Leicester Riders improved to 2-0 in the Super League Basketball Trophy with a seismic 89-66 road win against London Lions.
Jaylin Hunter led the charge with 21 points and 7 assists, taking over in the second quarter to stamp the Riders’ authority on the game. Leicester had six scorers in double figures in an emphatic team display, Charles Thompson backing Hunter with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
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 to put distance between themselves and the EuroCup semi-finalists from last season.
The Riders took charge of the glass, winning the rebounding battle 48-28 led by Thompson. They shot 37% from the field in a red hot shooting display, and their ball movement generated 20 assists on the night.
For London, Jaiden Delaire led them for the second straight game with 17 points, backed by young Brit Matthew Goodwin who scored 14. They struggled to compete with the Riders’ size and physicality, as the visitors grabbed 18 offensive rebounds on the game.
Riders take charge early
Leicester, led by 6 points from Thompson, started the game 8-2 to seize control. The big man made his presence in the paint known from the jump with a one-handed jam off an Ethan Wright dish.
Wright got on the board minutes later after a physics defying Hunter pass around his defender, triggering a Lions timeout with the score 14-7.
London kept it close through one, Sean Flood laying it in on the first quarter buzzer, but the Riders led 12-18 following the hot start.
Leicester fend off Lions fightback
In the second, Spencer Johnson drained his first Riders triple from the corner to make the lead double figures. But the Lions bit back through Goodwin and star summer signing Aaryn Rai, who both made three point plays to peg Leicester back.
Hunter stepped up to snatch momentum back. He stole Jordan Taylor’s inbound from the baseline for an easy two before driving inside to take a foul on Ade Adebayo. A block on the other end from Thompson set up a Riley Abercrombie layup, and the Riders were back up 10.
Hunter went off, scoring 9 points in 4 minutes to blow the game wide open. His no-look dish to Wright in the corner made it a 16 point game, and he finished the half with 14.
The half ended with an unsportsmanlike foul called on Adebayo, which resulted in a pair of Hunter foul shots to make it 47-27 at the break.
Abercrombie slam puts exclamation point on the third
Abercrombie got the action back underway with a three from the top to keep the Riders rolling. Wright followed up with his 11th points of the evening with a triple in front of the Lions bench, and Hunter put Delaire on skates with a step back.
The three point bombs meant Leiecster held their 20 point advantage in the third, following a slow start to the game from distance.
Abercrombie thrust himself to the top of the highlight reel late in the third. Following Johnson running the fastbreak, the Australian stormed in for the follow to throw down a monster putback.
The third ended with three foul shots from Jackson, who was fouled on a triple, as Leicester led by 27 with one to play.
The Lions showed maximum effort until the final buzzer, playing with intensity on both ends.
The fourth was a closely fought, defensive affair as the clock ticked down. Johnson found string on another contested three for one of the late highlights of the game, and the game finished 66-89 after the hosts took the fourth 20-16.
A break in play
The Riders will take a two week break from Super League Basketball action for the international break, before returning on the road to take on Surrey 89ers.
A win would see them improve to 3-0 in the South group, with Leicester in firm control of the standings as they look to progress to the Final Four.
