Rocky Road For Riders as they edge Glasgow

Glasgow Rocks coach Sterling Davis insisted his team could hold their heads high following a 76-72 home defeat to table toppers Leicester on Sunday.

Glasgow led for large parts of the game, but could not make it eight consecutive Championship victories as a Pavol Losonsky led Riders eked out a valuable win.

Davis said: “It was really frustrating. I think the way we are playing just now means we can compete with anyone and we did that, but they just got a few crucial baskets at the end.

“I’m not too down on the team. If we play like that next time, we’ll get them.”

It was a back and forth affair for large parts of the first quarter, but a big three pointer from veteran guard EJ Harrison sparked a 10-2 Rocks run in the final three minutes that gave the men in blue a nine point advantage after the first stanza.

As Canadian big man Andrew Wedemire shot two from the line in the final seconds of the quarter, Riders head coach Rob Paternostro walked towards the media table and spoke of his dissatisfaction in regards to the way in which the game was being officiated. His disdain for the officials was clear throughout as he seemed to question every call that went against his team and had some heated exchanges with the refs following the game.

The home side led by as many as a dozen points as they looked to claim a momentous victory, but the Riders fought back with a 7-0 run before the half to close the gap to 41-36.

The Rocks had the better of the early exchanges of the third quarter as they increased their lead to ten points, but Pavol Losonsky’s basket sparked a 15-4 Riders run. Anthony Rowe gave the league leaders the lead with just two seconds left in the quarter. Although EJ Harrison’s two plus one gave the Rocks a two point lead just 14 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Riders were able to just about keep their noses in front for the rest of the game.

Anthony Rowe, so often the scourge of the Rocks while a member of the Plymouth Raiders, began knocking down crucial baskets and ended up with 18 points despite being largely controlled.

The Rocks pulled within one point when Donald Robinson made a highlight reel play, taking a steal and going coast to coast for the dunk with 3:37 left.

It was something of a foul fest for the remainder of the game, but unfortunately for the Rocks and a vibrant support, it was the Riders who edged it.

While Coach Davis couldn’t hide his disappointment, the Texan, who has averaged 22.5 points in the last two games, said afterwards that he thought his team was “starting to get there.”

“Today was a big test and we competed for the whole game. It’s frustrating, but I’m not disappointed with the guys at all. We’ve started to get that consistency. If we keep it up, we’ll get there.”

Starting Fives

Glasgow – Davis, Robinson, Vanderbeken, Harrison, Murray

Leicester – Couisnard, Sullivan, Taylor, Losonsky, Rowe

Game MVP

Pavol Losonsky

The big man led all scorers with 22 points. Not only did he score the most points, but he made the crucial baskets at the crucial times. Anthony Rowe has historically been a thorn in the side to the Rocks, but it was the Riders other big man who was a class apart on Sunday.

Play of the Game

Donald Robinson – Just as the Riders had a chance to take a five point lead late in the game, the guard pounced on a bad pass and took it coast to coast before showing off for the cameras with a sweet dunk to narrow the gap to one point.