Giants 71 Riders 82: BBL Championship
The Manchester Giants rollercoaster return to the BBL took another dip as the team suffered their seventh defeat of the season at the hands of the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.
Starting Fives
Manchester Giants – Bailey, J. Jones, Aliu, Watts, Eaves
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders – Couisnard, Sullivan, Taylor, Anderson, Losonsky
Point guard Zaire Taylor led the Riders with 23 points and seven assists as they took control of the game towards the end of the first quarter and led the rest of the way. Aided by their slick ball movement and a relentless desire to attack from the inside-out the visitors racked up an impressive 20 assists on their 28 made field-goals.
GB captain Andrew Sullivan logged 17 points, six rebounds and six assists as the Riders bounced back from their defeat to the Surry Heat to make it to the top of the BBL standings with a 9-1 record after 10 games. The Giants will feel that this was another game that could have gone their way if they had not allowed their visitors to open up such a sizeable lead in the early stages.
Paced by 19 points from the ever-reliable David Aliu and 16 off the bench from Stefan Gill the hosts rallied to cut the Riders lead from 16 points to just three with two minutes left to play in the fourth but they were unable to find that final push to get them over the finish line as they lost their fourth game in a row.
Sullivan set the tone for the Riders early on with six points and three assists in the first period as he repeatedly found his team-mates in positions where they could be effective with the ball. He set up Leicester forward Jamell Anderson for a layup to give them a 12-10 lead with three minutes left to play in the opening period. After Taylor rejected the Giants Devan Bailey’s shot attempt Sullivan streaked down court for a layup in transition as they went on an 8-0 scoring run turning defense into instant offense.
The Giants kept within range as Gill and James Jones both knocked-down shots from behind the arc to close the gap to 16-18 with a minute left in the period. But the visitors scored six unanswered points to close out the quarter and take a deserved 24-16 lead at the end of one. It was more of the same in the second as the Giants missed their first two shots and committed two quick turnovers which led to another 8-0 run for the Riders which put them ahead 32-16 with eight minutes left to play in the half.
The Giants kept on attacking the paint and were rewarded by several trips to the free-throw line. They made seven of their 10 attempts in the period as they set about trying to reduce the deficit to single digits before half-time. Anderson made a pair from the stripe to put the visitors up by 15 with 1:35 left to play but Bailey knocked down a couple of free-throws and then Gill went coast-to-coast for a layup to cut the lead to 31-42 at the intermission.
The two sides traded buckets at the start of the third making it difficult for Giants to make any headway into the lead. Bailey began to create some openings for himself off the dribble and managed to get all the way to the basket for a few easy scores. He had 11 points in the period and a brilliant all round game; finishing with eight rebounds and five assists; both team highs. His scoop layup cut the Riders lead to 10 with four minutes left in the quarter before Leicester scored six unanswered to push it back up to 16. Gill popped up with a 3-pointer from the top of the circle and then Bailey added two more baskets from close range to bring the Giants to within 59-50 with one quarter left to play.
The two sides traded buckets to open the 4th quarter before a short runner by David Aliu cut the Riders lead down to seven. Yorick Williams then hit a 3-pointer from the left wing as he was fouled by Giants James Griffiths and went to the free-throw line to try and complete a 4-point play. He missed the ensuing free-throw but Leicester’s Jorge Calvo hauled in the rebound and scored a layup to give the visitors a 66-54 lead with 7:14 left to play in the game. Aliu spun baseline for a layup on the Giants next possession but Pavol Losonsky answered with a layup for the Riders. Aliu then calmly stroked a 3-pointer to bring the deficit back down to single digits at 59-68 with 5:54 left in the contest.
The Giants stepped up their intensity on the defensive end as the Riders missed their next four shots and the home-team scored six unanswered all by Gill. He made a pair of free-throws before James Jones pulled down a long rebound and found Gill streaking to the basket for a fast-break layup. He added another layup following an outlet pass by Aliu to bring the Giants to within three with 3:38 left in the game. The Riders made a great read at the other end as Losonsky found forward Barry Lamble under the basket for an easy two before Gill showed his composure to finish with a short floater in the paint which caused Riders coach Rob Pasternostro to call for a timeout.
Straight out of the time-out Taylor found a crack in the Giants defense and made his way to the basket for the easy deuce to push the Riders lead to five. He added a pair from the line to increase the lead to seven with 1:20 remaining. James Jones scored with a runner off the glass and the Giants Mike Bernard backed his defender down to score a layup and bring it back to a one- possession game. But Jones was called for a foul on Taylor immediately after sent him to the line for two more freebies. He made them both and when Aliu missed a 3-pointer on the Giants next possession the Riders closed out the game from the free-throw line as they made their final six attempts to take home the points.
Play of the Game
Taylor’s head fake and blow-by layup to put his side up by five with 1:50 to play really sucked the air out of the building. After the Giants had gone on an 8-2 run it looked as if they were poised to possibly take their biggest scalp of the season but Taylor’s momentum changing bucket came at the perfect time for the visitors.
Game MVP – Zaire Taylor
Top Scorers:
Manchester Giants – Aliu (19), Gill (16), Bailey (13)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders – Taylor (23), Sullivan (17), Losonsky (13)
Next Up
Manchester Giants – Cheshire Jets, Sunday 18th November, 17:30, Northgate Arena
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders – Mersey Tigers, Saturday 17th November, 19:30, John Sandford Centre
