Leicester Riders rounded off an undefeated Super League Basketball group stage with a 76-62 win against London Lions.
Riley Abercrombie earned Player of the Game honours with 15 and 5 rebounds, and Zach Jackson led the scoring with 16.
The Riders struggled to knock down their threes, going 3-17 from deep, but relied on their elite defence to lock down the Lions to 36% shooting from the field.
Leicester led by 20 points in the third, and did enough to see the game through in the final period with big plays from Jackson.
London were led by 14 points off the bench from Ovie Soko, who went 6-9 from the field in an efficient night.
Riders down early
The opening stages were fought at the rim as both sides set out to establish their authority around the rim. The Leagueās leading scorer Jaiden Delaire added two more to his season tally with a bucket over Charles Thompson, as London took a 6-8 lead after five.
Jackson tied the game for the first time since 0-0 with a tough bucket in isolation, taking and sinking a hook shot from midrange.
But it was the Lionsā Soko who had the best of the period off the bench scoring 8 including a big dunk in the lane. The Britās play meant the visitors lead 15-19 after one.
Riders surge snatched back the lead
Blake Bowman got the second underway with a monster jam to jolt life in Leicester. He lost his defender with a backdoor cut, before rising from a standing start and throwing it down two handed.
The Riders went on an 8-1 run from there led by four points from Duke Shelton inside, as the hosts started to find joy on the offensive glass. Conner Washington picked up from Shelton with six straight points, taking Matthew Goodwin off the dribble for a tough make inside.
The stars of the Ridersā Friday night overtime win, Jaylin Hunter and Jackson, led the team into the half. Hunter sank an and-one through heavy contact, before his free-throw was rebounded by Thompson and kicked out to Jackson, who added two more to the tally.
Leicesterās second quarter efforts made it 42-31 at the half.
Riders see out second half
The Riders exploded out the locker rooms to a 16 point lead, locking down London on one end before Jackson drained a corner triple to force a quick Lions timeout.
Thompson took over on the inside with a smooth reverse, before sinking midrange on the shot clock. Shelton added four more to his tally, and the Leicester lead was 20, with a quarter to play.
The Lions showed heart in the fourth to cut into the Leicester lead. Delaire got to work inside, scoring an and-one four his fifth points of the quarter to make it a 14 point game.
The Riders locked in to keep further inroads into their position, and Jackson came up with a pair of buckets inside as the hosts looked to see it home. The American took over the closing stages, swatting Delaireās attempt before taking it baseline to baseline and finding Abercrombine for two.
That sealed the game, and an undefeated group stage for the Riders.
The Riders are back in action to start their Super League Basketball Championship season next weekend, heading to Surrey on Saturday to take on the 89ers.
