Riders on the ‘Up’ as they roar to victory at MK
BBL Championship: Lions vs Riders
Prestige Homes MK Lions 96 (29,56,76) (Bolds 39, Northern 23, Gill 13)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 99 (27,51,73) (Rundles 30, Wierzbicki 24, Hardy 20)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders proved they were still a force to reckoned with on Friday night after a thrilling 96-99 win at the MK Basketball Centre over the Prestige Homes MK Lions. A great second half display from Cameron Rundles and a tenacious Riders side managed to edge out the Lions in the closing stages, putting pressure on the other teams at the top of the table.
Coming into the game, the rivalry between the two teams was as evident as always. The fifth meeting of the season so far, saw sixth place play third and the return of ex-rider Robert Youngblood just added fuel to the fire.
A packet out ‘Lions Den’ was ready for a fiery Friday night showdown – That, is exactly what they got!
Earlier in the game, Riders were first to put points on the board through Ayron Hardy. Yet from tip off, the first quarter was end to end as for much of the opening period both sides traded baskets. The Lions however, looked the more hungry and they opened up an early lead 27-22. Great overall link play, and an impressive alley-oop early on between Demarius Bolds and Daniel Northern gave the home crowd something to shout about. Five points from Cameron Rundles for the Riders and a Robert Youngblood basket against his old side helped MK reach a two-point lead, 29-27 at the end of the first quarter.
The end to end action continued into the second quarter. These two highly athletic sides had certainly picked up the pace. The introduction of Stefan Gill didn’t go unnoticed as his first piece of the action was a huge three-pointer off the rim that took his side into a 9 point lead, 48-39 with three minutes remaining.
The Riders responded through baskets from Hardy, Rundles and Wierzbicki. The tally of six points enabled the visitors to trim the deficit at 48-45. Strong combination play again from Bolds and Northern meant The Lions kept The Riders at bay as they reached half time leading by five, and on the back of a crowd pleasing Daniel Northern slam dunk 56-51.
The Riders came back on to the court with an added spring in their step, chasing and gradually cutting the continued lead the Lions had managed to hold on to. Brett Royster cleverly side stepped Daniel Northern to dunk for two tying the score at 64-64, one of the ten times in the entire match the game was tied. To the delight of the MK crowd this level playing field didn’t last for long as an immediate response from Northern took The Lions into the lead once again. The remainder of the third quarter saw baskets from both sides, yet it was the home team that held on to the advantage opening up a six point lead at 75-69.
Cameron Rundles, who had been unusually quiet throughout the first half suddenly woke up and was the man to pull it back for The Riders with two consecutive baskets, one of which was on the buzzer, in typical Rundles style. The visitors were closing the gap, 75-73 heading into a thrilling final period of the game..
Riders were most certainly on the up as the final quarter began with an obvious increase in pace and tempo from the visitors, resulting in an impressive 9-0 run. The level of speed, agility and overall fitness from the young Riders trio, Rundles, Hardy and Weirzbicki became hard to tame despite the efforts of Demarius Bolds who continued to find the net for MK. Riders led 75-82 with 6 minutes left to play.
It was very almost blood, sweat and tears as the battle between Sullivan and Youngblood illustrated the high levels of tension and rivalry between the sides. This game certainly wasn’t over and a dramatic, nailbiting ending was most definitely on the cards.
Mike New’s Lions led 94-93 as we reached the closing stages, and two from two free-throws from the impeccably cool Demarius Bolds handed them a 96-93 lead with 1:11 remaining on the clock. This was about to be the loudest minute in the MK Basketball Arena’s history as the home side just needed to stay strong in defense to hold on to the win. Cameron Rundles however had other plans as he hit a huge three-pointer tying the game again at 96-96 with 39 seconds left. MK’s leading man Bolds missed the chance to put his side ahead which enabled Rundles to take the rebound, run down the clock and eventually seal the vital victory for The Riders.
With six seconds game time remaining a Rundles three-pointer took the score to 96-99. It was then heartbreak for the home crowd as a late attempt from Robert Youngblood to tie up the game was beaten by the buzzer. “Rider Up..”
Karis Buckingham-Jones is the founder of Girlssporttalk.com – @GirlsSportTalk
