Leicester Riders comfortably dispatched of the Newcastle Eagles 99-81 in their only home game of the month.
Five Riders scored at least 15 points, led by Riley Abercrombie’s 18. Spencer Johnson took home player of the game honours with 15, stepping up on both ends of the court in key moments.
Spence was lurking
— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) March 21, 2025pic.twitter.com/xhcP3E45hp
A red hot start from three set the tone for a wire-to-wire win. Leicester hit nine threes in the opening half, before locking down on defence to survive an Eagles run in the third. They finished with 17 made triples, hitting 56% of their looks.
Newcastle’s Mike Okauru led the game with 19, meanwhile De’Sean Allen-Eikens’ second half effort led the Eagles’ comeback. He logged 17 on the night.
The win makes Leicester’s record 15-6 on the year, with only two more losses than the league leading Lions.
Riley’s red hot start
Abercrombie torched the Eagles from deep from the tip off. He hit three straight triples in opening minutes through the playmaking of Hunter, who drew to the defence to find the Aussie wide open.
THREE STRAIGHT TRIPLES FROM THE TIP
— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) March 21, 2025
Riley red hot. Riders lead 14-4. Let's. Go. pic.twitter.com/6V1dUgzwmT
Hunter followed up with his own triple to make it 14-4, forcing an Eagles timeout two and a half minutes in.
The Eagles gathered themselves to stem the tide with Trey Pulliam pulling up off the dribble, but Leicester’s double digit advantage gave them a solid foundation to start the tie.
Okauru keeps Eagles in touch
Leicester’s three point barrage ended the first, with Ethan Wright putting Okauru on skates, and they took a 30-21 lead into the second period.
And the start of the second was Duke Shelton’s. He scored three quick points and blacked Okauru’s shot emphatically at the rim next time on defence.
Shelton’s play built a 14 point lead for Leicester, which the Eagles quickly cut to 10 through Okauru’s hot hand. He was the spark for the Eagles on his return to SLB action from injury, scoring 16 points in 10 minutes.
Leicester see half out strong
Leicester tightened their grip on the game as the clock ticked down to halftime. Charles Thompson connected with Hunter on a lob after he laid in a two on the previous possession, and Johnson drained an off-dribble three to make it 49-34.
Abercrombie capped off an incredible return to home action for Leicester with a four point play, drawing contact from Cole Long as he hit from the wing, which ended the first half with Leicester up 56-43.
WE'RE COOKING
— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) March 21, 2025
Riley with the four point playpic.twitter.com/nFdYfuk8ZJ
He led the team with 13 at the half, as Leicester knocked down nine first half threes to match their game average on the season.
Allen-Eikens sparks comeback
Allen-Eikens started the second half with purpose, scoring the first 8 points of the third quarter for Newcastle to cut it to seven. But with Leicetser struggling offensively, Johnson stole it from Allen-Eikens in transition to take the lid off.
Hunter followed with a triple from the top, and Leicester were back up double digits in a blink.
Allen-Eikens play kept Newcastle in firm contention. The American wing responded to the Riders’ run with an and-one on the fastbreak to bring his game tally to 10.
Leicester defence fends off Eagles
With three minutes left in the third, Shelton picked up his second technical foul of the night and saw himself take an early exit from the game.
Leicester, up six and with their shot not falling, had to fall back on their defensive prowess to remain ahead.
Johnson forced Okauru into a backcourt violation with his defensive pressure, Wright then snatched the ball from the American, and Abercrombie blocked Christian James in an impressive three possession span, before Johnson drained a three to make it 69-60.
Newcastle were in the bonus near the end of the third, allowing the Riders to get to the foul stripe consistently and build their lead. Wright ended the third with a pair of foul shots to make it 75-60.
Riders seal the deal late
Conner Washington started the fourth with a fly by, faking out with a pump fake then draining the triple. Zach Jackson hit from three point range back-to-back next time down, all but sealing the win with eight minutes left with Leicester up 21.
Allen-Eikens and Darius Defoe weren’t finished for the visitors, the latter making an and-one play over Thompson, but Jackson struck back with an and-one of his own to kill any Eagles hope.
The final nail the coffin- an expertly worked Wright triple which saw the ball swung around the entirety of Leicester’s offence, before the two-guard patiently waited for the open three and knocked it down. That made it 94-75 with two minutes left.
E WRIGHT SEALS IT
— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) March 21, 2025pic.twitter.com/nXWVggzsW2
Leicester are back in action on Sunday, taking on Bristol Flyers on the road.
