Results: Saturday 18th February
Taylor King posts big numbers as Leicester Riders maintain the pace at the top of the BBL Championship table, beating Manchester Giants 98-63.
BBL Championship
Leicester Riders 98 (25,51,70) (King 24, Sullivan 17, Hampton 14)
Manchester Giants 63 (13,31,50) (Jones 16, Toluwase 14, Baba 8)
Leicester Riders maintained their lead at the summit of the BBL Championship table after a commanding home win, 98-63, against Manchester Giants.
Riders remain unbeaten against Giants in three years, now nine games, after this clash between the top and bottom sides in the league. Riders were led to their eleventh straight win by Taylor King’s 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Drew Sullivan only missed once from the field on his way to 17 points.
And they set about their opponents from the outset in this one, as King scored consecutively in a 6-0 start, before making an ‘and-one’ from a superb Brandon Clark assist for 11-2. The score was 25-11 before the first quarter was done when Andy Thomson tipped-in and Sullivan drove to the basket; and Riders, the league’s best defence, scored 10 early points from the eight first quarter turnovers that they forced.
Giants narrowed the gap with an 8-2 push, Callum Jones and Samuel Toluwase getting it back to 34-23. But six quick points in under a minute got Riders back on track, and the lead was through twenty when King hit another three-pointer for 47-27.
He had 14 first half points on 6/6 shooting from the field, while Sullivan, from the bench, had 12 points, also shooting 100%.
Riders maintained their margin as Eric Robertson hit a pair of quick triples, and the game was never close thereafter. It reached a record winning margin (previously 27) between these teams when Riders opened the fourth quarter with an astonishing run of 20 straight points, sparked by another Robertson triple and Pierre Hampton’s old-fashioned three-point play.
And that’s bad news for the Giants – now with 13 defeats in their last 14 – as the teams meet again in Manchester tomorrow.
Results: Sunday 19th February
Leicester Riders extended their lead at the top of the BBL Championship, while there were dramatic road wins for DBL Sharks Sheffield and Plymouth Raiders.
Rob Paternostro’s Riders secured a 73-99 win away at Manchester Giants with Pierre Hampton netting 20 points for the league leaders.
Plymouth came from 12 points down in the fourth before eventually beating Cheshire Phoenix 110-116 in double overtime, despite 43 points from Earl Brown.
Finally, the Sharks held on late on to earn a 58-62 success over their Yorkshire rivals, Leeds Force.
BBL Championship
Cheshire Phoenix 110 (22,44,70,87) (Brown 43, DiNunno 31, Anderson 12)
Plymouth Raiders 116 (19,46,60,87) (Dixon 25, Grady 24, Corletto 22)
After Overtime
Cheshire Phoenix 110 (22,44,70,87) (Brown 43, DiNunno 31, Anderson 12)
Plymouth Raiders 116 (19,46,60,87) (Dixon 25, Grady 24, Corletto 22)
After Overtime
Plymouth Raiders completed an impressive comeback as they eventually prevailed 110-116 in double overtime away at Cheshire Phoenix.
The Raiders were comfortably beaten on Friday by Surrey Scorchers and looked to be heading for another defeat when they were down by 12 in the fourth.
However, they battled back and then finally secured the win with a strong finish in the second extra period.
Cory Dixon top scored with 25 points and 13 rebounds off the bench with three other players also scoring 20+ points for Plymouth.
An even first half saw the Raiders have a narrow two-point lead, but the home side produced a strong finish to the third to take control with a 10-point lead.
Cheshire led 76-64, but the visitors battled back with a late 8-0 run tying the game before overtime ensued.
John Barber tied the game at 97 with a huge triple to force double overtime before netting twice more from downtown in a pivotal spell from the Raiders as they pulled clear.
Earl Brown finished with a game-high of 43 points for the Nix with Mike Di Nunno netting 31 on his second debut for the club.
BBL Championship
Manchester Giants 73 (23,39,64) (Toluwase 21, Okoro 13, Jones 12)
Leicester Riders 99 (28,52,71) (Hampton 20, Clark 16, King 15)
Leicester Riders 99 (28,52,71) (Hampton 20, Clark 16, King 15)
Leicester Riders secured their second win over Manchester Giants in as many days as the league leaders secured a 73-99 road victory.
Pierre Hampton top scored with 20 points with six players in total reaching double figures with the Riders again without Tyler Bernardini and Shane Walker.
Riders went on a 9-2 run in the first to gain control before they established a double-digit advantage in the second period.
The lead hit 16 points before Sam Lane’s triple meant Manchester went into half-time down 13 and they came out firing when play resumed.
A stunning 17-4 spell from the Giants saw them take the lead as Sam Toluwase netted the go-ahead triple to make it 57-56.
Manchester’s advantage was short-lived as the visitors went on a 9-0 run to close the third before powering clear to their 20th league victory of the season.
The Giants remain bottom with a 4-20 record with Toluwase producing a game-high of 21 points in the loss.
BBL Championship
Leeds Force 58 (14,28,42) (Sandoval 20, Isenbarger 14, Marsden 12)
DBL Sharks Sheffield 62 (17,36,50) (Wroblicky/Riley 16, Rembert 11)
Leeds Force 58 (14,28,42) (Sandoval 20, Isenbarger 14, Marsden 12)
DBL Sharks Sheffield 62 (17,36,50) (Wroblicky/Riley 16, Rembert 11)
DBL Sharks Sheffield held their nerve down the stretch as they closed out a 58-62 victory on the road against Yorkshire rivals, Leeds Force.
The season head-to-head was split with the home side winning convincly on both previous meetings, but this encounter would go right down to the wire.
Tony Wroblicky and Malcolm Riley both top scored for the Sharks with 16 points apiece as four players reached double figures, including Jordan Davis, who contributed an all-round effort of 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The visitors started brightly with a 2-9 opening before Leeds settled with a 7-0 response. Sheffield edged ahead and began to further their advantage in the second as they built an eight-point gap by half-time.
There was no change to the margin heading into the final quarter after a 14-14 third period with the Sharks still in control.
Sheffield led 49-58 inside the last three minutes, but a 9-1 burst saw the home side make it a one-point game.
Robert Sandoval top scored with a game-high 20 points, but he fouled out and Rashawn Rembert sank the game-clinching free throws to secure the win for the Sharks.
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Pos
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PL | W | L | Pts | |
| 1 | Leicester Riders | 22 | 20 | 2 | 40 |
| 2 | Esh Group Eagles Newcastle | 22 | 18 | 4 | 36 |
| 3 | Glasgow Rocks | 20 | 15 | 5 | 30 |
| 4 | DBL Sharks Sheffield | 21 | 13 | 8 | 26 |
| 5 | London Lions | 21 | 12 | 9 | 24 |
| 5 | Plymouth Raiders | 21 | 12 | 9 | 24 |
| 7 | Worcester Wolves | 22 | 10 | 12 | 20 |
| 8 | Surrey Scorchers | 23 | 9 | 14 | 18 |
| 9 | Bristol Flyers | 22 | 8 | 14 | 16 |
| 10 | Cheshire Phoenix | 20 | 4 | 16 | 8 |
| 10 | Leeds Force | 20 | 4 | 16 | 8 |
| 12 | Manchester Giants | 24 | 4 | 20 | 8 |