BBL: Riders upset champions

Leicester Riders recorded an impressive 81-68 victory over the recently-crowned champion Newcastle Eagles.

Leicester topple Newcastle; Plymouth slip to Lions

BBL Championship
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 81 (16,37,66) (Hardy 22, Wierzbicki 20, Rundles 15)
Newcastle Eagles 68 (14,35,50) (Gause/Madourie 19, Defoe 15) Leicester Riders kept alive their hopes of securing a second place in the BBL Championship thanks to an impressive 81-68 victory over the recently-crowned champion Newcastle Eagles. As the game started, both the Riders and Eagles traded baskets before the visitors made the first break with eight unanswered points to lead 8-3 early in the opening quarter. The Riders responded and got themselves back into the contest as the period drew to a close and three points from Yorick Williams helped the home side into a 16-14 lead at the end of the opening stanza. In the second quarter, the home side broke the game open thanks to a three-pointer from Bradd Wierzbicki and an Ayron Hardy basket to take the score out to 34-24 midway through the quarter. The Eagles got themselves back into the contest however as they rattled off an 11-0 run to put themselves in front 34-35 with 20 seconds left in the half, but a Cameron Rundles three-pointer with a couple of ticks left sent the home side into the locker rooms leading 37-35 at the half. In the second half, the Riders came out of the blocks all guns blazing thanks to a 21-5 burst to start the third quarter to break the game open and send them into a 58-40 lead midway through the period. The visitors tried desperately to reduce the deficit but to no avail as the Riders held onto their sizeable advantage to lead 66-50 heading into the final stanza. In the final period, the Riders enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at 21 points with the score at 73-52 midway through the final quarter. The visitors tried valiantly to get themselves back into the game, but they could get no closer than 11 points at 77-66 with 2:35 left in the contest and the Riders held on for the all-important victory. Hardy led all scorers in the game with 22 points for the Riders in the win, while a combination of Joel Madourie and Paul Gause led the scoring for the Eagles with 19 points a-piece. BBL Championship
Prestige Homes MK Lions 128 (33,66,95) (Bolds 40, Northern 27, Pedroso 22)
UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders 113 (26,48,79) (Bell 24, Ojo 22, Rowe 19) The MK Lions picked up an impressive 128-113 victory over the Plymouth Raiders. Both sides traded baskets in the early exchanges of the contest as the Raiders took an early 6-5 lead, but that was the last time that the visitors would be in front for the remainder of the contest. A Demarius Bolds basket gave the Lions a 7-6 lead that they would never relinquish. A Nuno Pedroso three-pointer gave the home side a 12-point advantage, but the Raiders trimmed the deficit to seven points at 33-26 at the end of the opening period. The second quarter saw both teams trade baskets once again during the early exchanges but the Lions once again extended their lead thanks to a 14-4 burst helped them lead 66-48 at the break. In the second half, a 9-2 start from the home side gave them a 25-point lead at 75-50. The Raiders spent much of the third quarter playing catch up and managed to trim the deficit to 16 points at 95-79. In the final period, the visitors tried desperately to close the game and managed to get themselves to within nine points at 119-110 with 1:31 remaining in the contest, but the Lions secured the victory thanks to a 9-3 finish to the game to give them the all-important victory. Bolds led all scorers in the game with a huge 40-point haul for the Lions, while Jeremy Bell led the scoring for the visitors with 24 points.