in the final period as the Eagles pulled further clear and secured a sixth consecutive BBL Cup Final appearance with a 14-point win on aggregate.

BBL Championship
DBL Sharks Sheffield 83 (20,39,68) (Rembert/Gachette 16, Davis 11)
Leeds Force 44 (13,26,34) (Marsden 9, Sandoval/Lufadeju 8)

DBL Sharks avenged their loss to Leeds Force earlier in the season with an emphatic 83-44 victory in front of the BBC Sport cameras.

Rashawn Rembert and Zach Gachette both netted 16 points apiece, while Jordan Davis added 11 points on his long-awaited debut as the Sharks poured in 14 triples in the win.

The Sharks signalled their intent with an 8-2 start soon followed by back-to-back triples from Rembert. A three from Eddie Matthew opened the second period with Force down four but that was as close as they would get.

Sheffield moved into a double-digit advantage going into the half-time break and stormed further clear with a dominant third period.

The home side began to heat up from beyond the arc in a 16-2 run before Colin Sing finished the quarter with his third triple to put the Sharks up 34 points.

Leeds continued to battle until the final buzzer as both teams emptied their benches for the conclusion as Sharks tied the season head-to-head at 1-1 as a result of their third straight win.

BBL Championship
Worcester Wolves 74 (17,35,66) (Setty 24, Walker 15, Klassen 14)
Bristol Flyers 81 (17,35,63) (Cosby 22, Ali 17, Smith 14)

Bristol Flyers claimed their first road win of the season after beating Worcester Wolves 74-81, on Friday.

The game was tied at 74 inside the final two minutes and Andreas Kapoulas’ side closed out the win with a 7-0 close.

Aaron Cosby once again top scored for Bristol with 22 points off the bench with four other players in double figures.

Wolves went on an early 9-0 run in a similar start to their comfortable win over Bristol two weeks ago, but the visitors recovered and closed the opening period with the last eight points to draw level.

The Flyers moved ahead early in the second, but a tight quarter ensued and the two teams were still level at the interval.

Both offences stepped up to produce a high-scoring third period with a flurry of triples putting Wolves up by six at 66-60 before Bristol responded to lead with a burst across quarters.

A tense finish ensued with the game tied multiple times in the fourth before Cosby’s three-point play put his side ahead for the final time as they made it back-to-back victories.

Bristol are also in action on Sunday as they visit Cheshire Phoenix.

Results: Sunday 18th December 2016

Leicester Riders and Glasgow Rocks recorded contrasting road wins on Sunday, while Bristol Flyers moved off the bottom of the table.

Rob Paternostro’s Riders came from 15 down in the fourth before beating Plymouth Raiders 93-96 in overtime despite 28 points from home favourite, Anton Grady.

Meanwhile, Neil Watson scored all of his 25 points in the first half as Glasgow Rocks eased to a 60-84 success over Manchester Giants away from home.

Bristol picked up their second road win of the weekend and third straight league victory after repelling a late fightback from Cheshire Phoenix to win 89-95 as six players reached double figures.

BBL Championship (OT)
Plymouth Raiders 93 (17,42,70,77) (Grady 28, Dixon 21, Nicholas 16)
Leicester Riders 96 (19,38,58,77) (Clark 19, Thomson 18, Hampton/King/Sullivan 14)

Leicester Riders came from as many as 15 points down before overcoming Plymouth Raiders 93-96 in overtime on the road.

Plymouth were searching for their first win over the Riders since 2012 and looked in control up 75-60 with 8:20 left on the clock, but a 17-2 close forced the extra period.

Brandon Clark dished out seven assists to go with 19 points including his side’s final six points from the line to close out the win.

The home side made a strong start to lead by 11 early on before experienced duo Andy Thomson and Drew Sullivan provided Riders with a spark off the bench to hand their side the lead.

Plymouth scored 53 points in the middle periods as they managed to open up a double-digit advantage by the end of the third. However, they were held to just seven in the final quarter as Leicester stepped up at both ends to mount their comeback.

The Riders were never behind in overtime as they kept their opponents at bay to improve to 11-2 in the BBL Championship.

Anton Grady had a game-high 28 points in vain for the Raiders with Donte Nicholas filling the stat-sheet with 16 points, 17 rebounds and six assists.

BBL Championship
Manchester Giants 60 (9,29,36) (Gayle 20, Toluwase 12, Jones 9)
Glasgow Rocks 84 (19,40,57) (Watson 25, Elechi 15, Thomas 11)

Glasgow Rocks returned to winning ways with a convincing 60-84 win away at Manchester Giants on Sunday.

Neil Watson was on fire in the first half with 25 points on 7-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc as the visitors eased to their 10th league success.

Sterling Davis was able to spread the minutes throughout his roster with the Rocks in control early on.

Watson scored eight points in a 12-0 opening before the Giants broke their duck at the mid-point in the first and would remain down by 10 at the end of the first.

The home side closed to within three in the second, but a triple from Kieron Achara and three more from Watson helped Glasgow regain a double-digit lead at the half.

Glasgow closed the third period on a 10-0 run to extend their lead beyond 20 points and they were able to close out a comfortable victory in the fourth.

Veteran Steven Gayle netted 20 points for the Giants as they dropped to a 3-10 record having lost their last four games.

BBL Championship
Cheshire Phoenix 89 (23,38,52) (Wilcher 20, Anderson 18, Eaves 14)
Bristol Flyers 95 (26,44,74) (Ali 17, Cosby 16, Edozie/Vigor 15)

Bristol Flyers held off a valiant fourth quarter fightback from Cheshire Phoenix to claim an 89-95 victory for their third straight league win.

Andreas Kapoulas’ side saw their 22-point advantage whittled down to just two points but held on for a double-winning weekend on the road.

Six players reached double figures for the Flyers including Aaron Cosby and Daniel Edozie who added a combined 31 points from the bench.

The Flyers moved ahead early and went up eight on a three from Edozie before the home side cut the gap to three. Bristol doubled their advantage in the second as they headed into the locker-rooms with a 38-44 lead.

It was in the third quarter where the visitors really made their move as they racked up 30 points in the period with a 13-3 run en route to building a 22-point differential.

However, a stunning 24-4 start to the final quarter saw Cheshire make it a two-point game on a three from Josh Wilcher with less than four minutes remaining.

Bristol responded with an 11-2 run and Cosby was able to close out the game from the line, finishing a flawless 8-of-8 to help his side climb off the bottom of the table.