Leicester Riders fell to London Lions 91-71 on the road in the Super League Basketball Championship.
The Riders, down 19 in the first half, cut into the deficit to make it a four point game in the fourth quarter. But London found form late to see off the attempted Leicester comeback.
Charles Thompson led Leicester with a 14 point double double, sparking the fightback in the third with buckets at the rim. He was backed by 11 points from Ethan Wright off the bench who hit momentum swinging threes throughout.
London’s Sean Flood made key baskets in the fourth quarter to bring the win home for London. He scored 15 off the bench including two triples. Aaryn Rai led the Lions with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The game sees Leicester lose top spot in the League standings, falling to a 9-4 record.
Duelling out a tightly fought first quarter
London had the best of the opening stages with their interior presence, with Rai leading them to a 10-7 start with two buckets in close. The Riders, who struggled on the offensive boards on Friday against Caledonia Gladiators, suffered the same issues early by giving up four offensive rebounds in the first six minutes.
Leicester, whose leading scorer on the season Zach Jackson took an early seat with two quick fouls, bit back from range, as Spencer Johnson and Wright connected from three. The triples got the Riders in rhythm as they snatched the lead from London.
But veteran forward Ovie Soko found his way to the foul line continually in the opening period on his way to 8 points, and the Lions led 20-19 after one.
Stuckman leads London run in second
London took control of the tie in the second quarter. Soko started the run with another finish inside, and added another five to his tally in a 10-0 start to the period. Tanner Stuckman’s score made it 32-19 to the hosts.
Wright broke the scoring drought with a corner three for his 8th points of the afternoon, but that was met by Stuckman who hit a triple from the wing then a four point play on Thompson. The former Gladiator had 8 in the period.
Thompson fought back on the other end with an and-one play followed by a finish for two to try and inject some momentum into the Riders. They increased the pace in order to get looks earlier in the shot clock, but couldn’t connect frequently enough to chip into the London lead.
The first half ended 49-33, with Thompson scoring the final point of the second at the foul line.
Abercrombie four point play triggers Riders fightback
Riley Abercrombie came gunning out the break with a four point play to cut it to 12. Thompson followed with an and-one, and it was a single digit game one minute into the third.
Despite Soko’s continued aggression at the rim bagging him another 2 points, Leiecster got themselves back into the game, Abercrombie again drawing a foul from behind the line to make the score 52-45.
Ade Adebayo got London back on the rails with success down low. He led a Lions run to put them back up 8. Duke Shelton ended the third at the foul line, and the sides entered the final period with London leading 65-59.
London run up score late
Shelton got the fourth underway at the rim to cut it to four. But Ciaran Sandy’s corner three and a Flood and-one gave London the edge with 7:46 left up 10. Flood weaved his way to the rim next time down the floor for another two, forcing a Riders timeout.
Wright, again, was the one to try and swing momentum back into Leicester’s favour with a three, but Stuckman got to the line next time down to quiet the visitors. Flood hit another three from the wing to make it a 14 point affair.
The Riders kept grinding, but the deficit was too great late in the fourth, and Leicester fell to London for the first time this season.
The Riders return to action on Wednesday for the SLB Cup Quarter-Final on the road to Manchester Basketball.
