Riders don’t quite have enough as they lose out to Lions in dead-rubber
UNDER-STRENGTH SIDE MISS OUT ON TOPPING GROUP, BUT WERE THROUGH ANYWAY
UNDER-STRENGTH Leicester Riders suffered their first loss since the opening night of the season when mighty London Lions won 97-83 at the Morningside Arena in the final game of BBL Cup qualifying.
The result means Riders finish second in the South group with a sixand-two record and will play Cheshire Phoenix in the quarter-finals at home next Saturday night.
Meanwhile, London finish top and will play fourth place Sheffield Sharks from the North Group in the last eight.
Despite the match being at best non-critical, with both teams certain of a home quarter-final, both started with their top players on court.
Riders were without Marc Loving and Darien Nelson-Henry through injury, and the Lions also rested their dynamic shooting guard Dirk Williams but were boosted by the return of former BBL MVP point guard Justin Robinson.
There was still plenty of firepower on both teams, and they showed that from the start.
A driving lay-up by Patrick Whelan was countered by an early threepointer from Robinson, and Geno Crandall made two quick threepointers in a row, to tie the scores on 10 points with four minutes gone.
The teams were trading punches with the outside shooting excellent and a three-pointer by Conner Washington was followed up by a lay-up by ex-Rider Chris Tawiah and at the end of the first quarter the Lions edged it 28-25 in a high quality ten minutes.
The second quarter started in similar vein, but Riders then lost their way and nine points in a row, with five consecutively from Julian Washburn, gave Lions a 42-30 lead, forcing Riders head coach Rob Paternostro to a timeout.
London’s 7ft centre Kylor Kelley was starting to impose himself on the game, blocking a pair of Riders shots and slamming down two thunderous dunks as Riders started to wilt under the pressure as the Lions lead grew to 16 points.
But a pair of late threes from Washington pulled Riders back, to trail 59-47 at the break.
London started the third quarter on fire, running off a 7-0 stretch thanks to another Robinson threepointer, but Zach Jackson replied with one of his own and Riders countered with a 7-0 run, forcing London to a timeout.
That sparked Riders’ best spell of the game as their defensive intensity stepped up and London started to miss some open looks.
Jackson hit another three-pointer in a spell of seven points in the quarter, and Riders reduced the lead to just four points before a London fightback saw them lead 73-66 with one period left.
Riders kept surging at the start of the fourth with two three-pointers by Washington in an eight-point run by the British guard to cut London’s lead to 75-74.
But experienced American point guard Isaiah Reece steadied the ship for London and their extra size and experience saw them home. He and Italian American Lorenzo Cugini hit some big shots to stifle the Riders’ recovery.
Crandall was typically on song, scoring 15 points and dishing out seven assists, while Washington was on fire, top scoring with 20 points, and shooting 63 per cent, which included six of nine three-pointers.
Because of London’s size, Mo Walker was under pressure most of the game but still managed eight points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes’ play.
Riders managed 28 points from turnovers to just 10 for London, but were outrebounded 42-27, and will need Nelson-Henry and Loving back before they can better match the Lions.