Raiders made to work for win by Lions
UCP Marjon Raiders claimed victory in their season opener against the Milton Keynes Lions, it certainly wasn’t the most convincing of performances but enough was done by the boys in green to avoid opening night disappointment.
The eventual 16 point margin suggests a relatively controlled performance from the Plymouth side, whereas in fact the score line doesn’t do justice to the spirited performance given by a Lions team who regularly had the Raiders on the ropes with their resilient and persistent nature at both ends of the floor.
Time and time again The Lions refused to accept defeat and despite facing a 13 point half time deficit, they managed to take the lead midway the third. It was Bolds who was pulling the strings for the Lions as he proved to be more than just an explosive scorer, handing out a game high 10 assists to go along with his hard fought 16 points.
Instrumental in their comeback, Bolds repeatedly weaved his way through the Raiders defence and threaded passes wherever he could find a gap to the waiting Crawford and Northern for easy scores.
Although sloppy and undisciplined at times, when the Raiders needed a score they found one. Bell and Colbert both enjoyed stellar individual performances as they chose their moments to pick apart the Lions defence and re-establish their teams dominance on the game.
Michael Ojo was left to cause havoc on the three point line as the Lions failed to close out on the deadly shooter. He was left unguarded against a Lions defence that struggled to rotate against the excellent Raiders ball movement.
The Raiders showed flashes of brilliance, followed by periods of complacency where perhaps a stronger opposition would have inflicted heavy punishment on the lapses of concentration.
Nonetheless, a job was done and a win was gained, and although there is still a lot more work to be done for the team to reach the levels expected by coach Love, the fact remains that the Raiders are developing a winning habit that could prove difficult to break.
