Leicester Riders cool Cheshire’s Jets to win
If I had to sum up Wednesday nights meeting between the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders and the visiting Cheshire Jets, I’d sum it up by saying: ‘refuse to lose’.
Both sides refused to lose last night, from moments in the first half where the Riders looked as though they were on the ropes – a direct result of having played three games in six days – to the waning seconds of the game when the result was all but confirmed but the Jets continued to push on, looking for a miracle.
To award a winner in this game would be to indicate that the loser of this battle was inferior but during the first half, it was difficult to tell which team wasn’t in the top four with the Jets playing like a team already confirmed for the post season.
In the early going, the Jets set the tempo by playing half-court basketball (the enemy of the Riders preferred up-tempo game) and they had good success with smart interior passing leading to several open looks and an early 11-5 lead. The Riders were only able to get into the flow of the game towards the end of the quarter, when a Bradd Wierzbicki breakaway lay-up took his personal tally to 10 for the quarter and the Riders, to 22. After one, Jets led 24-22.
That Jets lead, would in fact remain intact entering the final period thanks to the sharpshooting of the visitors who were hitting 57% of their fg’s and 64% of their threes, far exceeding their season averages of 49% and 30% respectively.
That hot streak would eventually go cold in the fourth thanks to a switch on the defensive end by the Riders and the balance of probability evening out the Jets previous 7/10 three point shooting. And once the Jets had cooled off, the Riders took the initiative by turning up the tempo to suit their game and grabbing the lead. Once the advantage was obtained, the home side made sure it wasn’t given away, eventually winning 85-78.
Nightly notables:
Andrew Sullivan won the in-game MVP for his 20/10 effort, while both Ayron Hardy and Matt Schneck finished with double-doubles (10 points/11assists and 10 points, 13 rebounds respectively).
Cameron Rundles and Ayron Hardy connected TWICE on big alley-oops to send the JSSC wild.
As previously mentioned, at one stage the Cheshire Jets were 7 of 10 from beyond the arc.
The Riders next game is on the road Sunday against the Mersey Tigers while the Jets can rest up until Friday 13th’s clash against play-off rivals, the Milton Keynes Lions.