After a brief pause in domestic play due to the international break, the SLB Championship roared back to life on Thursday with five exciting battles.
The Championship-leading London Lions were not in action this week, so it was a chance for the chasing pack, most notably B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, Bristol Flyers and Cheshire Phoenix, to shrink the gap at the top of the standings, even though all three teams have played more games than the Lions, who were in BKT EuroCup action.
Surrey 89ers 79-86 Cheshire Phoenix
Cheshire Phoenix had to work hard but eventually did enough to shake off the Surrey 89ers 86-79 at Surrey Sports Park in the lone Thursday night clash.
The Phoenix shot 60% from two-point range, only fluffing 14 shots inside all night long, and they also hit ten triples out of 37 attempts, and despite their woes from deep, it still proved to be the game-changer.
While Cheshire struggled from range, Surrey had it worse; the hosts connected on just five out of 26 three-point attempts in a game despite shooting a respectable 44% from the field and went 12/15 from the stripe. They also out-rebounded the Phoenix 44-39.
Jaxon Brenchley led a balanced scoring effort for Cheshire with 17 points, on 6/9 shooting. He also pulled down six rebounds. Skyler White added 15.
Ronald Polite led Surrey with a game-high 22 points and four assists.
Bristol Flyers 78-84 Manchester Basketball
After losing two games in a row, Manchester Basketball continue to turn the corner by beating Bristol Flyers on the road 84-78.
That makes it two wins on the bounce for Manchester, with those two wins coming against teams in the top four, and with the side now fifth and having games in hand on the teams in the top four, it’s come at the best possible time.
Manchester made a blistering start, having taken a 28-17 lead after the first quarter, but Bristol recovered to take a slender advantage going into the break.
Trailing, but without losing their cool, Manchester came back and started the third with a 12-2 run with Max Jones scoring nine of those points. Despite their best efforts, the Flyers couldn’t get going as their counterparts outscored them 42-33 in the second half.
Kaiyem Cleary led the winners with 17 points, and his three-pointer to start the third sparked the game-changing run. Owen McCormack and Jonathan Brown each had 15 for the Flyers.
B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 68-80 Newcastle Eagles
Despite shooting only 37% from the field, the Newcastle Eagles still managed to overcome B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 80-68, in what turned out to be a successful week for the Tyneside outfit.
Despite the Eagles’ struggles, it was the same story for the Sharks, who only went 2/13 from three-point range and missed ten free throws, while Newcastle went 8/30 from deep and a solid 14/17 from the line.
Maceo Jack led the Eagles with 28 points and eight rebounds, helped along by Mitch Clarke’s 16. Nick Kern Jr. had 26 for Sheffield.
Caledonia Gladiators 76-79 Newcastle Eagles
Newcastle Eagles’ win in Sheffield was followed by a narrow 79-76 win on Sunday on the road to the Caledonia Gladiators.
Maceo Jack once again led the way with 26 points, and he grabbed the key defensive rebound to prevent Caledonia from getting a quick score with less than 10 seconds on the clock, as Jet Speelman failed to convert after Kyle Jimenez missed his third free throw.
Ray’Sean Taylor chipped in with 16 points for the Eagles. Jimenez had a team-high 23 for Caledonia, who remain bottom of the table.
Cheshire Phoenix 88-89 Leicester Riders
A clutch free throw from Donald Carey Jr. proved enough for Leicester Riders to sink the Cheshire Phoenix 89-88 in a nail-biter in Ellesmere Port.
Patrick Robinson had the chance to win it for the Phoenix but missed his three-pointer as Cheshire lost their fourth game in six. After a dreadful start to the Championship, the Riders secured their fifth win in six.
Raequan Battle led Leicester with 26 points and five rebounds. Skyler White hit four triples for 20 points in return for the Phoenix.