Rahmon Fletcher missed just one shot all night and was a perfect four of four from long-range as he garnered 20 points to go with seven assists.
That shot a hole in the Play-Off prospects of Giants, with Durham Wildcats also suffering a blow to their hopes of a top eight finish as they went down at home to Plymouth University Raiders.
The visitors prevailed 75-67 after another big performance from Pierre Hampton who scored 18 points, while Great Britain forward Gareth Murray and Jordan Clarke both accumulated double-doubles.
Two teams who are safely into the Play-Offs are London Lions and Cheshire Phoenix, with both registering another victory to add to their respective tallies.
A 22 point haul from Dustin Salisbery led Phoenix to a 77-68 triumph at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, while Great Britain veteran Drew Sullivan racked up 22 points and 12 boards as Lions turned on the style in the second half to claim an 88-70 win against Worcester Wolves.
| Thursday 26 March 2015 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBL Championship – Result | |||||
| Plymouth Raiders | 94 – 87 | Durham Wildcats | 19:30 | ||
| Friday 27 March 2015 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBL Championship – Results | |||||
| Newcastle Eagles | 101 – 62 | Surrey United | 19:30 | ||
| Leeds Force | 54 – 84 | Worcester Wolves | 19:30 | ||
| Sheffield Sharks | 91 – 88 | Glasgow Rocks | 19:30 | ||
| Saturday 28 March 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| BBL Championship – Results | |||
| Bristol Flyers | 63 – 85 | London Lions | 19:30 |
| Leicester Riders | 106 – 86 | Plymouth Raiders | 20:00 |
| Surrey United | 73 – 76 | Leeds Force | 18:45 |
| Sunday 29 March 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| BBL Championship – Results | |||
| Durham Wildcats | 67 – 75 | Plymouth Raiders | 16:00 |
| Glasgow Rocks | 68 – 77 | Cheshire Phoenix | 17:00 |
| London Lions | 88 – 70 | Worcester Wolves | 16:00 |
| Manchester Giants | 87 – 117 | Newcastle Eagles | 18:00 |
| P | Team | PL | W | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esh Group Eagles Newcastle | 30 | 28 | 2 | 56 |
| 2 | Worcester Wolves | 31 | 24 | 7 | 48 |
| 3 | Cheshire Phoenix | 32 | 23 | 9 | 46 |
| 4 | Leicester Riders | 27 | 22 | 5 | 44 |
| 5 | London Lions | 30 | 18 | 12 | 36 |
| 6 | Glasgow Rocks | 28 | 15 | 13 | 30 |
| 7 | Sheffield Sharks | 30 | 15 | 15 | 30 |
| 8 | Bristol Flyers | 33 | 12 | 21 | 24 |
| 9 | Manchester Giants | 30 | 11 | 19 | 22 |
| 10 | Plymouth University Raiders | 30 | 9 | 21 | 18 |
| 11 | Durham Wildcats | 32 | 8 | 24 | 16 |
| 11 | Leeds Force | 32 | 8 | 24 | 16 |
| 13 | Surrey United | 31 | 5 | 26 | 10 |
| 2014/15 League Table | |||||
Quote of the Week
Wolves Head Coach, Paul James
Zaire Taylor can obviously take over games on his own, and win games on his own, so we have to limit his influence on the game, and the same goes for Drew Sullivan.
“We have to make sure we are very solid defensively, first and foremost, and hopefully offence will follow. Wolves’ Head Coach, Paul James
A big 29-point display by Pierre Hampton and a decisive late run in the fourth quarter provided the platform for Plymouth University Raiders to secure a 94-87 triumph against Durham Wildcats at the Pavilions.
The home side drew level with their opponents on eight league wins after a topsy-turvy encounter which saw big runs from both teams on the night.
But Raiders also had the MVP in Hampton who shot the lights out after registering a 68% performance from the floor.
After a nice opening quarter when both teams found their offensive rhythm early, Raiders jumped out at the start of the second period with 11 straight points to lead 39-27.
However, Wildcats eventually sparked back into life with eight unanswered points of their own and by half-time, they had even managed to get their noses in front at 49-47.
Capitalising on the absence of home star Jordan Clarke, Wildcats controlled the glass and after a tight third period, they looked well set for victory heading into the final minutes of the contest.
They led 80-77, but the pendulum swing vigorously the way of the home team as Raiders rattled off what proved to be a game-winning 11-0 burst of scoring in crunch time.
Wildcats tried to hit back, but Raiders made the shots they needed from the free-throw line to take the win – helped by a combined 38 points from Great Britain stars Ben Mockford and Gareth Murray.
Awesome Action Photo by MPhotography
Sheffield Sharks leapfrogged Glasgow Rocks in the BBL Championship standings after coming from behind to edge a thriller 91-88 at EIS Sheffield on Friday.
Atiba Lyons’ side have now won five games in a row and climb to sixth position, level on points with Rocks, but move ahead having claimed the head-to-head tie-breaker with this victory.
Sterling Davis’ men had themselves won each of their previous six and looked set to climb into fifth spot, leading by nine points heading into the final stanza.
But a series of offensive rebounds for the hosts saw them pull themselves back into the game with a 19-7 sequence to start the fourth quarter.
The contest developed into a battle of nerve down the stretch, and as the climax approached, BJ Holmes and Colin Sing both split sets of free throws to give Rocks a shot at the tie.
Here’s REGGIE!
Jonny Bunyan was off the mark at the buzzer, however, meaning Sharks triumphed, despite being out-rebounded 42-30 and trailing for much of the second half.
Holmes was the catalyst for the hosts, with 22 points and six rebounds as Mike Tuck added 22 to go with seven rebounds.
Danny Huffor had 19 points for Rocks and there was another 12-point, 11-rebound double-double for Kieron Achara, but the Scottish club were hindered by 18 turnovers.
There was no sign of a BBL Trophy Final hangover at Sport Central on Friday as Newcastle Eagles eased to a 101-62 BBL Championship victory against Surrey United.
Dave Forrester took charge of the league leaders as player-coach Fab Flournoy continued his recovery from a torn achilles sustained in last weekend’s Trophy Final success against Leicester Riders.
Andre Jones also missed out because of a hamstring injury, meaning Trophy Final MVP Charles Smith started the game.
The visitors, who won their first game in 10 last weekend, started well and matched the league leaders for much of the first period, despite nine early points from Darius Defoe.
Forrester’s calls for increased intensity on defence were answered in the second period, however, allowing Newcastle to score 18 points in the final five minutes of the half to pull away.
Defoe racked up 19 points to take his career BBL total past 4,000 while also collecting 15 rebounds, as Andrew Thomson top-scored with 22, and added 10 rebounds.
Despite being hampered by foul trouble, Dominque Coleman paced United with 18 points, but Jack Majewski’s side could not prevent Eagles securing a 17th consecutive win.
Worcester Wolves maintained their faint BBL Championship title hopes with an 84-54 win at Leeds Force on Friday.
The victory leaves Paul James’ side six points behind league leaders Newcastle Eagles, with six games to play, although Fab Flournoy’s side have a game in hand too.
Wolves were matched by the BBL newcomers in the early stages of this game before Matt Newby’s men were restricted to just five points in the second period.
This allowed the visitors to establish a healthy half-time lead to stretch the game and punish their hosts with some accurate three-point shooting.
As well as scoring 21 points from Force’s 22 turnovers, Wolves connected on 15 attempts from long range.
Jamal Williams was responsible for four of those, on his way to a game-high 20 points, as deadline-day signing Robertas Bitinas also drained four triples as he added 14 points.
Force could not keep up with Wolves’ offensive power, falling to a fourth consecutive defeat despite 15 points from Dwayne Camille.
Leicester Riders extended their winning streak to five games in the BBL Championship with a 106-86 victory against Plymouth University Raiders at the Sir David Wallace Sports Centre on Saturday night.
The Leicester side improved to a 22-5 record and remain the prime candidate to give the breakaway leaders Esh Group Eagles Newcastle, now 27-2, a challenge, if the league leaders do slip up.
Both teams started the game with their minds set on offence and the up-tempo pace of the game reflected on the scoreboard, with Riders enjoying a 31-23 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
The hosts had increased the gap to double digits in the second period and had a 56-46 advantage heading into the halftime break, but Raiders fought back to make it a one-point game midway through the third quarter after Ben Mockford’s triple.
However, the pendulum immediately swung the other way, with Leicester going on to regain a double-digit advantage in the fourth quarter and cruising to a an easy win.
Tyler Bernardini and Rashad Hassan were simply unstoppable, scoring 26 and 24 points respectively for Riders, with Trayvonn Wright adding 19 points and eight rebounds.
Neil Watson added a double-double of 15 points and 14 assists.
Meanwhile, Joshua Wilcher finished with a team-high 22 points and nine dimes for the visitors from Plymouth, while Pierre Hampton chipped in with 20 points.
Bristol Flyers did not do themselves any favours in the BBL Play-Off race on Saturday night, falling short 85-63 to the visiting London Lions at the WISE Basketball Arena in BBL Championship action.
The guests from the capital were up and running right from the get-go, breaking away early for a 21-13 lead at the end of the opening quarter. The margin had reached double digits on several occasions in the second quarter, but Flyers sliced the deficit to 40-33 before the halftime interval.
Lions re-established a double-figure advantage after the break with the duo of Lovell Cook and Andrew Sullivan doing the majority of the damage and went on to put the game out of reach with a 17-1 run to start the fourth quarter.
Cook was the leading scorer for Lions with 23 points and Sullivan chipped in with 19, with the pair going a combined 20-of-22 from the stripe. Joseph Ikhinmwin was the only other scorer in double figures for the London side, collecting 16 points.
For Flyers, Bryquis Perine and Greg Streete collected 14 points apiece, while Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye added 11 off the bench.
Leeds Force managed to put an end to a four-game losing streak in the BBL Championship with a 76-73 win against bottom-of-the-table Surrey United, despite squandering a double-digit fourth-quarter lead at the Surrey Sports Park on Saturday evening.
After a back-and-forth tussle in the first half, Leeds managed to break away in the third quarter after outscoring their opponents 21-6 in the period.
The game seemed to be as good as over, with Force holding a commanding 55-39 lead with less than a minute to play in the third quarter, but the hosts were not willing to give up just yet.
Dominique Coleman finished the period by cutting the gap to 14 points and a further 18-4 run in the first five minutes of the final frame saw United knot it up at 59-all midway through the fourth quarter.
Surrey even took the lead at 68-66 after Sam Attah’s jumper with under two minutes on the clock, but the hosts led only for 20 seconds, with James McCann’s free-throws tying the game back up and Dwayne Camille’s three-pointer sending Force in front once again.
Leeds were up 76-73 with 15 seconds remaining after McCann made one-of-two of from the stripe. Anthony Downing’s attempt to tie the game with a three-pointer didn’t reach the target, but Ricky Fetske gave the hosts another chance, missing both free throws.
However, Kramer Knutson couldn’t seize the opportunity, with his shot from downtown with a couple of seconds left missing.
James McCann had a team-high 23 points for Force, Branimir Mikulic scored 15, while William Hall chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Dominique Coleman had a game-best 24 points in a losing effort, with Kramer Knutson posting a huge double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds.
London Lions are building momentum ahead of the rapidly approaching BBL Play-Offs after they soared to a comfortable 88-70 success against Worcester Wolves at the Copper Box Arena.
Drew Sullivan showed why he is such a long-serving and respected member of the Great Britain national team with an outstanding double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds from a brilliant 63% from the floor.
His was just one of an array of excellent displays, as Lions’ entire starting five returned double-digit scores.
London capitalised on the absence of Wolves’ star center Robert Thurman as the game unfolded and found another offensive gear which took them way out of sight.
After trailing by three points at the interval, Lions cranked up their offensive output when they returned after the break and scored 27 points in each of the last two quarters.
Wolves were unable to cope and keep pace, despite the best efforts of Jamal Williams, as they slipped to a seventh league loss of the season.
Following on from last Thursday night’s home success against Durham, there was a second win inside four days for Plymouth University Raiders as they collected a precious 75-67 win in the north-east against the Wildcats.
Raiders’ head coach Jay Marriott has vowed to keep fighting until the very last moment as his team continues to cling to their dreams of clinching a post-season berth and this latest success will certainly help their cause.
After a tight first quarter which the visitors edged by a point, the Raiders turned the screw during the second period when a 9-2 run finished by a Pierre Hampton dunk helped them to take a double-figure lead into the locker rooms at the half.
Down by 11 points when they re-emerged, Lee Davie gave the home crowd something to shout about as they worked their way back into contention by making a few triples.
And, heading into the last period they were only a point behind at 53-52, with things improving even more when Panos Mayindombe struck a triple early in the fourth.
But, Raiders were to prove too strong on the glass and began to seize the initiative heading towards the final buzzer as they eased away – helped by a double-double from Great Britain forward Gareth Murray who had 11 points and 11 boards, while Jordan Clarke had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle rarely look like missing a beat these days and they showed their impressive offensive prowess with another massive score as they took a 117-87 victory at the Giants.
Both teams jumped into the contest with all guns blazing and pretty much consistently on target in a smooth first quarter as the Eagles edged 30-27 in front.
However, once the Giants began to dry up in the second period, the visitors managed to retain their offensive high tide to sweep away the hosts and put themselves into an unassailable 18 point lead heading into the second half.
Jeff Jones and his players couldn’t halt the Eagles scorching firepower and with Rahmon Fletcher pulling the strings nicely in the backcourt, Newcastle continued getting good lucks and converting ruthlessly for the remainder of the game.
If anything, they got even better when the action got underway after the break, pouring in a mammoth 35 points to leave Giants trailing in their wake and effectively with only pride to play for in the final ten minutes.
At least Giants had plenty of players in double-digits, including 22 points from Ingus Bankevics, while Ben Eaves posted a double-double.
However, they were a long way short of stopping the relentless surge of the Eagles, who had six players in double-figures, with Fletcher going a perfect four of four from downtown en-route to 20 points and also adding seven assists.
Meanwhile Darius Defoe and Andy Thomson both claimed double-doubles for the winning side.
Cheshire Phoenix on a hot streak
John Coffino and his Cheshire Phoenix side continue to make noise in the BBL and show they could be a big challenger in the Play-Offs.
Cheshire came away from the Emirates Arena with a 77-68 success against hometown Glasgow Rocks as the visitors overcome a second quarter drought to take an impressive road victory.
Phoenix wasted little time in finding a nice shooting rhythm as they amassed 26 points in the first quarter to take an eight point lead, but the wheels came crashing off during a worrying second period.
The home team made the adjustments needed to slow down their opponents and the Rocks held Phoenix to a paltry six points in ten minutes as they managed to level the game at 32-32 by half-time.
Scottish guard Jonny Bunyan was to become the main source of production for the Rocks and he eventually corralled a team-high 17 points, but it wasn’t quite enough to inspire victory.
After a balanced third period when both teams appeared happy to trade buckets, it came down to the last ten minutes.
Cheshire managed to put the shackles on the home side and when Adrien Sturt fired a big triple after some nice scores by Dustin Salisbery and Taylor King, it jolted them 74-62 ahead.
Rocks failed to recover as Phoenix managed to ease to the win, with Salisbery harvesting 22 points and King landing a double-double to complete a miserable weekend for Rocks, who also lost at Sheffield.
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