BBL Championship: London Lions brush aside Cheshire Phoenix in opener, Sheffield Sharks stay unbeaten

The London Lions kickstarted their BBL Championship campaign with a dominant win over the Cheshire Phoenix, while the Sheffield Sharks maintained their unbeaten start and the Newcastle Eagles won back-to-back games in a week.

Here's a look back on the league action over the past week...

High scoring wins for Eagles, Giants

The Eagles had too much for the Plymouth City Patriots on Sunday night as the reigning play-off champions ran out 99-74 winners thanks to Rahmon Fletcher's 21 points and double-digit scoring from five separate players.

Plymouth found themselves trailing by 16 after the opening 10 minutes before appearing to find their feet in the second quarter through Kofi Josephs and Rowell Graham-Bell, who combined for 17 of their side's 28 points in the first half.

Leading by 18 going into the final quarter, Newcastle produced an 8-2 run to strengthen their grip on proceedings before cruising to victory.

Duke Shelton supported Fletcher with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Corey Johnson and Brandon Peel had 14 points and 10 rebounds apiece and Wesley Person Jr. had 10 points. Josephs led Plymouth with a game-high 26 points to go with four rebounds and four assists.

Earlier in the week Newcastle had beaten the Surrey Scorchers 90-81 following Johnson's 27 points, five rebounds and four assists. Surrey had been led by Stanley Davis Jr's team-high 26 points.

In Manchester the Giants were comfortable 99-80 winners against Glasgow Rocks having gone on a 12-6 run to take a 14-point advantage into the final period after a tightly-contested first half.

Will Saunders supplied a team-high 21 points for Manchester alongside 16 from Dan Clark and 15 from Tyrik Armstrong, while Jaycee Hillsman led Glasgow with 20 points and 10 rebounds followed by Jordan Johnson's 19 points.

Flyers start season with a win

Bristol Flyers got their 2021/22 BBL Championship campaign underway with a win as they beat Cheshire 76-68 in a tight affair on Saturday night.

The sides were separated by just one point after each of the opening three quarters before Flyers managed to create some daylight between themselves and Phoenix with an eight-point lead on their way to victory in the fourth.

Marcus Delpeche starred for Bristol with a game-high 26 points alongside 16 apiece from Marcus Evans and Trejon Jacob, while Josh McSwiggan and Namon Wright led Phoenix with 12 points each.

Lions cruise to victory in opener

London delivered an early statement as they blew Cheshire away in a 113-74 win on Friday to get their BBL Championship campaign off to a perfect start in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

The Lions posted 28 points to open up a nine-point cushion after the first quarter, before pulling away with 25-point and 22-point second and third quarters, respectively, finishing the game off in style by putting up 38 in the fourth.

Jordan Williams starred as MVP for the Lions as he finished with a triple-double of 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while Dirk Williams provided a game-high 22 points. Teddy Okereafor led the scoring for the Phoenix with 14 points.

Elsewhere the Sharks made it two wins from two to start the season as they edged out the Giants 89-88 having trailed 44-38 at half-time.

A 28-point apiece third quarter saw Manchester earn a six-point lead heading into the fourth, during which Rodney Glasgow Jr's buzzer beater capped Sheffield's dramatic turnaround.

Jonathan Williams impressed for Sharks as he finished on a team-high 18 points, while Jordan Ratinho and Kipper Nichols registered 17 points each. Jamell Anderson scored a game high 25 points for Giants.

The BBL action continues on Friday when the Manchester Giants take on the Cheshire Phoenix live on Sky Sports Mix and Arena from 7pm.