Riders overcome short-handed Raiders, win thriller 83-80
BBL League Championship
Saturday 10th November
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 83 – 80 UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders
Starting fives:
Riders: Taylor, Couisnard Sullivan, Losonsky, Lamble
Raiders: Barnett, Potter, Bell, Schneck, O’Reilly
The John Sandford Sports Centre witnessed one of the games of the season as the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders struggled to break down the six men of Plymouth Raiders, who were missing Ojo (suspension) and Rowe (injury) only doing so in the closing minutes before holding on for a narrow 83-80 victory.
The visiting UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders took control of the game early on, pushing the lead to as many as 14 behind stifling zone defence and some dead-eye shooting from back court duo, Jeremy Bell (25 points) and Drew Lasker (18 points).
A trio of threes from role player, Yorick Williams (12 points in 12 minutes), kept the game close but it was only when former Rider, Liam Potter (four blocks), was fouled out after he was awarded his fifth and final foul of the night with the game tied at 73-73 and only 2:32 to go in the game, that the momentum swung in favour of the Riders.
Without the Raiders centre clogging up the paint, the Riders had a little more room to manoeuvre inside. A string of hard drives to the basket resulted in the Riders Drew Sullivan, who had been a warrior all game, being sent to the line where he kept his cool to sink four clutch free throws.
As Bell and Barnett missed game tying buzzer beater attempts for Coach Love’s side, the JSSC breathed a sigh of relief as the Riders moved back to the top of the table and extended their league game winning streak to eight.
Post game quotes:
Riders Drew Sullivan:
On grinding out a tough win – “We’re in it for the long haul. We’re not here just to win one or two games. We’re out here all season working hard.”
On the heavy hits he took all game – “I’ve been lucky enough to play in good leagues, so I’ve been hit hard throughout my career. I know how to play through it.”
Raiders Liam Potter:
On the performance of his team – “We came together as a unit as we only had six guys. Everyone played their hearts out. I think I got screwed on a couple of calls. Credit to Leicester, they were down ten and came back and won it.”
Riders Yorick Williams:
On what was said at half-time in the locker room – “I talked to the guys at half-time.. I said ‘It’s our house and we need to dominate our house’.
On the leadership on the Riders – “With all four of us – Sullivan, Lamble, myself, Calvo – one of us can talk and all of us will listen. We respect each other like that. It’s a great environment to be in.”
Riders Head Coach Rob Paternostro:
On the first half – “We really struggled in the first half. I thought the guys followed the game plan on both ends with where we wanted to go, what we wanted to do, just turnovers killed us.
More on the first half – “I thought a little bit in the first half, we shied away from the contact and you’re not going to get the calls that way.”
On key plays/players in the game – “Yorick Williams making a couple of shots, a couple of plays ignited this place. Calvo defensively was incredible. But it always comes back to Sullivan – he keeps us together. No matter what the score is, no matter what the situation is, his leadership and his ability to make the right reads on both ends of the floor is what ties this all together.”
Game MVP:
Jeremy Bell scored 25 points on 55% shooting but he would have had more if extra points were awarded for degree of difficulty with the shot. Bell shot 55% from the field on an endless array of fall back jumpers and twisting drives. Unlucky to be on the losing side in Leicester.
Play of the Game:
Special mention goes to the smiling Spaniard, Jorge Calvo, for his efforts on the defensive efforts – charges and steals – but bench player, Yorick Williams, helped erase the Raiders lead with a big three point play in the fourth quarter: He converted on a strong play inside, was fouled and made the resulting free throw to give the Riders a lead.
Next up:
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders @ Surrey Heat, Sunday 11th November, Surrey Sports Park, 3:00PM
UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders @ Durham Wildcats, Sunday 11th November, Newton Aycliffe LC, 4:00PM
