Capital punishment as Riders suffer first loss in the league
UNLUCKY 13 AS WASTEFUL LEAGUE LEADERS SLIP TO LIONS DEFEAT
LEICESTER Riders suffered their first defeat in the BBL Championship this season, edged out by the London Lions 79-77 in a pulsating match at the Copper Box yesterday afternoon.
The defeat proved to be unlucky 13 for Riders, who had cruised to their 12th league win of the season on Friday night against Manchester Giants.
One negative from Friday night saw Mo Walker suffer a hand injury which ruled him out yesterday, while Riders also lost Marc Loving for much of the third quarter due to a cut from a Lions stray elbow.
Despite this, Riders battled away and had a number of open looks for three-pointers late in the game to take the victory, but were uncharacteristically profligate, shooting just 33 per cent from beyond the arc, and the Lions kept their own title hopes alive with the win.
Early on, Patrick Whelan, who finds the Copper Box a happy hunting ground, hit a three to get Riders going.
Loving followed up with another and Darien Nelson-Henry was finding room inside to give Riders a 10-6 lead midway through the first quarter.
Former Rider Josh Ward-Hibbert, who has been injured much of the last two years, came on for London and turned the tide, hitting a three, dropping a big dunk, and playing hustle defence.
Geno Crandall kept the Riders offence moving with a couple of assists, but after the first period the Lions edged it 22-21.
Riders started the stronger in the second period, as they tightened their defence and six points in a row forced London to a time-out, trailing
29-24.
Riders sensed the opportunity and grabbed the initiative and another Whelan three pointer followed up by a three-point play by Loving and then a huge three by Crandall forced London to another timeout, trailing
42-31.
Riders maintained a double-digit advantage until late in the first half, when American guard Isaiah Reece made a couple of big plays in succession to close the Riders advantage to 48-43 at the break.
London came out strongly in the third period with Reece again to the fore. They quickly tied the scores on 52 and a Reece three-pointer forced head coach Rob Paternostro to a timeout, trailing 55-52.
Nelson-Henry then picked up his fourth foul and exited the game, closely followed by an injured Loving.
A three-pointer by Lorenzo Cugini pushed the London lead out to 61-55 but Riders kept plugging away. A Crandall three at the end of the period cut the Lions lead to 65-62 with a quarter left.
Lions shooting guard Dirk Williams opened the final period with a three and Reece hit a couple of scores and Riders were under the cosh. But Zach Jackson hit a big three and then a twenty-foot jumper and Riders were right back in it, trailing 74-71 with just over two minutes left.
But Riders then missed four good opportunities to close the gap and Reece took advantage to see the Lions home, in spite of a late Loving three.
Whelan top scored for Riders with 20 points, including four of nine three-pointers, and added six rebounds and one assist.
Crandall scored 15 points, including two three-pointers, and he also contributed six assists and four rebounds.
Nelson-Henry was a solid presence, covering for Walker with 14 points and five rebounds, although fouls limited him to just 21 minutes.
For once, Riders’ depleted ranks meant their bench was outscored 16-7, and London dominated second chance points 16-3.
The defeat in the capital followed success in front of the Sky TV cameras and a full house at the Morningside Arena, when they dominated Manchester Giants 86-69.
The game was won in the second quarter, when Riders held the shellshocked Giants to just four points while scoring 26 to give themselves a 49-28 halftime lead and Manchester with little way back.
In the past 13 seasons, a BBL team has been held to four points or less in a quarter just 19 times, and this is the sixth time a Paternostro Riders team has done so.
Riders dominated in spite of the early hand injury to Mo Walker, who was limited to just five minutes of play, while Crandall was held back with one eye on the London Lions clash.
Leicester captain Darien NelsonHenry stepped up to score 23 points on 67 per cent shooting and added six rebounds and one assist in a typically efficient display.
Crandall was mesmerising in his limited minutes, with 10 points and 11 assists, while Patrick Whelan contributed 17 points, including two three-pointers and added five rebounds and four assists. Riders outscored the Giants in fast break points 17-8.