Leicester Riders made it back-to-back league wins after beating Manchester Basketball 87-74 on the road in the Super League Basketball Championship.
Zach Jackson proved a cut above from wire-to-wire, finishing with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. When Manchester fought back to make it a one possession game in the third, his introduction snatched back momentum and allowed Leicester to build a platform to see it out late.
The Riders’ ball movement and team play was elite from start to finish. They generated wide open looks all afternoon and knocked down shots at an efficient rate, going 39% from three on the game.
Charles Thompson dominated on both ends, finishing with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. He made the play of the game in the third with an emphatic slam on the drive.
Meanwhile Manchester, led by 21 from Makai Ashton-Langford, kept pace with Leicester for much of the game with big shot making in key spots. They couldn’t find an answer to Jackson in the fourth however, and continued their five game slide in Championship action.
The Riders improved to 13-4 on the season going into the international break.
Not much in high-scoring first
The sides duelled out a high-scoring first, with Leicester taking the lead from the jump.
Jaylin Hunter, playing the role of conductor, led Leicester to a 14-7 lead by pulling the strings from the point. With Manchetser attempting to send him to his right, he obliged by throwing in a teardrop floater four minutes into the game.
Hunter’s finish followed up threes from Riley Abercrombie and Jackson in the opening stages of the game as Leicester led from the front.
Ashton-Langford had the response for Manchetser, scoring 7 quick points including a spin move for an and-one play. The hosts found their way to the foul line frequently to keep in touch.
Duke Shelton, following his Player of the Game performance on Thursday, brought energy off the bench as the end of the first neared. He put the moves on Elijah Ifejeh from the elbow, spinning in for two. He then muscled in for an and-one on Ifejeh a minute later.
DUKE PUTS ON A SPIN CYCLE
— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) February 16, 2025pic.twitter.com/2ApDHSWPfs
But also coming in off the bench was Manchester’s Nick Lewis, who set off a succession of threes for the hosts as they got back into the tie. They went 4-6 from deep in the first 10 minutes to make it 27-32.
Missed chances keeps Manchester in the game
A continual exchange of buckets started the second period, as Manchester found retorts to Leicester’s scores to maintain their deficit.
The Riders, with a three from Spencer Johnson and an and-one from Hunter at the hoop, threatened to pull away, but Cody John and Nathan Cayo reeled the Riders in with scores of their own.
Count it
— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) February 16, 2025@_jaylinhunter12 pic.twitter.com/S6eI5N6BNY
Missed opportunities prevented a big halftime lead for Leicester, with their shooters missing open threes throughout the second. Jackson did knock one down with three minutes remaining in the half, however, to put the visitors up eight.
Ethan Wright, who was active in the passing lanes defensively to disrupt the Manchester offence, finished the half at the foul line, making it 49-40 to the Riders at the break.
Abercrombie hits back after Manchester flurry
Starting the second half, Thompson gave Leicester their first double digit lead running the triangle with Hunter and Jackson. Thompson then swatted Ian Dubose on the drive for his third block of the afternoon.
But back-to-back threes from Ashton-Langford, bringing him to a game-high 17 points three minutes into the third, was the latest response for a Manchester team still not going away, making it back to a five point game in a flash.
Manchester couldn’t miss to start the half. Cayo was the next to connect from distance. He cut it to a one score game with 3:37 left in the third with a finish inside.
Thompson made the play of the game in the midst of the Manchester run to snatch momentum back. He beat Ifejeh on the perimeter before rising for a Statue of Liberty jam on the drive. He kicked off a dunk party, as Abercrombie got in on the action with a driving stuff of his own on the next possession.
Abercrombie, in typical fashion, caught a heater from deep to take control of the game back. He hit three in a row from behind the arc, making it 71-62 with one left.
He's on another heater
— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) February 16, 2025@Riley_Aber knocks down three straight
pic.twitter.com/zZ5NwDVruY
Jackson takes Riders over the line
Jackson joined Ashton-Langford at 17 points to start the final period with a finish at the rim.
Leicester struggled to control the glass to kill the game, however, with Manchester pulling down three offensive boards in as many minutes. That kept the Leicester lead at seven.
The difference between the sides was Jackson, who took over the fourth. He sank tough looks, off the dribble and over contests throughout to sink Manchester heads.
On the other end, Leicester’s defence held Manchetser scoreless through four minutes in the final stanza- Zak Irvin ending the drought at the rim.
Thompson made his game tally 16 with an and-one finish driving the lane. Hunter then got to the teeth after breaking a double team to all but seal the Riders win with 3:08 on the clock, Leicester up 86-72.
Charles on the charge
— Leicester Riders | Basketball (@RidersBball) February 16, 2025@CThompson_19 pic.twitter.com/GgA4itv8uz
The Riders now take a two week break from action, returning home on February 28 to take on Surrey 89ers.
