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November 2007 |
Earlier Reports: Sept. 07; Oct. 07;
Everton Tigers
79 (22,44,66) (Robertson 24, Haslem 16, Aliu 13)
Worcester Wolves 92 (23,49,70) (Life 29, Paez 28, Durant 18)
Worcester Wolves secured their first away win of the season on the final day of November with an excellent 79-92 win at seventh placed Everton Tigers.
The Wolves remain bottom of the BBL, but after two wins in three matches they move level with Birmingham Panthers on points and are just two- points from a play-off berth.
Skouson Harker's men turned in a superb fourth quarter effort to pull away from the Tigers. After leading 22-23, 44-49 and 66-70 at the end of the first three quarter the Wolves opened the final stanza with a 14-2 burst to go ahead 68-84.
From then on there was no way back for Everton even with a Delme Herriman four-point play late in the match. Worcester's James Life led all-scorers with 29.
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders were made to work hard to hold off PAWS London Capital to move within two points of top spot. Raiders 71-73 win came despite their hosts scoring the last 10 points of the match.
Reining champions Poujoulat Heat Guildford had an easier time of it as they saw off Jelson Homes DMU Leciester Riders 67-96 on the road.
PAWS London Capital 71
(19,38,50) (Miller 16, Van Stein 15, Williams 13)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 73 (14,30,56) (Lasker 27, Beasley 17, Durham 9)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders kept the heat on the top two with a hard fought win at PAWS London Capital.
Raiders trailed early on thanks to a 10-2 run by Capital which handed them a 19-14 first quarter advantage. A further 6-3 run to begin the second helped the home team to an 8-point (38-30) half time lead.
However, after the break it was a different story as a 15-2 burst by Raiders brought the visitors right back into the match. Heading into the final quarter they led 56-50.
Plymouth continued to play the better of the two sides and stretched out to 52-64 and 61-73 before London scored the final 10 points of the match. The comeback wasn't to be completed though as Raiders move within a win of top spot in the BBL.
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 67 (20,34,50) (McKnight 14, Greathouse
12, Jordan 11, Woodyard 11)
Poujoulat Heat Guildford
94 (24,42,71) (Martin 22, Gilbert 20, Dorsey 18)
Poujoulat Heat Guildford moved into fourth spot in the league table following a 67-94 blow out at Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.
The reigning champions showed their class during a rampant third quarter when they took a 34-42 half time lead out to 50-71 going into the final ten minutes.
Earlier a tight opening period had seen Leicester stay in touching distance at 20-24 down. They'd closed to 23-26 before Heat went out to 23-35 thanks to a run built on 7 Daniel Gilbert points.
Once Heat had blown the game open in the third the Riders never got back within striking distance as Heat cruised to the victory.
Everton Tigers picked up an important 67-64 victory over the Marshall MK Lions to leapfrog over the Team Birmingham Panthers into tenth place in the table. Tony Miller was the hero for the home side netting the final four points in the last minute of the game.
Everton Tigers
67 (17,37,50) (Robertson 17, Aliu 13, Davis 12)
Marshall MK Lions 64 (15,35,48) (New 13, Brown/Williams 11)
Everton Tigers moved above Team Birmingham Panthers into tenth position in the BBL Championship table after a hard-fought 67-64 victory over the Marshall MK Lions at the Greenbank Academy on Friday night.
In a close game throughout, the Tigers held the advantage for the majority of the contest, but they could not shake off a resilient Lions team.
In the closing stages, Tony Windless bought the Lions back into the game with a three-pointer to tie the scores at 61-61. Tony Robertson then bagged a lay-up for the Tigers, but Yorick Williams netted another three- pointer for the Lions to give them a 63-64 lead with 2:20 remaining.
The Tigers continued the pressure on the Lions, and two baskets from Tony Miller gave them a 67-64 lead with 20 seconds remaining. The Lions had the opportunity to force overtime, but Peter Heizer missed the three-point shot with 8 seconds remaining, and the home side held on for the victory.
Robertson led all scorers in the game with 17 points for the Tigers, while Michael New led the Lions scoring with 13.
The Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles remained atop the BBL Championship table as Friday's 92-73 defeat of the Worcester Wolves extended their winning run to nine games, and kept them unbeaten since the opening game of the season back in September.
On their tail now are the Marshall MK Lions, who themselves have battled injuries to notch six consecutive wins, including two this weekend. On Friday they dismantled the Team Birmingham Panthers at home as Mike New's 22 points inspired a 102-71 win. That was built upon the following night as they escaped the East Midlands with a 74-77 win over the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, led by 18 from former Riders Mike New and Yorick Williams, who had 18 each.
Also in the title-race, the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders made history as they won for the first ever time at The Spectrum with a 67-79 defeat of the Poujoulat Heat Guildford on Saturday. The Raiders finished the game strongly as DeAntoine Beasley had 20 points in the game.
That was the second home defeat of the week for the Heat, who also fell 61-95 to Spanish giants DKV Joventut Badalona in ULEB Cup Group A infront of over 2,000 fans on Tuesday night.
Back in the BBL Championship, the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks had extended their winning run to 4 games with a 77-99 defeat of Everton on Friday, but subsequently had the good run ended at home on Sunday night as they fell 81-85 to the Sheffield Sharks. That win gave the Sharks a share of third spot in the table.
The Everton Tigers recovered on Saturday to beat the Team Birmingham Panthers by 76-94, with Tony Robertson hitting seven three-pointers on his way to 31 points for the night. Those two teams are now neck-and-neck in the BBL Championship table.
For the Worcester Wolves, Friday's defeat to the Newcastle Eagles was their seventh in a row, but they ended that barren run on Saturday with a 103-96 home win over the PAWS London Capital to boost their playoff challenge.
The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders also scored a significant victory in the playoff race on Sunday night as they defeated the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets for their first win in five games with Terrence Woodyard making crucial plays late in the game on his way to 26 points.
BiG Storage Cheshire
Jets
86 (23,43,65) (Obazuaye 27, Myers 22, Hamilton 17)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 93 (27,42,66) (Woodyard 26, McKnight 18,
Janiska 16)
The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders snapped a four-game losing streak, and propelled themselves into the playoff places, with an 86-93 road win at the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets.
Led by Terrence Woodyard's 26 points, it was he that won the game for them as, with 4.30 remaining, he broke open what had been a tight match with 5 consecutive points. After making a basket, he stole the ball and connected on a long three-pointer to give the Riders a 77-83 lead before Mindaugas Janiska kept his cool to make 4/4 from the line to ensure that the Jets could get no closer.
Earlier in the game the visitors jumped out to a 2-14 lead, and still led 12-21 when the Jets put six straight points on the board to keep it close at 23-27 after the first ten minutes.
The hosts took the lead for the first time 4.00 into the second stanza after an 11-2 opening made it 34-29 and they still led 43-42 at the half-time break.
In the third period the teams traded baskets until a late Joel Burns triple made it 61-64. The Jets snatched the lead back only to foul Russell Jordan on the buzzer; he made his free-throws with the rest of the players sat on the benches and gave the Riders the lead for good at 65-66.
Chad McKnight added 18 points for the victors, including four three-pointers. The Jets' Jayson Obazuaye led all scorers with 27 points.
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 81 (13,36,58) (Davis 25, Joseph 17, Wohlers 12)
Sheffield Sharks 85 (23,55,65) (George 18, Graham 15, McKeithan/Virgil 14)
The Sheffield Sharks moved into joint third in the BBL Championship table, whilst condemning the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks to their first defeat in five games, with an 81-85 win at the Braehead Arena.
Former Shark Sterling Davis led the scoring with 25 points in vain. The Sharks spread the scoring and were paced by Randy George's 18, with Justice Graham on 15.
The Sharks dominated the opening stages and instantly took a lead which they held for the majority of the game; they led 13-23 after the first quarter.
The lead was extended in the second as a Justice Graham triple capped a 13-2 burst that made the score 31-50, which became 36-55 at the half.
The Rocks started to claw the game back in the third period as Julius Joseph finished a 10-2 burst with a three-pointer to leave them down by 58-65 going into the decisive stanza.
Once in the fourth the home side took the lead for the first time after a 9-0 push made it 70-69. With 3:00 remaining they had extended that lead to 78-71, only for Alto Virgil to inspire the Sharks to the win with 5 points in a 14-3 close to the game.
Marshall MK Lions made it six wins in a row to move level with Newcastle Eagles at the top of the BBL table.
Lions came back from 50-33 down at Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders to finally come through 74-77 victors.
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders leapfrogged Poujoulat Heat Guildford into third place in the BBL table thanks to a 67-79 road win at The Spectrum.
Everton Tigers beat Team Birmingham Panthers 76- 94 in the West Midlands and Worcester Wolves secured their second victory of the season with a 103- 96 win at home against PAWS London Capital.
Jelson Homes DMU
Leicester Riders 74 (28,46,58) (Woodyard 19, McKnight 13, Wellington 12)
Marshall MK Lions 77 (16,33,57) (Y Williams, New 18, Windless 14)
It's six wins in a row now for Marshall MK Lions as they moved level on points with Newcastle Eagles at the top of the BBL courtesy of a 74-77 away win at Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.
They had to come from behind to do it though as a 15- 4 opening to the match by Riders put the home side firmly in command. The Lions trailed by 28-16 and 46- 33 at the end of the first two quarters before coming alive in the third.
Once Leicester had gone 50-33 in front the Lions had back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to spark 24-8 burst which got them to within one (58-57) at the final break.
Runs of 7-0 and 6-0 in the fourth quarter then handed Lions the lead and despite a late 6-0 burst by Riders a Peter Heizer free throw sealed the win for the visitors.
Poujoulat Heat Guildford 67 (24,43,54) (Martin 23, Dorsey 18, Jones 13)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 79 (23,38,54) (Beasley 20, Moore 17, Lasker 12)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders leapfrogged Poujoulat Heat Guildford into third place in the BBL table thanks to a 67-79 road win at The Spectrum.
Raiders turned in a superb fourth quarter effort to take a tied match at the end of the third period and make it into a fairly comfortable victory.
Earlier in the match a 12-2 Heat run compensated for a 7-0 Raiders burst as the first quarter ended 24-23 in the favour of the home side. A 10-2 start to the second gave Heat enough of an edge to lead 43-38 at half time.
Guildford looked to have seized control with an 8-2 burst midway through the third quarter but a 12-3 close to the period by Raiders tied the match at 54- 54.
There was still hardly anything in it deep into the fourth quarter with Heat up one (66-65) before Raiders went on a 14-1 tear to close out the game and take the points.
Worcester Wolves 103 (26,54,77) (Life 34, Paez 27, Harker 14)
PAWS London Capital 96 (20,49,77) (Bradley 31, Ataha 15, Henry-Fontaine 13)
Worcester Wolves secured just their second win of the season with a solid effort against PAWS London Capital at Worcester University.
The Wolves' Anthony Paez began the match brightly as his 14-points helped the homes side to a 26-20 first quarter lead.
Capital countered in the second period, taking the lead at 30-32 and the more decisively 34-39 after a 7- 0 burst. However, by half time the Wolves had regained control to go in at the interval 54-49 up.
The third quarter was a tight affair as neither side could break clear of the other. Heading into the final stanza the score was locked at 77-77.
It was to be Worcester's night though as they gradually eased clear of Capital with player/coach Skouson Harker's free throws sealing the win.
Team Birmingham Panthers 76 (20,35,63) (Rivers 25, Sandell 16, L Williams 10, A Williams 10)
Everton Tigers 94 (28,44,69) (Robertson 31, Aliou 18, Davis 12, Simpson 12)
Everton Tigers moved level on points with Team Birmingham Panthers after a 76-94 win in the West Midlands.
Tigers controlled the match for long periods and led 28-20 and 44-35 at the end of the first two quarters thanks to some excellent play at both ends of the court.
However, Panthers, led by Hank Rivers, notched a 21- 6 run around the final break to get back within one at 71-72.
There was to be no happy ending though for the home side as Everton upped the tempo once more through two Tony Robertson three-pointers to end the match on a 22-5 burst of their own.
Top two Newcastle Eagles and Marshall MK Lions both won to maintain their positions in the table.
Eagles saw off Worcester Wolves 92-73 thanks to a strong first quarter performance and Lions used a dominating second period display to see off Team Birmingham Panthers 102-71.
In the night's other match, Scottish Rocks kept up their recent good form with a 77-99 road win at Everton Tigers.
Marshall MK Lions
102 (20,43,71) (New 22, Y Williams 17, Heizer 17)
Team Birmingham Panthers 71 (15,31,53) (L Williams 18, Rivers 15, Popoola 12)
Marshall MK Lions kept up their recent run of form to make it five wins in a row with a 102-71 home result against Team Birmingham Panthers.
The Lions have strengthened their grip on second place in the table while Panthers missed out on the chance to climb into a play-off position.
An early 11-3 run by Lions helped the home side to 20- 15 first quarter lead but it was in the second period when the match was won. A run of 11-0 turned a 25- 20 lead into a 36-20 one and there was no way back for Panthers after that.
Further bursts of 10-0 in the third and 12-0 to start the final stanza by the Lions prevented the Panthers from gaining any momentum at all.
Michael New led the way for Lions with 22, while LaTaryl Williams hit 18 for Panthers.
Newcastle Eagles 92
(30,49,73) (Babalola 18, Stewart 14, Smith 13)
Worcester Wolves 73 (14,37,51) (Harker 15, Paez 14, Life 7)
Newcastle Eagles made it nine wins in a row as they easily saw off Worcester Wolves in a top versus bottom clash in the north east.
The Eagles set the pace from the start as runs of 11-0 and 8-0 contributed to a 30-14 lead after ten minutes. Two more 8-0 bursts ensured the home side was well in control by half time (49-37).
There was more of the same after the interval as Olu Babalola and Lynard Stewart shared eight-points in an 8-0 tear to lead their team to a 73-51 advantage heading into the final stanza. Worcester couldn't get close after that and remain bottom of the table.
Everton Tigers 77
(23,47,58) (Robinson 14, C Davis 13, Haslem 13)
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 99 (29,51,74) (Clarance 19, S Davis 16, Joseph 15)
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks continued their recovery from a poor start to the season with another win on the road, this time at Everton Tigers.
Rocks have now completed a three-game road trip with a 100 percent record to keep themselves well in the hunt for the title.
At Everton a tight match, which Rocks had shaded 23- 29 and 47-51 after the first two quarters, was blown apart in the third. The visitors took the stanza 11-23 to open up a 16-point lead (58-74).
Tigers tried to get back into the match but a Rob Yanders three with 2.25 left pushed the score out to 72-91 and there was no way back. Bilal Clarance led all scorers for Rocks with 19-points
Marshall MK Lions took advantage of the top two having no matches by winning both their games to move into second in the BBL.
On Friday they saw off Everton Tigers 94-90 and then on Sunday they travelling to Big Storage Cheshire Jets and came away with a 75-87 victory to take their unbeaten streak to four matches.
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks are a big mover too after two road wins brought them right back into contention.
On Friday night they fought back against Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders to win 77-79 and on Sunday evening they used a 10-0 burst over the half time break to go clear of Team Birmingham Panthers en route to a 69-95 victory.
It was a mixed week for BBL new boys Panthers because Saturday night they overcame bottom placed Worcester Wolves 85-87 in overtime at Worcester University. Dan Sandell scored the crucial free throws to secure the win.
The result meant it was double disappointment for Worcester. On Friday they travelled to Sheffield but left the Steel City with nothing. Sharks forward Randy George played his best match of the season to lead his team to a 92-86 win.
Sheffield couldn't follow up with a win on Saturday night though as London Capital got the better of them for the second time this season. Sam Bradley scored 40 as Capital came through 97-78.
The week's matches began on Wednesday with the Riders' visit to the south west to take on Kularoos Plymouth Raiders. It wasn't to be the visitor's night as Raiders won convincingly 99-73 to move into the top four.
Team Birmingham Panthers
69 (19,36,51) (Rivers 16, Paternostro 13, Popoola 10)
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 95 (15,41,63) (Hampton 20, Davis 18, Yanders 15)
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks are back level at .500 after a 69-95 road win at Team Birmingham Panthers.
The Rocks used a 10-0 run over the half time break to take a 36-36 scoreline to 36-46 in their favour. Panthers trimmed the lead to 47-54 midway through the third quarter but a 9-2 run by the Rocks opened up a 14-point lead from which Birmingham couldn’t respond.
Maurice Hampton’s 20-points led the match for Rocks and he was well backed up by his coach Sterling Davis, who scored 18. Hank Rivers’ 16 was Panthers’ team high.
BiG Storage Cheshire Jets 74 (16,32,56) (Myers 29, Obazuaye 21, Otten 12)
Marshall MK Lions 87 (17,40,58) (Williams 31, New 17, Brown 15)
Marshall MK Lions are now second in the BBL after a hard fought 74-87 win at Big Storage Cheshire Jets.
The victory is Lions’ fourth in a row and completed an excellent weekend’s work, which began with a home win against Everton Tigers on Friday.
Cheshire made Lions work for the points though as they got back within two (56-58) at the start of the final quarter after trailing back eight (32-40) at half time.
However, Dru Spinks scored all his 10-points during the final stanza and the Lions kept their cool from the free thrown line to finish the match on 8-2 tear to seal the win.
Yorick Williams led all scorers with 31-points, while Jets’ Shawn Myers hit 29 for the home team.
Sam Bradley scored an impressive 40 personal points as London Capital upset the formbook to beat the Sheffield Sharks 97-78.
Birmingham Panthers hold bragging rights in the West Midlands after a tense 87-85 overtime victory over the Worcester Wolves.
Elsewhere on Saturday the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks came from behind to beat the Jelson Home DMU Leicester Riders 79-77 - the Riders second defeat of the week.
Jelson Homes DMU
Leicester Riders 77 (22,40,67) (Greathouse 16, McKnight 15, Woodyard 14)
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 79 (30,46,60) (Yanders 23, Hampton 18, Davis 16)
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks took a share of 6th spot in the BBL Championship table with a come-from-behind 79-77 victory over the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.
The Rocks led for most of the first half before a strong third quarter from the Riders gave them a 7 point advantage heading in to the final quarter at 67-60. The Riders looked on course for a comfortable win at 73-64 midway through the quarter before the Rocks rattled off 9 points without reply to tie the game.
After single free throws from Joel Burns and Kyle Greathouse the Riders had the initiative back at 77-75 with 68s remaining. Maurice Hampton levelled the game for the Rocks with 26s remaining and after a Greathouse turnover Hampton's single free throw left Rocks 78-77 in front with 17s remaining.
Riders fouled to stop the clock and Rob Yanders scored 1/2 from the line to make 79-77 with 15s left. Riders had two chances to win the game, but three point attempts from Mindas Janiska and Rod Wellington missed in the closing stages.
PAWS London Capital 97 (30,48,72) (Bradley 40, Miller 21, Gariba 8)
Sheffield Sharks 78 (19,35,59) (Chaney 18, McKeithan 16, Graham 13)
PAWS London Capital notched up their second win of the season over the Sheffield Sharks with a comfortable 97-78 win in London on Saturday evening.
Capital were paced by shooting guard Sam Bradley who poured in a game high 40 points. Capital recorded an early 22-4 burst to lead 24-6 and kept the visitors at arms length throughout the remainder of the game.
Sharks threatened a comeback in the third quarter with a 14-2 burst moving them back to within 11 at 64-53 but they could not get any closer.
Worcester Wolves 85 (19,46,64) (Life 29, Paez 21, Evans 10)
Birmingham Panthers 87 (15,30,60) (Paternostro/Walls 18, Sandell 17)
Birmingham Panthers continued their improved run of form with a thrilling 87-85 overtime road win over the Worcester Wolves on Saturday night.
Unanswered second quarter bursts of 7-0 and 9-0 from the Wolves put daylight between the two sides at the half time interval with the home side leading 46-30. The Panthers fought back in the third stanza and after rattling off a 13-0 burst had trimmed the lead to just a single bucket at 62-60 with seconds remaining in the quarter.
Once in to the final period the teams traded baskets, a three pointer from Wolves James Life levelling the scores at 75-75 with 27s remaining. During an enthralling final 27s both teams had opportunities to win the game but neither could convert their chance.
Panthers opened up the extra period with a 6-2 burst to take control of the game but some accurate long range shooting from Chuck Evans pegged back the visitors. Evans' second three pointer of the overtime period tied the game at 85-85 with 7s remaining but Wolves' Douaine Anderson fouled Dan Sandell from the inbound and Sandell calmly slotted the 2 free throws to secure the win.
Sheffield Sharks kept up the pressure on the Newcastle Eagles at the top of the BBL Championship table thanks to a hard-fought 92-86 victory over the Worcester Wolves at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday evening. Randy George put in a massive performance for the Sharks, netting 28 points, and pulling down 23 rebounds in the victory.
The Marshall MK Lions came from behind to defeat the Everton Tigers 94-90 at the Bletchley Leisure Centre on Friday evening.
Marshall MK Lions
94 (24,51,78) (Brown/Williams 24, New 19)
Everton Tigers 90 (27,56,66) (Simpson 25, Robertson 24, Herriman 14)
The Lions jumped out to an early 12-6 lead in the opening minutes of the game, but the Tigers clawed their way back into it, and an 8-2 run to start the second period saw the visitors leap out to a 26-35 lead, but back-to-back three-pointers from Yorrick Williams and Terrell Brown to close out the first half saw the Lions only trailing by five points at 51-56.
The second half saw the home side step up their intensity at both ends of the floor, restricting the Tigers to just ten points in the quarter, and a 14-3 tear from the Lions to close out the quarter broke the game open giving the home side a 78-66 lead going into the final stanza.
In the final quarter, the Lions maintained their advantage, but the Tigers attempted to claw their way back into the game, and an 8-0 burst got the scores back to 89-84, but Peter Heizer and Michael New made sure that the Lions held on for the all-important victory.
A combination of Brown and Williams led the scoring for the Lions with 24
points a-piece, while John Simpson led all scorers in the game with 25 points
for the Tigers.
Sheffield Sharks 92 (25,43,64) (Graham 31, George 28, Virgil 13)
Worcester Wolves 86 (23,38,63) (Paez 27, Life 26, Gayle 12)
Sheffield Sharks maintained their pursuit of the Newcastle Eagles at the summit of the BBL Championship table with a hard-fought 92-86 victory over the Worcester Wolves at the EIS, Sheffield on Friday evening.
The Sharks jumped out to an early lead, but the Wolves came back into it, as the opening quarter ended with the Sharks leading by two points at 25-23. The second quarter saw the Wolves take an early 30-31 lead before the Sharks hit back with a 9-2 tear to lead 39-33, and maintain that lead at 43-38 going in at the half.
The second half saw the Sharks take a 60-51 midway through the third period, but the Wolves hit a 12-2 tear to lead 62-63, but a Randy George two gave the Sharks a 64-63 lead going into the final stanza.
The final quarter saw the Sharks open with a 7-0 burst to lead 71-63. A further 5-0 tear midway through the period took the score out to 78-69. The Wolves valiantly fought back, and a 5-0 burst of their own bought them to within a single point at 84-83 with less than two minutes remaining, but George and the Sharks were able to hold off the fightback and secure the all-important victory.
Justice Graham led all scorers in the game with 31 points for the Sharks, ably assisted by George who netted 28 points, and pulled down a huge tally of 23 rebounds. Antony Paez led the Wolves scoring with 27 points personal.
Kularoos Plymouth
Raiders
99 (23,43,68) (Durham 29, Noel 18, Lasker 14)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 73 (17,31,52) (McKnight 20, Wellington 13,
Woodyard 10)
The Kularoos Plymouth Raiders halted a run of three consecutive defeats, and moved up to third in the BBL Championship table, as they beat the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 99-73 at the Plymouth Pavilions.
Terrence Durham silenced his recent critics with a massive 29 points, and James Noel added 18 as the big men did most of the damage for the Raiders. Chad McKnight led the Riders with 20 points, whilst former Raider Rod Wellington contributed 13.
The teams were evenly matched in the opening exchanges, with the home side edging the first quarter by 23-17 after a 9-3 burst broke the deadlock between the fourth and seventh minutes.
The Raiders made a strong move early in the second stanza as a 12-2 surge - including 5 points from Durham, 4 from Anthony Martin, and 3 from Gaylon Moore - gave them a 35-19 lead and from that point the Riders could not get the deficit back down to single digits. They responded immediately with a 5-0 burst, and then scored 4 late points in the first half to stay in touch at 43-31 going into the break.
The teams traded runs to open the third quarter, Raiders went 7-3 before Leicester responded 7-2 for a score of 52-41, and shortly afterwards the visitors were as close as they would get at 58-48. From there Plymouth scored 5 in a row as the teams went into the decisive stanza at 68-52.
The hosts opened the fourth with back-to-back scores and continued to push from there. The lead peaked at 97-70 after an 8-1 tear with one minute to go.
The Newcastle Eagles remained top of the league, and two of the top four sides suffered defeats, on Friday night in the BBL Championship.
The Eagles beat the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders for the second time this season, 87-79, to remain unbeaten since the opening night of the season.
Meanwhile, the Team Birmingham Panthers upset the Sheffield Sharks at the English Institute of Sport as they came away with a 76-85 victory behind another big game from Daniel Sandell, in which he scored 21 points.
The Everton Tigers also took another step closer to the playoff places as they won 100-84 at the Greenbank Academy against the visiting Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, with David Aliu netting 27 against his former club.
Everton Tigers
100 (16,47,74) (Aliu 27, Davis 16, Robertson 14)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 84 (26,37,61) (McKnight 23, Jordan 16,
Woodyard 14)
The Everton Tigers won their second BBL Championship game of the season as they overcame the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 100-84 at the Greenbank Academy.
The Tigers' win was inspired by former Rider David Aliu as he led all scorers with 27 points; Calvin Davis had 16 and Tony Robertson added 14 points for the Tigers. Leicester's resistance was led by 23 points from Chad McKnight.
The visitors started the game the quicker and led after the first ten minutes by 16-26. However, Everton took control of the game in the second stanza as they netted a huge 31 points, and restricted the Riders to just 11, to gain a 47-37 edge going in at the break.
The Riders couldn't narrow the gap until the final quarter but the Tigers posted a 16-6 surge late on, capitalising on Leicester turnovers, to run out 100-84 victors.
It was Everton's second consecutive home win and moves them to the verge of the playoff places, just one win behind the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks.
Newcastle Eagles
87 (32,48,65) (Midgley 21, Smith 20, Stewart 15)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 79 (20,41,620) (Beasley 27, Lasker 21, Bishop 16)
The Newcastle Eagles recorded their eighth consecutive win to maintain their position at the top of the BBL Championship table as they beat the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 87-79 at the MetroRadio Arena.
Richard Midgley led the scoring with 21 points and Charles Smith returned to form with 20 points. The Raiders, who were condemned to their second consecutive defeat, were led by DeAntoine Beasley's 27 points.
The home side stamped their authority on the game early on as a 10-0 run gave them an early 17-7 lead. Midgley scored two three-pointers in that run and had 11 points in the quarter as the Eagles led 32-20.
They would not relinquish that lead despite a commendable fightback from the Raiders. That started as Beasley hit 5 points and Brody Bishop netted a triple as part of 9 consecutive points for the Raiders that brought the deficit back to 29-34 in the second quarter. However, the Eagles stood firm going into the half with the last 6 points to lead 48-41.
The visitors opened the third stanza with an 8-2 push that narrowed the gap to 49-50, but the Eagles quickly scored the next 6 points to quash the revival.
Once the Raiders scored the opening basket of the fourth quarter, the lead was just one point again at 65-64. However, the hosts settled the game as Midgley hit a big three and Olu Babalola collected a rebound and put-back that sparked a 10-0 surge for a 75-64 lead. After a Brody Bishop triple and four-free throws, the Raiders got close again at 80-75, but the Eagles saw the game out from the foul line.
Sheffield Sharks
76 (23,42,55) (Parillon 17, Chaney 15, Graham 14)
Team Birmingham Panthers 85 (23,48,69) (Sandell 21, Rivers 13, Paternostro 11)
The Team Birmingham Panthers scored their biggest win yet in the BBL, and their second consecutive league victory, in beating the Sheffield Sharks 76-85 at the English Institute of Sport. The Sharks slipped off the pace at the top of the BBL Championship table after their second home defeat in a row.
Daniel Sandell led the victors with 21 points, supported by Hank Rivers who had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Steve Parillon led the Sharks with 17, and Shelby Chaney had a double-double of his own with 15 points and 13 boards.
The teams could barely be separated in the early exchanges as the Panthers held the lead at 15-18, before 4 points from Sheffield relieved them of it. The Sharks stayed in front until a three-pointer with the last play of the first stanza knotted the teams at 23.
After the visiting side added the first 4 points of the second, the Sharks went 15-5 behind 9 points from Justice Graham to lead 38-32. However, former Sheffield player Lekan Popoola was instrumental as he scored 4 points to spark a 14-0 response from Birmingham that saw them snatch the lead back at 38-46; Sandell also added 5 points in that spell.
In the third the Sharks narrowed the gap to 48-52 before the Panthers made a 17-4 surge, with Sandell getting the last 6 of those. The Sharks kept in touch as a Steve Parillon triple on the buzzer made it 55-69 going into the decisive period.
Once in the fourth, the Sharks still found themselves down at 59-72 but astonishingly they turned the game on its head as Randy George scored 4 points and a Raymond McKeithan tip-in concluded a 15-2 push that saw them re-gain the lead at 74-73 with 2:54 remaining. However, perhaps characteristic of this game, the Panthers responded immediately as the irrepressible Sandell scored 4 points in a 10-0 reply that settled the game and made the score 74-83.