Force take another monster scalp

Leeds Force saw a 21-point fourth quarter lead shrink to just one in an epic battle with Cheshire Phoenix at Northgate Arena, but clung on to record a 78-76 victory.

Conversely, Bristol Flyers fought back against Durham Wildcats at Newton Aycliffe to outscore their hosts by 15 points in the final stanza to claim an 84-73 success, which boosts their hopes of reaching the BBL Play-offs.

Glasgow Rocks picked up where they left off in the closing stages of Friday’s comeback win against Sheffield Sharks, cruising to an 89-60 triumph against title contenders Worcester Wolves.

Elsewhere, London Lions put the disappointment of Friday’s missed opportunity to beat Newcastle Eagles behind them and jumped out to a hot start before thrashing Surrey United 104-65.

Quote of the Week

I believe it will be a challenge on Friday but we have a chance. We know they have firepower everywhere and play a high tempo. We will match that and look to impose ourselves, especially inside.Lion’s Coach Vince Macaulay

Newcastle secure stunning victory

BBL Championship
Newcastle Eagles 94 (30, 51, 68) (Fletcher 22, Martin 18, Smith 14)
London Lions 87 (24, 43, 69) (Stibbins 30, Cook 16, Ikhinmwin 13)

Lions fail to get this one. Photo by Dave Moore.

Newcastle Eagles scored 11 unanswered points in the final minute to record an incredible 94-87 BBL Championship success against London Lions at Sport Central on Friday.

Photo by Dave Moore.

The league leaders came into the game unbeaten in nine, but that run appeared in real danger when Zaire Taylor hit a jump shot to open up a nine-point Lions lead with 3:41 to play.

But from that point on, Vince Macaulay’s men were outscored 20-4, as Eagles proved once more why they are the reigning champions and now hold a six-point lead at the top of the table.

A Charles Smith block on Lovell Cook energised Eagles and Rahmon Fletcher began to connect from the floor while Scott Martin supplemented that scoring from the line.

Fletcher finished with 22 points as Martin added an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Makal Stibbins had the standout statistical line of the night with 30 points, 15 boards and three blocks and will likely be wondering how he ended the night on the losing side, particularly given how well Lions played for long periods.

Lions remain in fifth place however, just two points ahead of Glasgow Rocks while Eagles’ winning streak stretches to double figures.

Eagles still rolling on. Photo by Dave Moore.

Rocks come from behind to stun Sharks

BBL Championship
Glasgow Rocks 72 (14, 28, 49) (Middleton 18, Achara 14, Ogedengbe 13)
Sheffield Sharks 64 (18, 33, 57) (Cook 15, Holmes 13, Tuck 13)>/h5>

Glasgow Rocks produced a big fourth quarter to come from behind and beat BBL Play-off rivals Sheffield Sharks 72-64 at Emirates Arena on Friday.

The teams went into the game locked on 20 points in the BBL Championship table, and Sharks could have claimed the all-important head-to-head, which separates the teams in the event of a tie at the end of the season.

It looked for much of the game as this would be the case, as Rocks struggled to find any rhythm and fell 11 points behind following a BJ Holmes third-quarter jump shot.

But when Reggie Middleton connected on back-to-back jumpers to start the fourth period it set the tone for his team to outscore Sharks 23-7 in the final 10 minutes.

The turning point came with 36 seconds to play as, with Rocks now leading by one, Tayo Ogedengbe stole the ball from Mike Cook and broke away to finish, but was fouled in doing so by Cook.

Ogedengbe knocked down the added free throw to make it a two-possession game and Atiba Lyons’ side lacked the necessary composure to mount a challenge late on.

Middleton led Rocks with 18 points while Cook was the high man for Sharks, scoring 15 in a fourth straight defeat.

---

Force no match for solid Riders

BBL Championship
Leeds Force 50 (15, 34, 39) (Anebo 18, Fetske 10, McCann 7)
Leicester Riders 76 (15, 36, 51) (Watson 26, Hassan 13, Losonsky 10)

Neil Watson caught fire from long range as Leicester Riders beat Leeds Force 76-50 at Carnegie Sports Centre in the BBL Championship on Friday.

The American guard connected on six of his 10 three-point attempts on his way to a game-high 26 points as Riders frustrated their opponents with their trademark stifling defence.

It was an important win for Rob Paternostro’s men as they moved within two points of second-placed Worcester Wolves, having lost twice in the past two weeks against league leaders Newcastle Eagles.

The first half was a tight affair as the inside scoring of Armand Anebo kept the hosts in touch, as he went on to finish with a team-high 18 points.

But Riders took complete control in the second half.

Matt Newby’s side were limited to just five points in the third quarter, which allowed the visitors to pull away and build their advantage in the fourth period, as Force managed just 16 points in the entire second half.

Everything began to fall for Riders late on and Rashad Hassan took his own total to 13 as Force struggled to support Anebo in the absence of Will Hall.

Cheshire Phoenix make another big statement

BBL Championship
Surrey United 81 (32, 47, 61) (Coleman 37, Knutson 14, Downing 10)
Cheshire Phoenix 109 (24, 55, 84) (Aliu 27, Watt 20, King 18)

Cheshire Phoenix found their scoring touch after a sluggish start to torch Surrey United 109-81 at Surrey Sports Park on Friday.

Tip-off was put back by 15 minutes as heavy traffic delayed the arrival of John Coffino’s men and their disrupted preparation showed as they fell behind 32-24 after the first quarter.

But Phoenix, who had guard Martyn Gayle making his debut, found their shots began to fall after that and they swept Surrey aside behind another impressive offensive display.

A 13-2 run which lasted just over two-and-a-half minutes midway through the second quarter, turned the game the way of the Cheshire club and their confidence grew from there.

The ever-reliable David Aliu produced a big 27-point performance as Demond Watt recorded his now almost expected double-double – 20 points and 10 rebounds – and Jack Majewski’s side simply could not keep up.

That is despite the best efforts of Dominique Coleman, who had an incredible 37 points in a losing effort as United remain at the foot of the table and Phoenix keep up the pressure on third-placed Leicester Riders.

Flyers come from behind for another famous victory

BBL Championship
Bristol Flyers 88 (21,41,67) (Perine 34, Bland 22, Streete 13)
Plymouth University Raiders 84 (26,51,60) (Clarke 20, Wilcher 15, Hampton 14)

Bree Perine netted a game-high 34 points, as Bristol Flyers fought back from a double-digit deficit to edge the visiting Plymouth University Raiders 88-84 at the WISE Basketball Arena on Saturday.

The 26-year-old American guard scored 11 of his points in the third period, helping the hosts turn a 10-point point halftime deficit into a 67-60 lead heading into the final quarter of action.

The visitors from Plymouth had dominated the game in the first half and were firmly ahead, leading by as many as 17 points in the second quarter. However, Flyers finished the half with a 9-2 run to make it 51-41 at halftime.

After the interval, Flyers looked like a new team. Cheered on by the home crowd, the Bristol side outscored their opponents 26-9 in the third quarter to jump in the driver’s seat.

Although Raiders had shortly jumped back in front in the fourth quarter, Greg Streete put Flyers back in front with a three-pointer, as the hosts managed to hold on to the slender lead until the end of the game.

Alif Bland added 22 points and eight rebounds for Bristol, while Streete collected 13 points, eight boards and seven dimes.

Jordan Clarke double-doubled for Raiders with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Joshua Wilcher finished the game with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Wright steps up for the Riders

BBL Championship
Leicester Riders 84 (23,47,73) (Wright 25, Hassan 21, Watson 12)
Durham Wildcats 81 (22,38,55) (Buchberger 18, Puk 14, Urli 13)

Trayvonn Wright’s fingertips were everywhere, as Leicester Riders notched up their second win in as many days in the BBL Championship, defeating Durham Wildcats 84-81 at the Sir David Wallace Sports Centre on Saturday evening.

Wright collected 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting and added seven rebounds, as Riders improved to a 20-5 record to go level with Worcester Wolves in the league table.

The hosts broke away in the final minutes of the first half, closing the second period with a 6-0 run to enter the halftime break with a 47-38 advantage. A dominant performance in the third quarter saw the lead grow to as many as 21 points, but Wildcats were not ready to surrender just yet.

Having entered the final frame down 73-55, the Durham side clawed all the way to make it a one-possession game at 84-81 after a pair of free-throws by John Puk with a minute and a half on the clock.

However, Riders managed to hold off the late rally by Wildcats after wasting a huge fourth-quarter lead, with Rashad Hassan cleaning up on the defensive boards to seal the win.

Hassan finished the game with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Neil Watson added a double-double of 12 points and 11 assists for Leicester.

Meanwhile, David Buchberger had a team-high 18 points for Wildcats, with Ralph Bucci fliting with a triple-double with seven points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Monster comeback not enough for the Phoenix

BBL Championship
Cheshire Phoenix 76 (17, 27, 47) (Aliu 15, DiNunno 15, Watt 14)
Leeds Force 78 (21, 40, 63) (McCann 25, Bethune 21, Mikulic 14)

Force defeat high-flying Phoenix.

Leeds Force clung on to upset Cheshire Phoenix 78-76 at Northgate Arena on Sunday, despite having seen a big lead disappear.

Coming off a 26-point defeat against Leicester Riders on Friday, Matt Newby’s men responded in emphatic fashion jumping out to an early lead that would grow to 21 points midway through the fourth quarter.

But a 23-3 run lasting seven minutes pulled John Coffino’s side with a single point with 57 seconds to play.

A James McCann jump shot restored the advantage to three before Mike DiNunno knocked down two free throws to put the pressure back on.

McCann then split a pair of foul shouts, allowing DiNunno a shot at the win, but his three-point effort was off the mark and Force held on for a famous win.

It was the BBL newcomers’ seventh league success of the season, and first against one of the league’s top four teams.

McCann had a game-high 25 points as Darrel Bethune added 21 while David Alui and DiNunno each had 15 in a losing effort.

Big double weekend for the Flyers

BBL Championship
Durham Wildcats 73 (18, 43, 59) (Buchberger 15, Urli 11, Madourie 11)
Bristol Flyers 84 (16, 32, 55) (Perine 24, Bland 21, McLaughin-Williams 17)

Bristol Flyers outscored Durham Wildcats by 15 points in the fourth quarter to come from behind and win 84-73 at Newton Aycliffe on Sunday.

Both teams had faced close battles the previous night, Flyers prevailing against Plymouth Raiders while Wildcats fell to Leicester Riders.

But it was Andreas Kapoulas’ side who triumphed on Sunday, despite trailing for almost 30 minutes.

Lee Davie’s men entered the fourth period holding a four-point lead, thanks in no small part to David Buchberger, who went on to finish with a team-high 15 points.

But it would not be enough to secure a vital victory in the race for the BBL Play-offs as Bree Perine and Alif Bland took over.

Perine had poured in 34 points as Flyers recovered from 17 points down to beat Raiders on Saturday and still had the hot hand 20 hours later, scoring 24 against Wildcats while Bland added a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double.

The results sees Flyers climb above Manchester Giants into the Play-off positions, albeit having played three more games, as Wildcats lost ground.

Rocks up to 6th & building for the Play-Offs

BBL Championship
Glasgow Rocks 89 (22, 49, 64) (Ogedengbe 18, Huffor 17, Egwuonwu 11)
Worcester Wolves 60 (15, 30, 44) (Owumi 17, Guede 14, Thurman 9)

Glasgow Rocks bolstered their BBL Play-off push with a second win of the weekend, cruising to an 89-60 defeat of title-chasing Worcester Wolves.

Sterling Davis’ men looked a different side to the one that struggled so badly in the opening stages of Friday’s game against Sheffield Sharks.

But having come from behind to win that game, Rocks jumped out to a hot start on Sunday and held a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter before stretching that gap to 19 at half-time.

The deciding factor between the two teams on the night was their depth as Paul James’ three bench players mustered just two points between them while Rocks’ replacement tallied 32.

Rocks were solid across the board but Tayo Ogedengbe stood out once more, scoring a team-high 18 points as well as back-to-back triples to stretch the lead to 20 and put the result beyond doubt.

Captain Alex Owumi paced Worcester with 17 points, but got little support with Paul Guede his only team-mate to reach double figures.

The Scottish side strengthened their grip on a post-season berth, currently in sixth, while Wolves in third, lost their third game in five and stay six points off leaders Newcastle Eagles.

Lions take revenge on Surrey for Friday’s Eagles’ loss

BBL Championship
London Lions 104 (31, 49, 76) (Sullivan 18, Taylor 17, Stibbins 16)
Surrey United 65 (16, 27, 47) (Forson 15, Knutson 14, Coleman 11)

London Lions picked themselves up from Friday’s disappointment in impressive fashion to record a wire-to-wire 104-65 victory against Surrey United on Sunday.

Less than 48 hours prior to hosting United, Vince Macaulay’s men had been minutes away from a famous victory at Newcastle Eagles before being overwhelmed by an 11-0 last-minute run.

But they channeled any lingering frustration into a stunning start as they surged into an 18-3 lead at the Copper Box behind hot shooting and high tempo.

Great Britain captain Drew Sullivan was instrumental in the success, scoring 14 of his 18 points in a first quarter, which set the tone for an important victory.

Zaire Taylor also enjoyed a big performance, racking up 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Erick Forson led United’s challenge with 15 from the bench, but their hopes of victory all-but ended following Lions’ fantastic start.

It was the capital club’s fifth success in seven games, improving their record to 13-10, and perhaps more importantly, setting them up nicely for next weekend’s BBL Trophy semi-final firs leg against Leicester Riders.

United meanwhile have now lost eight in a row, and remain at the foot of the table.