Season So Far – Riders
On Friday the Riders continued their winning streak as they defeated the red hot London Lions. A very close game was finally decided in the 4th after Zack Jacksons roof-raising dunk put the Riders up by 10, a lead they managed to add to making the final score 93-76.
The victory puts the Riders in a great position securing them one of the top two seeds in their group. A win in their last game of the group stage would see them level the Lions 6-1 record in the group. The Riders remain the leading scorers this season averaging 91.8 points a game and also comfortably have the best 3 point percentage.
Season So Far – Patriots
Plymouth City Patriots sit rock bottom of their BBL cup group having failed to win any of their 6 games. They also average the least points scored in the competition, averaging a mere 63.7 points per game, 10.8 points per game less than Cheshire Phoenix who sit second bottom of the points scored chart. Furthermore they have the worst field goal percentage inside and outside of the arc.
Last time out the Patriots were beaten fairly comfortably in a must win game by the Bristol Flyers 69-82. It was the 5th game in a row that they failed to score 70 or more points. Patriots player Joe Hart led the game in points with 22, scoring 3 more than their star man and this season’s leading points scorer Denzel Ubario. The pair accounted for 41 of the teams 69 points. The Patriots managed just 4 second chance points compared to the Flyers 18 which isn’t unusual as they also average the second least rebounds in the league.
Ones to watch
Due to Darien Nelson-Henry still being out injured, the Riders squad is significantly shorter but there’s still a big man in the team whose importance has grown. Mo Walker stands at 6’10 and dominates most players in the league. He also averages the most rebounds on the Riders team with 7.3 and gets just over 10 points a game. Mo Walker was instrumental in the Riders recent win, he kept them in the game with his dominance in the paint when they were shooting just 2 from 12 from 3. He shot 8 from 9 and ended the game with a season high of 16 points. He also added another 7 rebounds to his tally and an impressive 5 assists.
The Patriots main outlet of points comes from the BBL Cups leading scorer Denzel Ubario who averages 19.2 points a game and Joe Hart who averages almost 3 field goals from outside the arc. One player to look out for however is 6’9 Centre Cameron King. The big man averages 9.2 rebounds a game which is the 4th highest in the league and averages 6.7 defensive rebounds which is the most from any player. He could prove to be vital in stopping a similar scoreline to when the two teams last met.
Previous meeting
Because the Patriots are a newly formed team, the sides have only ever met once and it was one to forget for the Patriots. A 25 point game for Zach Jackson helped make it Rider’s highest scoring game of the season. It was a complete blow out and the game was finished at half time as the Riders led by 25 points, a lead they increased to 51 points to make the score 58-109 at full time.
Tickets
Tickets are still available for Sunday’s game, CLICK HERE to purchase yours!
