Leicester Riders look to continue their undefeated start to the season against Surrey 89ers, in the Super League Basketball Trophy group phase.

After winning their opening two games, Leicester head to Surrey for their second straight road game, hoping to strengthen their grip on a place in the semi-final. 

Meanwhile Surrey aim to improve to .500 on the season through four games by handing Leiecster their first loss of 2024-25. 

👀😁 Looking to build on our strong start in the @SprLeagueBballM trophy! 🔥

🍿 Our next home game is right around the corner as we host @surreyniners on Wednesday 23rd October (7:45pm Tip-off) Don’t miss it ⤵️

🎟️ Tickets available now: https://t.co/b6EiE5ZUEr pic.twitter.com/k9D70LCirY

— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) October 8, 2024

It’s the first of a double header against Surrey for the Riders, who will play the return leg at home on Wednesday October 23. You can get tickets for the home fixture here. 

Here’s how Saturday’s game is shaping up…

Riders rolling 

It’s been a red hot start to the season for Leicester, whose first two games have seen back-to-back blowout wins against Bristol Flyers and London Lions. 

Following a dominant home opener against Bristol, the Riders were again impressive from wire-to-wire in their first road outing of the season. They jumped out to an early lead and didn’t look back, catching fire from deep in the third quarter to put distance between themselves and the EuroCup semi-finalists from a season ago. 

The Riders rank second in points per game and first in three point percentage of all SLB teams through their first two outings, and held their opponents to under 70 points in both of their games. 

They had six double digit scorers against the Lions, and have seen different players step up the plate at different times throughout games.

“That’s what’s so nice about this team- they really share the ball,” said Head Coach Rob Paternostro following the win against London. “We have a lot of different weapons so it can be anyone’s night in any given game.

“From the day they arrived we’ve played that way, and I told them to keep that going. We need to keep improving, and most importantly play a team game.”

🎤 Coach @robpaternostro reacts to tonight’s dominant victory over @LondonLions in the Capital 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mpybgCXblR

— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) October 6, 2024

Since then, the Riders have had a two week break from action, and will be eager to continue their hot streak against the Niners. 

Hunter heroics lead Leicester in London

Riders star guard Jaylin Hunter made the headlines against London with 21 points, 7 assists and 5 steals to lead the team to the win. 

His efforts earned him a place on the Super League Basketball Team of the Week, following up his teammate Zach Jackson who made the team on his first game back in Riders red a week prior.

It’s been an impressive start to Hunter’s rookie season. His debut saw the American log 17 points in 24 minutes of action, impressing from three point land by shooting 50% from deep. 

Leading from the front! @_jaylinhunter12 put on a show in London‼️🍿

📊 21 PTS | 7 AST | 5 STL pic.twitter.com/43rvOIpCFZ

— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) October 7, 2024

He enjoyed success against Saturday’s opposition in pre-season, putting in a complete performance from the point with 19 points and 6 assists to lead the 86-66 win. He’ll look to replicate that outing to help Leicester to a 3-0 record in the Trophy.

Niners lose back-to-back to Bristol

The newly formed Surrey 89ers franchise got off to a dream start to the season with a nail biting win against London Lions in their opening game.

The Niners led by 22 in the fourth quarter, and despite a spirited comeback from London who made it a one possession game late, Surrey held on to win 87-85, taking victory in the franchise’s first competitive outing. 

Cameron Gooden led the team with 21 points, backed by Dame Adelekun’s 20. Gooden has been the star of the season so far for Surrey with 16.7 points and 4.3 assists per game, but the team have yet to replicate their success from opening night.

Since then, they’ve played back-to-back games against Bristol Flyers, home and away, falling in both. 

The away leg was another thriller, with the game tied at 78 with two minutes remaining. But this time Surrey failed to seal it in the clutch, with Bristol’s Trey Tennyson hitting the go ahead bucket which led to the Flyers winning it 86-79. 

The reverse fixture was a no-contest, with former Rider Evan Walshe scoring 22 to lead the Flyers to a 92-69 win at Surrey Sports Park last weekend.

The Niners will look to bounce back from the loss with another game in front of their home crowd, so expect a highly motivated Surrey outfit playing out a competitive game. 

Where to watch

The game will be streamed live on DAZN, tipping off at 6 pm.

Watch it live here!