Leicester Riders fell 77-76 in a battle against Sheffield Sharks. Leicester gave the Sharks a war in a building which they hadn’t lost in all season. They led by four with a minute and half remaining, but the Sharks made plays down the stretch to take the win.
Riley Abercrombie had a chance to send the game to overtime at the foul line with 0.8 seconds left, but made one out of the pair as the Riders fell just short.
Charles Thompson continued his dominant week with 16 points and 9 rebounds, scoring 8 straight points out of the half to give control of the game to his side. Ethan Wright was infectious with his energy on both ends to finish with 13 points, and Jaylin Hunter pulled strings from the point to log 12 points and 6 assists.
Meanwhile Prentiss Nixon scored 20 to lead the game for Sheffield.
The Riders fall to 14-6 on the season with a month and a half to play.
Hot Sharks start
A hot Sheffield start saw them jump out to an early lead. They went 6-8 from the field from the jump led by 7 points from Nixon, who found rhythm with a triple three minutes in.
Riders’ shots wouldn’t fall from the outside. They started 0-4 from beyond the arc in a tough offensive start. They battled inside to keep in touch, Duke Shelton coming off the bench for three scores midway through the period, but were down 20-14 with 2:30 on the clock.
Shelton ended the first with a right handed finish over Jacob Groves, making it 25-19 with one played.
Riders resolve shooting struggles through Wright
Shooting struggles continued to start the second, with Wright hitting the team’s only three through their first seven attempts. Wright was the one to snap the cold streak in transition, however, stringing one from the wing to make it a one score game.
Sheffield maintained their lead at the foul line, as their star scorer Rickey McGill earned charity shots consistently in the second period. The Riders momentum brought them a shot away from the lead on multiple occasions, but they couldn’t knock that shot down to get the edge in the fixture.
Wright’s triple earlier in the second took the lid off. He hit three by halftime, and Abercrombie’s corner triple kept the heat on the hosts. With a minute left in the half, Zach Jackson drained one from the top to give Leicester their first lead since early in the first.
Oh he's HOT
— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) March 16, 2025@ewright3862 leads us with 9 PTS.
One score gamepic.twitter.com/RBvhriAKox
Sheffield’s Donovan Clay ended the second at the rim, and the score was 42-41 in the Sharks’ favour at the break.
Thompson third quarter takeover
Thompson turned up the offensive aggression to start the third with 8 straight points. He attacked the rim with authority and found no answer at the rim, making an and-one play in transition to give Leicester a three point lead.
The Riders put on the style on the break, as Jaylin Hunter dished a flashy no-look to Thompson who rewarded his point guard with a throw down for the play of the game. Leicester rallied behind Thompson to build a lead, with Hunter hitting a tough three from the corner to make it a six point advantage.
SHOWTIME IN SHEFFIELD
— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) March 16, 2025
Jaylin no-look. CT jam. Riders lead
James Reese V made the final play of the third for the Sharks, making it 56-60 going into the fourth and final stanza.
Sides exchange blows to set up thrilling finale
Wright made a momentous play to start the fourth, stripping it from Nixon and drawing an unsportsmanlike foul. His foul shots made it an eight point Leicester lead. Wright’s intensity threw the Sharks’ offence out of rhythm in a key moment in the game.
The Sharks bit back through Clay, however, whose post play earned him four quick points and forced a Riders timeout up four. The big man scored again out of the timeout to make it a one score affair with six minutes left.
The Riders’ response came from their in form big man, as Thompson hit a rainbow fadeaway over Clay. But Nixon’s three next time down cut it to one, and set up a tense finale.
Sharks make late plays
Abercrombie started the final four minutes with an and-one to give the Riders some cushion. Thompson reached from behind the backboard to lay in a circus shot next time down, but Clay and Nixon hit back with 1:30 left in the game to keep it within a score. Nixon drew an offensive foul next time down, giving the hosts a shot to tie.
Clay took that chance with a baseline drive and a jam, and after Hunter couldn’t get his mid range effort to go, Nixon drove inside to give the Sharks a 77-75 lead with 17 seconds left.
Shooting to send it to overtime, Spencer Johnson missed a fadeaway, but Abercrombie pulled down the rebound and was sent to the foul line. He made the first but missed the second, meaning Leicester fell in a heartbreaker.
The Riders return to action on Friday, hosting the Newcastle Eagles.
