| Glasgow Rocks and Cheshire Phoenix were pushed all the way before claiming home wins in the BBL Championship, on Sunday.
The Rocks finally pulled clear of Manchester Giants in the final quarter as they recorded a 77-69 victory behind 21 points from Kieron Achara. Meanwhile, Nix battled back from a nine-point third quarter deficit with a 17-2 run in the fourth setting up an 81-74 success against Surrey Scorchers with a game-high 23 points coming from Akeem Ellis. |
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BBL Championship
Cheshire Phoenix 81 (24,40,62) (Ellis 23, Huffor 19, Rochford 17) Cheshire Phoenix produced a strong finish down the stretch as they defeated a depleted Surrey Scorchers side 81-74. Akeem Ellis top scored with 23 points with the home side going on a pivotal 17-2 run in the final quarter. Cheshire were down by five early on, but a 10-0 run put them in control as they established a seven-point advantage by the end of the first. However, Surrey went on a 15-2 run to open the second to build a seven point lead of their own. Quincy Taylor connected with back-to-back triples, while Ellis then followed suit to beat the buzzer from downtown, and tie the game at the half. Ellis opened the third with another three, but Tayo Ogedengbe scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in a 14-2 burst from the visitors to open up a nine point gap. Cheshire hit back with an immediate 10-2 response and would have a slender advantage heading into the fourth. The Scorchers opened the final quarter with the first eight points, and led by as many as six at 62-68 before the tide turned once more. Jeff Dirkin netted two triples to help his side storm back ahead and Taylor would cap a 17-2 spell with another score from downtown to put Cheshire up by nine with 1:10 remaining. There was no way back, and the Scorchers fell to their second loss on the weekend with their Play-Off hopes taking a further dent. |
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BBL Championship
Glasgow Rocks 77 (24,42,61) (Achara 21, Hammerschmidt 13, Gillis 12 Glasgow Rocks closed in on the top four in the BBL Championship after overcoming a tough test at the Emirates Arena as they prevailed 77-69 against Manchester Giants. Kieron Achara led the way with 21 points and eight rebounds to help his side claim their 13th league win of the season. The Rocks were pushed all the way by their opponents, but pulled clear in the closing stages with Giants falling short of back-to-back wins despite the absence of Ingus Bankevics. Jerelle Okoro shone early with five quickfire points to edge the Giants ahead, but it was the home side who finished the quarter with the final six points to gain a 24-19 advantage. The visitors responded to re-take the lead in the second, but Achara was instrumental for the Rocks to help them into a slender half-time advantage. The gap never grew beyond five points for either side in the third period as the close encounter continued. A three from Stefan Gill made it a two-point game in the fourth, but Glasgow were able to keep their opponents at bay and secured the victory with a 9-2 run late on. Gill top scored with 16 points ahead of his suspension next week, while Okoro produced another impressive display with 15 points and 12 rebounds. |
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