Riders’ victory snatched away by Lions in mad final minute
BBL RECORD ALSO ENDED
LEICESTER Riders saw victory snatched away from them in a mad last minute as they were beaten 74-73 by London Lions in the BBL Championship at the Morningside Arena on Sunday night.
Riders were five points clear at 73-68 with just a minute left in the game as they looked to preserve their unbeaten start in the Championship.
They were looking good for the victory with the Lions struggling to get any penetration on offence.
But then a stray pass by Conner Washington was intercepted by Dirk Williams at mid court for a breakaway dunk, and that was followed by a Lions steal on the subsequent inbounds play to give them another easy lay-up.
When Riders could not score on their possession, the Lions came down and Orlando Parker hit the 12-foot jumper to wrench the game from Riders.
A last second attempt from Corey Johnson to steal back the game for Riders fell short.
The start of the match was delayed by two hours after the Lions were caught up in a traffic accident on the M1.
But both teams shrugged off the
delays, with Corey Johnson opening his account with a three with the first shot of the game, matched by Lions’ GB star Justin Robinson.
When Johnson hit another three it looked like it was going to be a shooting fest, but then the defences started to take over.
The Lions were getting good movement inside from ex-Rider Chris Taiwah, while Riders captain Darien Nelson-Henry was unusually missing his shots close in, where he is normally so reliable.
An Orlando Parker three edged London in front 12-8, but Washington came off the bench to draw a couple of fouls and hit a big three.
With seconds left in the first quarter, Riders worked the ball beautifully to the corner to Jamell Anderson for a three, to tie the game at 19-all after 10 minutes.
The Lions came out on fire in the second period as Kevin Ware and exNBA star DeAndre Liggins combined.
A Liggins three was followed by Dirk Williams making three points from the free throw line, giving London a 35-22 lead and forcing Riders to a time-out with four minutes gone.
That did the trick as Riders went on an 11-0 run with William Lee converting six points and Geno Crandall dazzling with his ball handling.
The Lions were then forced to a time-out and they responded with consecutive threes by Dirk Williams and Jules Dang Akodo to push Lions ahead by 41-33, forcing Riders head coach Rob Paternostro to another time-out.
That again worked the magic and a three point play off an offensive rebound by Crandall, and a scintillating assist by Crandall for a three point play by Ali Fraser, had Riders trailing 44-39 at half-time.
Lions started the sharper in the third period but again Crandall inspired Riders.
He hit a driving lay-up followed by a three, and Riders were back within five points, trailing 57-52.
Crandall then found NelsonHenry inside for an easy basket followed by a William Lee dunk.
With two-and-a-half minutes left in the quarter, Crandall hit another three to leave Raiders trailing by just 62-59, but neither side could muster a score in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the third period.
The defences stayed on top in the fourth quarter but an Anderson three was followed by one from Washington and Riders slowly built a lead.
A Crandall basket halfway through the final period gave Riders their biggest lead of the game, 71-64, with five minutes left, and Riders stayed in front until that final crazy minute when the game got away from them.
William Lee was in stunning form for Riders at both ends of the court, contributing 15 points and 12 rebounds while blocking three Lions shots in 35 minutes of play.
Crandall also put on a masterclass, finishing with 23 points and four assists, including three threepointers.
For once, Riders’ inside play was not up to muster with both Darien Nelson-Henry and Ali Fraser failing to convert a series of shots close to the basket.
But in the end those two uncharacteristic turnovers in open play cost Riders their unbeaten start.