Riders blow out Sharks 75-45 and move on to BBL Cup Final

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 75 (165) – 45 (115) One Health Sheffield Sharks

Saturday 8th December

BBL Cup semi-final

Starting Five:

Riders: Sullivan, Rowe, Taylor, Couisnard, Losonsky

Sharks: Williams, Holmes, Babilola, Jemison, Tuck

For the boxscore, click here

The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders booked their place in the BBL Cup Final with a comprehensive 75-45 win over the One Health Sheffield Sharks at the John Sandford Sports Centre on Saturday night, 165-115 on aggregate.

The visiting Sheffield Sharks were already on the back foot as they entered Saturday nights second leg, facing the tough task of overturning a 20 point deficit first leg deficit and a Leicester Riders team who entered the game with a 14-1 record in all competitions.

Despite those obstacles, it was the visitors who started the brighter of the two teams as they edged out a nervous looking Leicester Riders team early on to take an 8-4 lead.

A late first quarter coaching decision by Rob Paternostro changed the momentum of the fixture as the Riders moved from playing man-to-man defence to a 2-3 zone which smothered the Sharks inside and left them scratching their collective head as they failed to figure out how best to attack their opponents.

That change by the Riders prompted a plus-five minute stretch at the end of the first quarter and into the second, where the home side held the visitors to only three points as the Sharks struggled to take care of the ball, committing four turnovers in successive plays and prompting Coach Lyons to call time out to regroup his troops.

Despite a more aggressive approach from the visitors following the break in play, the Riders further extended their lead, pushing it out to 35-25 at half-time.

Into the second half, continued pressure from the Riders all but sealed the deal for the league leaders, as they played out the final period in comfort having amassed a comfortable 18 point lead by the end of the third period, eventually finishing the game 75-45 victors and setting themselves up for a tie against the Newcastle Eagles in the final.

The beautiful simplicity of the 2-3 zone:

The simple defensive switch in the first quarter by the Leicester Riders left the Sheffield Sharks floundering on offence as Coach Lyons’ men couldn’t find the angles to the basket that they had done earlier in the game. The Riders long wing defenders were able to funnel most Sheffield attacks into the middle where Anthony Rowe was situated and where the offense was quickly snuffed out. The Sharks weren’t helped in their attempts at breaking down the league leaders, as they struggled to establish a high-post presence. The high post is crucial at pulling defenders out of position and opening up lanes for wing men to cut to the basket for easy scores.
In the end, the weight of the Sharks offense fell at the three point line but that was ineffective as the visitors hit only 3 of 25 from deep (12%) which was far below their 31.8% shooting for the season.

Game MVP:

Joint winners – The Riders’ Andrew Sullivan and Jorge Calvo

Next up:

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders at UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders, 16/12/12, Plymouth Pavilions, 4:00pm
One Health Sheffield Sharks vs Glasgow Rocks, 14/12/12, EIS Sheffield, 7:30pm