Leicester Riders got back to winning ways with a 99-86 victory against Manchester.
It was a convincing win from the start after a red hot first half, which saw the team put up 56 points. Manchester fought back in the third to cut into the lead, but big shots to start the fourth saw the Riders put the game beyond reach.
Zach Jackson led the game with 20 points and 5 rebounds, going 7-11 from the field. The Riders had seven players in double digits, including Hunter with 16 and 9 assists and Duke Shelton off the bench with 13 points and 8 rebounds in 12 minutes.
Leicester went 53% from the field and 42% from three, turning the ball over only 9 times in a solid offensive showing.
Manchester had two 20 point scorers in Marcus Delpeche and Nathan Cayo, the former grabbing 9 rebounds and shooting 10-15 from the field.
They lost the bench battle 27-16, the difference in the game.
Riders start hot
A hot shooting start from the Riders saw them jump out to a 12-7 lead. Spencer Johnson, stepping into the starting lineup for the first time as a Rider, hit a three off-balance from the wing, and Riley Abercrombie hit twice from deep, Leicester hitting their first three attempts from behind the arc.
Abercrombie led the game with 10 points in the opening six minutes. Leicester led by double digits through the Aussie’s play, capitalising on their form to build a solid advantage. It was 29-16 after one with Leicester shooting 71% from deep.
Riders dominant to the half
Conner Washington checked into the game to start the second quarter to continue the three point barrage. He was followed by Shelton who bagged a pair of buckets, taking Delpeche off the dribble as the shot clock wound down for a layup inside, making the score 38-20.
With four minutes left in the half, Jaylin Hunter got in on the action with back-to-back triples. Everything was dropping for the hosts, who were 8-12 from three. Hunter scored eight straight, each shot meeting nothing but string.
Leicester dominated the second period. Their fluid offence was met with no answer as they poured on the points for their highest scoring half of the season. Zach Jackson’s put back after a scramble around the bucket was the Riders’ final score of the second, as they entered the locker rooms up 56-36.
Manchester fight back
The sides stalled out to start the third, as the once high-scoring affair slowed down into a defensive duel. Jackson hit a deep two on the buzzer over Delpeche for two of Leiecetsr’s nine points in five minutes, as the Riders kept the lead to 20.
Midway through the period, Manchester began to mount a comeback into the game. Nathan Cayo drained a three for his 12th points to make it 67-52, forcing a Riders timeout to stem the tide.
Jackson stopped the bleeding by getting to work down low, pulling up from the post to sink one. The Riders build on the American’s bucket to make it a 16 point game with one to play.
Seeing it out late
To start the third, Wright connected on back-to-back threes to set the tone the rest of the way. Jackson pulled up off the dribble to follow up his teammates and hit again, giving the Riders a platform to see the game out from.
Jaylin Hunter got to work to score five straight and stretch the lead. He scored seven in the period to see it out, making his tally on the game 16.
Abercrombie put the exclamation point on the win with a big dunk inside, seeing the Riders home and making it a 2-2 record on the Championship season.
Back at it on Sunday
The Riders return to action on Sunday, taking on Cheshire Phoenix on the road hoping to improve to above .500 on the season.
