Leicester Riders pulled off a second half fightback in the Trophy semi-final first leg to keep their Trophy final hopes alive.
Down 17 points at the half, the Riders made it a four point game at the final buzzer. The final score was 95-91, and the sides will go back to Leicester with the tie in the balance for the second leg.
Zach Jackson led the game with 24 points and 5 rebounds, backed by Charles Thompson who was pivotal in the paint, going off for 18 points and 14 rebounds, making big buckets in the fourth.
After giving up 38 points in the second quarter, the Riders’ defence locked down in the second half to climb into the game. Turnovers proved costly against the roadrunning Eagles side, the Riders losing the battle 17-7, but Leicester’s second half shot making meant all is to play for in the second leg.
Newcastle’s Seneca Knight led their efforts with 23 points and 4 rebounds, but the bench was the difference in the game. The Eagles’ bench scored 47 to the Riders’ 18, with former Rider Josh Ward-Hibbert bagging 18.
Riders overcome slow start to lead after one
Riders’ star duo of Jaylin Hunter and Thompson found themselves on the same page from the jump to combine for two highlights in the first period.
The first score of the game saw Hunter sling a pass through traffic to Thompson, who threw down the first points one handed, then two minutes later Thompson found another lane to the rim from a Hunter feed and threw down another.
The Eagles were in rhythm early, however, to take a 12-6 lead. They entered the game leading all teams in fastbreak points, and took advantage of early Leicester turnovers to get easy scores in transition led by 10 points from Knight.
The Riders clawed back from the foul line, shooting seven free throws including a Duke Shelton and-one, who then took the lead for the visitors from the midrange. Hunter ended a breathless first period with a triple, meaning Leicester led 23-21.
Newcastle take charge in the second
Newcastle took charge early in the second quarter with a relentless flow of buckets. They started on a 13-2 run capped off by a Knight three which forced a Riders timeout down nine points. Josh Ward-Hibbert scored five straight out of the break, with Leicester in need of a response.
Hunter stopped the bleeding with a finish at the rim with six minutes left in the half, followed by Wright on the fastbreak. Leicester’s offence clicked into gear, but couldn’t stop the Eagles on the other end to cut into the deficit.
Knight built on his hot start to bring his tally to 14, and Jordan Spencer got in on the action with a triple from the top. Hunter hit back with four points, and he finished the second with 13, but Cole Long’s three made it a 17 point deficit for the Riders at the half.
Newcastle scored 38 points in a red hot second quarter, putting themselves in firm control.
Fightback begins in the third
Jackson and Spencer Johnson got to work early in the third to chip four points off the Eagles lead immediately. Thompson found joy inside for back-to-back buckets, and Leicester trailed by 11 after three minutes of the second half.
Newcastle, through another Long three, bolstered their lead in response to the Riders run. But the Riders were a different side to the one seen in the second quarter, forcing the Eagles’ possessions to run deep into the shot clock.
Jackson’s hustle turned what appeared an open layup for Spencer into a chasedown block, before Thompson scored on Long and blocked Christian James on the other end to make the score 71-61.
Leicester make it a game
Jackson took over the game to close the third. He scored six straight points, battling to the rim and fighting through contact to put the ball in the bucket, and keep the Riders in contention going into the fourth. The score was 76-67 with one left.
They remained at arm’s length to start the fourth with Riley Abercrombie scoring on the break, and Jackson draining a three. Jackson hustled for a loose ball after a Riders turnover, leading to another Thompson jam, and it was quickly a six point game.
On the next run up, James was fouled on a triple to add three points to the Eagles tally. Long scored on a drive to the hoop to make the hosts’ lead 11 and force a Riders timeout.
But out of the break, Wright and Hunter found string on threes to snatch back momentum and make it a game late on. Wright, again fighting for space down low, made it a one possession game with three minutes left.
With the tie in the balance and James driving to the hoop, Wright rose high for a monster chasedown block. Wright then ran the break and found Hunter, who drained a triple in a huge sequence for the Riders.
Wright had a chance to take the lead with a triple, but hit iron on his shot. Knight then drained a corner three with less than a minute left to build the Eagles lead back to four. Leicester held on for the final shot, which Jackson took and missed, and the Riders now go back to Leicester for the second leg down just four.
The return leg of the semi-final will be played in Leicester on December 22, with both sides vying to progress to the final in the Utilita Arena Birmingham in January.
