Leicester Riders won their final game of the Super League Basketball regular season 94-74 against Caledonia Gladiators. 

It was a wire-to-wire home win led by 22 points and 9 rebounds off the bench from Ethan Wright. In 21 minutes of play, Wright put in an energetic performance as the team’s spark plug. 

The win secures second place in the Championship with a 23-9 record. They will face Bristol Flyers in the opening round of the postseason. 

Leicester Riders win the game from the jump

The Riders bolted out the gate to make their mark early. They built a double digit lead from the offset, starting 8-0 and finishing the first led by eight points from Johnson. 

Johnson stayed hot from his career-high performance in Newcastle on Friday where he went off for 23 and 8. Leicester led 29-15- Wright’s triple the final points of the period. Wright was red hot through the first half with a team-high 15 by the break. 

Former Rider Patrick Whelan was the only Gladiators starter to score in the first, logging 9 points from six shots. He also had 15 at the half, but despite his efforts, Leicester led by 20. 

Riders hold off Gladiators third quarter run

Leicester had to dig in and keep the Gladiators at arm’s length in the third quarter. Whelan’s form continued out of the break as the visitors chipped into the lead, and Devearl Ramsey’s and-one made it a 13 point difference. 

Riley Abercrombie stopped the bleeding with 20 seconds left in the third, hitting a triple from the top, but the sides entered the fourth with Leicester leading 72-60 as Ramsey got to the line one more time to end the period. 

Wright and Johnson rebuilt the lead in the fourth quarter with a quick pair of triples, making it a 17 point difference. Duke Shelton, who was throwing down dunks from wire-to-wire, pulled down a Wright miss before  jamming in his fourth slam of the night to put an exclamation point on the win. 

Playoff tickets available

Tickets to the Riders Playoff Quarter Final Second Leg against Bristol Flyers are on sale now!

The game will be played on Monday, May 5 at 1:30 pm. You can get tickets here!