Leicester Riders Head Coach Rob Paternostro had a mixed weekend, as he went through the milestone for 500 games in the BBL as a coach, splitting a pair of games in the BBL Championship.
Riders had to work very hard for their sixth straight league win over Sheffield Sharks 87-80 on Saturday night, but then struggled to recover on the road on Sunday afternoon against the London Lions, going down heavily 99-65.
Against Sheffield, Riders led from the middle of the first quarter and had a twenty point lead midway through the third quarter, but the Sharks got back within a single shot in the final thirty seconds, before a Kyron Cartwright steal sealed the result.
Cartwright scored 10 points and dished out 11 assists, and Andy Thomson had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds. Namon Wright finished with 20 points on 67% shooting along with 5 assists.
Against the Lions Riders scored the first basket of the game, but the Lions scored the next 21 points and never looked back. Only Darien Nelson-Henry troubled the Lions with 17 points and 6 rebounds.
“It was disappointing on Sunday for sure, because we never got going.”
“These back-to-back games with so little recovery time are a mental as well as a physical challenge, and we did not handle it well.”
“The Sheffield performance was excellent at times, but they are always tough, physical affairs, and this one was no different.”
“The win took a lot out of us, because we were hanging on at the end.”
“But we know the Championship is going to be tight this year and we are still sitting on just 3 losses, as good as anybody.”
“it is about quickly putting that loss behind us and getting back on the horse.”
Riders now go on the road to Bristol Flyers this Friday night in the BBL Championship.
The Riders return to the Morningside Arena on Friday March 13th when they take on the Manchester Giants, CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets!
