Jets beaten by in-form Riders

Cheshire Jets’ foray in the BBL Cup was short lived at home in the quarter final stage to Leicester Riders.

Coming in off the back of a strong performance last weekend beating Glasgow Rocks, the BBL Cup was seen as a strong possibility for Cheshire to claim a piece of silverware.

Leicester, having reached this point of the competition by seeing off rivals MK Lions, have also shown their potential to be a dominant force in this year’s campaign.

The Jets took the lead at the start, with Matt Schneck’s slam dunk signaling his intent for the evening, followed up by Colin O’Reilly’s first points of the night. Great Britain captain Andrew Sullivan posted a big three in response to begin Riders’ charge. As points were traded, the visitors made their shots stick and Ayron Hardy helped stretch their lead to seven points (14-21), before a 10-3 rally by the Jets, including a late three-pointer from Keith Page, brought the sides level finishing out the quarter 24-24.

Following up in the second period, the home side did their best to keep Leicester in touch. Cheshire responded to everything Riders were throwing at them; however tough defence alone was not going to win them the game. Halfway through the second period, the game was still in the balance at 34-35 in favour of Leicester, but momentum soon shifted towards the East Midlands side as the continued pressure they were putting on the Jets began to show.

Baskets rained in on Cheshire, and coach John Lavery probably could not wait for half-time to regroup his players after being subjected to a 14-4 riot. However, to make matters worse, Tom Sherlock’s buzzer beater meant Cheshire were staring at a 14 point deficit and an extremely difficult task ahead to remain in the competition.

The third quarter was to pile more misery on for the home fans, who after having seen a much-improved side last week were once again witnessing a dissection at the hands of Leicester Riders. Hardy and Brad Wierzbicki were instrumental in helping further the lead to a massive 22 points (45-67) midway through the quarter, as everything Cheshire seemed to shoot just would not drop, particularly for Matt Schneck, having a nightmare evening from the free throw line once again.

A late spell from the Jets was in need to keep any faint hopes alive in the game, and that was just what they thought they had found with Phil Brandreth, stepping into the Jets’ sixth man role due to Shawn Myers still out injured, scoring, alongside two big three’s from Bill Cole and O’Reilly. Riders were able to hit back and ended the quarter 57-73.

For Cheshire, it was more about damage limitation in the final ten minutes, and Leicester only slightly took their foot off the gas. Adam Brown initially helped the Jets close in to 61-76, but it was all in vain as Leicester took, as they had done for most of the evening, complete advantage of the turnovers racked up by the home side. Leicester head coach, Rob Paternostro was never in need of a time out, and in doing so helped the game come to a quick end for Cheshire, 74-95.

Losing by the same margin (21 points) to the same team only a few weeks previously, some may have felt it was déjà vu for Cheshire, however handling errors, as seen by the number of turnovers, together with the small squad playing against a very strong, in-form, experienced, and large squad (from that description I may as just as well say I think Riders are a top three side this year, no question), it was going to be a rough night for Cheshire.

Reflecting on the game, Coach Lavery felt it was a mixed bag as to why his side lost: “A lot of it is bad decision making and fatigue. Things were pretty tight in the first quarter, we made some bad mistakes in the second quarter, and in the third quarter it absolutely killed us with turn overs. We just need a bit more composure and take care of the basketball.”

Having now lost heavily twice to Leicester, asked are they the side that the Jets will come unstuck against again this season, he said: “I wouldn’t say they are a bogey team, they are a very good team and will be up there this year without a shadow of a doubt if they keep all of their guys fit and fresh.

“They are going ten deep, and the guys that come on for them are doing a really, really, good job for them.”

The problem for many looking in on the team is the size of it, and whether they can cope with the workload, but Lavery has nothing but praise saying: “I can’t fault their effort, it’s really tough out there, most of them are going forty minutes a game, so what they are putting out on the floor I can’t ask them for anymore, both in their effort and commitment. We missed a couple of lay-ups and a fee easy shots, but we just need to get those little things right.

“On the basketball court you never know what’s happening in front of you, you have to make that decision in a split second, sometimes it’s the right decision, sometimes it’s the wrong decision, and unfortunately tonight we made a few wrong decisions.”

Cheshire Jets: 24, 38, 57, 74 – Brown (24), Cole (16), Schneck (16).
Leciester Riders: 24, 52, 73, 95 – Rundles (24), Sullivan (19), Hardy (15).