Riders outclass lowly Patriots to remain top and undefeated
LEICESTER IN GOOD FORM AHEAD OF BBL CUP SEMI-FINAL SECOND LEG AGAINST LIONS
LEICESTER Riders maintained their unbeaten start to the BBL Championship with a comfortable 106-60 victory over the Plymouth City Patriots at the Morningside Arena.
The win also extended Riders’ run of consecutive wins over Plymouth to 35 games – a record in the BBL.
After an even start, Riders got on top and never looked back against an outclassed Patriots team still under-strength due to Covid.
Riders were without point guard Conner Washington on paternity leave, but they never looked troubled as they warmed up for their huge BBL Cup semi-final second leg against London Lions tomorrow night.
Riders, coming off the Christmas break, may have been in danger of underestimating the muchimproved Patriots.
But they started as if they meant business with Geno Crandall pulling the strings and hitting an early threepointer.
Ex-Riders star Rashad Hassan made his presence felt for the visitors early on with a couple of trademark moves to the basket.
But Patrick Whelan continued his fine run of form with a pair of driving layups and Riders opened up a 13-6 lead midway through the first quarter.
Another Crandall three-pointer, some fine inside play by captain Darien Nelson-Henry and a threepointer off a broken play by Whelan helped Riders build a 27-15 first quarter lead.
Riders stepped up the defensive intensity in the second quarter, and although Hassan kept battling inside, the outside shooting of the Patriots dried up.
Meanwhile, Zach Jackson hit a purple patch driving inside and scoring at will, while Nelson-Henry continued to confound the Plymouth defence with some excellent moves close to the basket.
Marc Loving hit a three-pointer, got fouled and converted two free throws and then scored a massive dunk, and four points in a row by Crandall had Riders firmly in charge at half-time, leading 56-25.
If the Patriots were going to get back into the game the opening stages of the third quarter were critical.
But Riders are currently in a rich vein of form and their defence is operating at a very high level.
They pounded the ball inside to provide easy pickings for Mo Walker while Whelan continued to keep the Plymouth defence off balance by mixing up three-pointers with slashing drives to the basket.
Loving hit a three-pointer and Whelan matched it, and a driving layup by Kimbal Mackenzie had Riders 76-38 clear with two minutes left in the third quarter.
The Patriots showed some fight in the fourth quarter with GB under20s international Kofi Josephs finally finding his range and Denzel Ubiaro also finding his way to the basket, while Hassan continued to accumulate points and rebounds.
But Plymouth were never going to make serious inroads into a determined Riders defence, and, in the end, the home side coasted to victory.
Nelson-Henry had his best performance of the season, top scoring with 22 points and adding seven rebounds and five assists.
Loving added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while chipping in five assists for good measure.
Whelan’s 17 points included three of four three-pointers, as he shot a stunning 85 per cent overall.
Riders’ eleven three-pointers came at an efficient 50 per cent and, overall, Leicester shot an impressive 57 per cent from the floor to just 37 per cent for Plymouth.
Riders also outrebounded the Patriots 44 to 27 and they collectively dished out 31 assists to just 13 for the visitors. Leicester’s strength in depth also shone through, with 43 points from the bench to just nine for Plymouth.