Riders too strong for Leeds, Flyers run Wolves close

Wolves led by as many as 13 points against Bristol Flyers, but a second-half comeback saw the Bristol side erased the deficit, but a game-winning basket by Chavis Holmes sealed a 69-68 victory for the visitors from Worcester.

Holmes led the winners in scoring with 22 points, while Alex Owumi chipped in with 17 points. Mathias Seilund had a game-high 25 points for Flyers.

Meanwhile, there was little drama in the other game of the day, as Riders registered a convincing 81-51 victory against Leeds Force in the first stage of the BBL Trophy to progress to the second round.

Trayvonn Wright had a great game for Riders, finishing with 21 points, 13 boards and four blocks. Sam Attah scored 11 points for Leeds.

Quote of the Week

Everybody in the League knows Sheffield are a very good team with a lot of veterans.

They just brought in Mike Cook, who will definitely help them out. I have been in this league a long time and I know that going away to Sheffield is always a difficult game, every year.Riders’ Head Coach Rob Paternostro

Zaire Taylor stars as London Lions take care of Bristol Flyers

BBL Trophy
London Lions 85 (31,54,73) (Taylor 30, Stibbins 19, Salter 14)
Bristol Flyers 73 (21,42,58) (Perine 16, Lautier-Ogunleye 14, Seilund 12)

Reigning BBL MVP Zaire Taylor starred for London Lions as they completed a comfortable 85-73 success against Bristol Flyers at the Copper Box Arena to progress to the last eight of the BBL Trophy.

Both teams entered the game without key figures, with Great Britain captain Drew Sullivan missing for the hosts and Flyers without their powerhouse in the paint, Alif Bland who was nursing a knee injury.

Lions shrugged off the absence of Sullivan and found top gear offensively right from the tip-off and led by Taylor who started off like an express train.

By the end of a blistering 31-21 opening quarter, he had already reached double-digits and continued to turn on the style.

Back from an ankle injury, Bryquis Perine did his best to keep Flyers in contention, although it was a big triple by rising Brit star Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye which at least gave the south-west club a boost heading into the second period.

They cut the gap to single digits, but London remained in control, with Mikal Stibbins underpinning the headline contribution of Taylor.

Still ahead by 12 at the interval, Lions never looked like relinquishing the upper hand during the second half and and while Flyers did their best to launch a salvage mission, it never truly convinced and London managed to ride to victory.

Kieron Achara beats the buzzer with a 3ball again!

BBL Championship
Glasgow Rocks 89 (25, 44, 69) (Achara 23, Ogedengbe 23, Smith 16)
London Lions 86 (18, 50, 68) (Taylor 26, Brown 18, Stibbins 15)

Kieron Achara came up with more last-gasp heroics to lift Glasgow Rocks to an 89-86 success against London Lions at Emirates Arena on Friday.

The Great Britain international hit the headlines earlier in the season when his three-point hurl at the buzzer sent Rocks through to the semi-final of the BBL Cup.

He repeated the trick on Friday as, with the teams tied inside the final four seconds, he connected from long range after being found by player-coach Sterling Davis.

It was an important result for the Scottish club as not only did it halt a run of three straight losses but helped them recover from the disappointment of defeat in the BBL Cup Final last time out.

Despite a fast start sparked by the scoring of Tayo Ogedengbe, Lions responded and took control behind the play of reigning MVP Zaire Taylor, who stepped up as captain Drew Sullivan sat out a second game in a row.

Lions led by two entering the final minute before Achara made two free throws and settled the matter in dramatic fashion.

Achara and Ogedengbe each had 23 points as Davis added a 12-point, 10-rebound double double while Taylor led all scorers with 26.

Rocks move level on points with Durham Wildcats, currently occupying the final BBL Play-off position, whereas Lions have now lost four of their last five.

Sharks come back from the deep but fail to get W

BBL Championship (OT)
Sheffield Sharks 86 (16, 32, 53, 75) (Tuck 19, Holmes 18, Lewis 16)
Leicester Riders 89 (27, 46, 60, 75) (Hassan 35, Bernardini 19, Watson 12)

Leicester Riders recovered from losing a long-term lead to prevail 89-86 against Sheffield Sharks after overtime at EIS Sheffield on Friday.

Rob Paternostro’s men started the game on a 10-0 tear and were in front until a BJ Holmes three-pointer gave the hosts the edge inside the final seven minutes.

Riders hit back behind the hot scoring of Rashad Hassan although the teams could not be separated after 40 minutes of action.

But when Tyler Bernardini connected from long range just four seconds into the added period, and it was quickly followed by a Neil Watson triple and another Hassan jumper, the visitors were in the ascendency.

From there it was a question of whether they could hang on for a fourth straight win, and with the likes of Ant Rowe producing some key late plays, the answer was an impressive ‘yes’. Hassan finished with 35 points as his fine scoring form continues while Bernardini added 19.

Mike Tuck paced Sharks with 19 off the bench while the returning Holmes had 18 and Nick Lewis chipped in with 16.

Sharks have now lost three times in a row, having won five straight before that, whereas Riders now move to within two points of second-placed Worcester Wolves.

Attah stars as Force defeat Manchester again!

BBL Championship
Leeds Force 85 (20, 48, 69) (Attah 20, McCann 18, Hall 12)
Manchester Giants 76 (10, 31, 56) (Eaves 20, Gill 18, Bernard 14)

Sam Attah leads from the front again. Photo by Chris Midgley.

Leeds Force climbed off the bottom of the BBL Championship and within four points of the BBL Play-off positions with an 85-76 home victory against Manchester Giants on Friday.

The hosts jumped out to a good start behind the scoring of Sam Attah and held off the Manchester club’s comeback as Ben Eaves provided their spark on both ends of the floor.

Force have now won two of their four games since Attah’s arrival while James McCann was influential once again, finishing with 18 points and nine assists.

Matt Newby’s men had beaten Manchester in the BBL Cup earlier in the season, but this was their first league meeting, starting a head-to-head series, which could be key to each team’s post-season aspirations.

The home side led by as many as 21 points midway through the third quarter before Jeff Jones began to look inside, creating good looks at the basket and also allowing Giants to get to the free-throw line.

But when the lead was cut to just four with 2:27 remaining following a four-point play from Ingus Bankevics, it was Attah and McCann, who came up with the crucial plays to secure victory.

Attah scored a team-high 20 points, a tally matched by Eaves, who also added 12 boards.

Awesome fight by Leopards but they come up short against Surrey

BBL Trophy
Essex Leopards 64 (17, 28, 43) (Ajumobi 17, Margai 13, Richards 8)
Surrey United 69 (33, 42, 59) (Knutson 21, Dusha 20, Callum 11)

Surrey United advanced to the quarter-finals of the BBL Trophy with a 69-64 success at Essex Leopards – after surviving a late scare.

Kramer Knutson in action. Library Photo from getsurrey.co.uk.

An early 11-0 spurt saw Surrey seize the initiative, and they seemed comfortable, carrying a 16-point lead into the fourth quarter.

But Robert Youngblood’s side began to eat into the lead with increased effort on the battle of the boards and would close within five, although United clung on.

The result marks the first time this season that Surrey have won back-to-back games, and sees them join London Lions in the next round of the Trophy, with six more first-round ties to come over the weekend.

Kramer Knutson was once again at the heart of all that was positive about the play of Jack Majewski’s team.

The American finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds as point guard Elvisi Dusha found his touch from beyond the arc, connecting on four triples to contribute 20 points.

For Essex, their energy and effort late on almost pulled them back into contention to cause a shock, but their 31% field-goal shooting had ultimately left them too much to do, despite 17 points from David Ajumobi.

Wolves get out of jail in Bristol

BBL Championship
Bristol Flyers 68 (17,35,54) (Seilund 25, Perine 11, McLaughin-Williams 10)
Worcester Wolves 69 (23,48,57) (Holmes 22, Owumi 17, Lufadeju 10)

Chavis Holmes scored a team-high 22 points and stepped up when his team needed him the most, nailing a game-winning shot with five seconds remaining, as Worcester Wolves made it five wins in a row in the BBL Championship with a 69-68 victory against Bristol Flyers at the WISE Basketball Arena on Saturday evening.

The pre-game favorites lived up to their name right from the tip-off, breaking away to an early 8-0 lead, with Bristol struggling to put points on the board. Having finished the first quarter with a 23-17 advantage, the guests increased the gap to double figures by the halftime break, but Mathias Seilund didn’t allow the game to get out of hand, with 11 first-half points for Flyers.

Wolves started the second half with a 13-point advantage, but saw their lead disappear, as Flyers won the third quarter 19-9 to enter the final frame trailing Worcester only by three points at 57-54. Having trialed the whole game, Bristol got their first taste of the lead with 40 seconds remaining, as Greg Streete nudged the hosts ahead 68-67.

However, Chavis Holmes hit what turned out to be the winning basket on the other end of the court with merely five seconds remaining. Mathias Seilund, who had a game-high 25 points, had a chance to win it for Flyers, but his wide open jumper was off the target.

Leicester Riders crush Leeds Force

BBL Trophy (Round of 16)
Leicester Riders 81 (23,39,60) (Wright 21, Anderson 15, Lamble 10)
Leeds Force 51 (9,26,39) (Attah 11, Diez 10, Bethune 9)

Leicester Riders began their BBL Trophy campaign victoriously, knocking off Leeds Force in the Round of 16 with a 81-51 win at the Sir David Wallace Sports Centre on Saturday.

The hosts started the game strong and established a double-figure advantage already in the opening frame, escaping to a 23-9 lead with 9-2 run to finish the first quarter.

Riders maintained a double-digit edge throughout the second quarter, but Force managed to prevent the gap from growing with Mario Diez stepping up to the task. Leeds got as close as 44-38, but Riders answered with a 16-1 run to ice the game by the end of the third quarter.

Trayvonn Wright rounded out his great performance in the fourth quarter with a big double-double, finishing the game with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, as Jamell Anderson added 15 points and nine boards for the winners.

Sam Attah was the leading scorer on the losing side with 11 points. Mario Diez added 10.