Short-handed Rocks fall back to .500 with loss to Riders
The Leicester Riders effectively clinched a top four spot with a convincing 20 point victory over the Glasgow Rocks at the Kelvin Hall on Sunday evening. The win lifts the Riders to 15-6, while the Rocks, who are their closest challengers, fell to 12-12.
It was always going to be a difficult task for the Rocks, who were missing both Mychal Green and E.J. Harrison, and sympathetic Riders coach Rob Paternostro was quick to point out the difference the duo would have made, stating that ‘I think they missed them today and we took advantage of that…if they can get healthy they’ll be a difficult team to play.’
The Rocks had already beaten their Leicester rivals twice this season, but it was always going to be an uphill struggle to win a third time, even taking into account the fact that the Riders had a gruelling match-up against the league leading Newcastle Eagles just two days earlier.
A block by Riders big man Tom Sherlock on the very first shot of the game set the tone of things to come, but it was to the Rocks credit that they never give in. Coach Davis commented after the game, with a somewhat exasperated and downbeat tone, that he was ‘exhausted, both mentally and physically.’
The duo of Riders MVP candidates, Cameron Rundles and Ayron Hardy, controlled the game, combining for 43 points and 16 rebounds, but it was the Riders defence that ultimately won them the two points. Even though the Rocks somewhat surprisingly won the battle of the boards, Leicester were able to limit their second chance points, particularly in the final 15 minutes, that ultimately allowed them to pull away from a determined an spirited Glasgow side.
Glasgow came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders, with Gareth Murray, who had to play a lot of the game at the unfamiliar point guard position, and DeAundrae Cranston hitting early baskets to give the Rocks a 7-5 lead at the midpoint of the first quarter, but a 15-6 run to close out the quarter gave the Riders a lead they would never give up. Hardy hit a dramatic spinning lay-up, while big three pointers from Rundles and the wily veteran Yorick Williams seemed to settle Leicester.
As happened on more than one occasion, the Rocks fought back, but to no avail. An 8-0 run to start the second quarter brought the deficit to just a single point, following back to back threes by Wedemire and Murray, but the Riders followed with a 14-4 run in the final five minutes of the half.
Glasgow seemed to want to slow the game up, milking the shot clock and preserving their energy given the limited options off the bench, with all five starters playing more than 33 minutes, while Leicester coach Paternostro used his substitutes to clinical effect allowing his team to stay fresh and wear down the exhausted Rocks players come the fourth quarter. With the home side missing their two best ball handlers, it was perhaps no surprise that they turned the ball over a dozen times in the first half, and that was something that Coach Davis fixed during the half-time team talk.
The second half went very much the same way as the first, with the Rocks closing the gap only for the clinical Riders to keep the home side at bay. A 9-0 run during a two minute spell in the third quarter brought the Rocks back to within four points at 42-46, but Leicester’s deeper bench and freshness began to kick in, as they wore Glasgow down. Ex-Wofford rookie Cameron Rundles took the game to the Rocks in the final stanza, and a 25-10 Riders run in the final dozen minutes clinched the victory.
The Rocks, however, should not be dismayed by their performance. It is often the case that when a team is at its lowest ebb that they play the hardest, and the Rocks certainly did that before simply being overrun and worn down by a far superior team. Any side at any level would struggle having their two best players out, and it was certainly the case at the Kelvin Hall on Sunday. Coach Davis acknowledged the effort that his players put into the performance, while his Leicester counterpart stated that ‘I gotta feel for Glasgow a little bit, the injury trouble that they have this year, Sterling’s done a great job keeping them where they’re at. It just seems like one thing after another.’
One area that I feel Davis has perhaps got wrong this season has been his squad rotation. There’s no denying that Harrison and Green are the stars of the team, but too many times this season it has been the case that the trio of Bunyan, Malnieks and Richards have been denied game time during perfect opportunities. It has left Glasgow in a situation just now where there entire bench is made up of inexperienced rookies. All three have put in admirable performances when called upon, yet Davis’ reluctance to use them earlier in the season may have come back to haunt him as he has no other options but to use them, a point he conceded himself when I asked him if the trio were in his thoughts for next season. He stated that ‘I’m just thinking about this season, we need Martins and Greg to come out every night and be ready and I think they’ve done a good job.’
While Harrison will hopefully be back in time for the Plymouth game on Sunday, Green is likely out for a month so the trio of rookies will be counted on to put in big performances over the coming weeks as the Rocks look to keep the Sharks at bay and clinch fifth spot heading into the play-offs.
