Olison in hot form as Flyers register stunning win over Riders
BRISTOL Flyers’ unrelenting scoring saw them stretch out to an unassailable lead and take a 108-71 victory over Leicester Riders.
Tevin Olison shone with 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists, as Keddy Johnson added 23, and Brad Greene contributed with another 20-point double-double.
Early on in the game there was little to split between the sides. Flyers went into the first media timeout with a four-point lead, and saw their scoring explode when returning to the floor.
The trio of Olison, Johnson and Levi Bradley combined excellently to help Flyers finish the first with a double-digit lead of 32-20. The hot scoring continued into the second, where Bradley and Olison quickly made it a 15-point game. The second quarter was much more scrappy, seeing more turnovers where Flyers would capitalise.
Olison took his first-half total to 25, thanks to eight-of-nine from the field in the opening two stanzas. Three shots from the line saw Flyers end the half with their biggest ever home scoring half, going into the break 61-36 up.
The third quarter saw Greene come alive as Flyers pushed their advantage beyond 30 points. Leicester threatened with a spell of four straight buckets without response. Flyers hit straight back with three buckets of their own. Greene caught the hot hand and drilled back-to-back mid-range jumpers to tighten the hosts’ grip on the game. Leicester were stunned and stared down a 35-point deficit heading into the fourth.
The third was another 30-plus point quarter for Bristol. Greene added 12 points to his total in the period.
The final quarter started off slow in comparison to the rest of the game. The sides were locked at four-apiece in the opening four minutes.
The pressure was off Flyers, who continued to make plays and took their lead up past 40 points. Flyers reached the century, and Leicester’s Jaren Holmes continued to be their bright scoring spark, finishing with 20 points.
A simply remarkable game ended, with Flyers claiming an unthinkable 108-71 victory over the Riders to head into the All-Star break with momentum.