Leicester Riders battled out an 87-75 win on the road against the Surrey 89ers to improve to 3-0 in the Super League Basketball Trophy.
The Riders were forced into a comeback win after falling into a hole early in the game. The team’s second unit sparked a run back into contention in the second quarter, before star wing Zach Jackson took the team home late.
Jackson led the game with 21 points, shooting 7-10 from the field. Riley Abercrombie played an aggressive game on his way to 14 points, and Spencer Johnson came off the bench for 11, hitting big shots in timely moments throughout the tie.
Leicester responded to the early deficit with lockdown defence, holding the Niners to 27 second half points. The hosts, led by Mervin James’ 19 points, couldn’t contain the Riders once they hit their stride in the third period.
Starting slow
A slow Riders start saw Surrey take an 11-2 lead. Josh Steel had the hot hand for the hosts scoring 8 points, as the 89ers had success at the rim from the jump. A three from James forced the Riders’ first timeout of the game four minutes in with an early hole to climb out of.
Abercrombie broke the seal with a second-chance layup against the stifling Niner defence in the opening period. He was followed by the team’s first triple of the game, as Hunter connected from the top of the arc.
Leicester found no real inroads back into the game, but the made shots stopped the bleeding, and the deficit was 11 with one played.
Second unit spark
Surrey stayed hot in the second, sinking a pair of threes to keep Leicester at arm’s length. The Riders fought their way to the rim to get to the foul line in an attempt to climb back into it.
The experience of Conner Washington sparked a jolt into Leicester’s efforts. He hit a three shortly after his introduction to the game, then coming off a screen to his right connected from midrange.
Washington’s hustle then saw him steal the resulting inbound pass, which led to a Johnson three to make the score 36-25.
Following their captain’s example, Leicester locked in to narrow the difference. Johnson stole another inbound on the next possession, and a two-handed jam on the fastbreak from Blake Bowman made it a four-point game.
The second quarter was frantic, with end-to-end play seeing swings in the scoreline. Charles Thompson got himself on the board with back-to-back jams, which offset a scoring outburst from James who couldn’t miss in the first half.
The Riders had chipped the deficit to 48-44 by the halftime break.
Riders take the initiative
Thompson continued his onslaught at the rim in the third quarter. He found an open lane to the rim off-ball, before jamming it in with a quick burst when Abercrombie found him with a lob pass.
The Riders held Surrey scoreless through five minutes in the third, as Leicester took their first lead since the opening score. It was a relentless assault in the paint on both ends for the visitors, emphasised by Duke Shelton’s score followed by a monster block on Jalen Ray.
Abercrombie got in on the action with a driving dunk to make the score 58-51 in his side’s favour. Aggressive play saw the Australian get a fadeaway bucket after taking another defender off the dribble minutes later.
Surrey fightback forces clutch finish
Surrey surged in response to the Riders’ run, cutting it to one with a pull up triple from Rayquan Brown. Johnson found a trey of his own to hit back, but Leicester were forced to battle it out in order to keep the Niners at bay.
The sides continued their exchange of buckets in the fourth, with Cameron Gooden and Bowman both hitting from deep, before Jackson took the air out of the arena with a monster putback slam.
The American took the game over on both ends, driving to the hoop for another two, before Johnson hit on his third triple to give the Riders their first double digit lead of the night.
Jackson extended his tally on the game to 15 with a pair of foul shots, increasing Leicester’s advantage to 78-65.
Back to back corner threes for Surrey breathed life back into the home crowd. It was Nedas Cholevinskas and Steel who connected, keeping their hopes alive late in the game.
The next bucket was pivotal, and Jackson stepped up to ensure the Riders put points on their side of the scoreboard with a triple of his own. Jackson sealed it with a putback layup with 30 seconds left, and the Riders maintained their undefeated record on the season.
The Riders take on Surrey again at home on Wednesday, October 23! Get tickets here!
