League-leading Lions suffered their first two losses in the Championship, Gladiators made their mark on the win column, Riders impressed with two wins in a weekend and Manchester lost a pair in three days.

London Lions 83 – 87 Surrey 89ers (28/11/2024)

This week’s league action tipped off at the Copper Box Arena in London, where league-leading Lions hosted mid-table 89ers on Thursday evening.

Both teams made bright starts, trading buckets in the opening minutes of the first quarter, scoring by committee to get the game underway in style. Though Surrey made baskets from close to create a marginal early lead, Michael Brisker and Aaryn Rai then combined for a string of makes from deep to propel the hosts ahead.

Midway through the first period, Surrey took a much-needed timeout and it paid off, Cameron Gooden and Andrew Lawrence pulled up from three-point land to shrink the seven-point deficit to just one. However, Brisker and Alen Hadzibegovic teamed up to rebuild the lead and when the opening quarter ended, London back up by seven.

As the second began, Lawrence furthered his important bench contribution by carving through the lane to narrow the gap once more, as Surrey remained determined to stay in the contest. Hadzibegovic had other ideas however; a pair of aggressive makes pushed the London advantage beyond double-digits in just a matter of minutes.

Lawrence came back swinging though, forcing his way to the line twice to reduce the deficit again, before Ade Adebayo responded with a trio of lay-ups in a minute to tighten London’s grip on the contest. Mervin James shot with assurance to keep Surrey in reaching distance, but when Ciaran Sandy drained a floater in the final seconds of the half, the Lions held a seven-point lead yet again.

At the restart, Sandy carried on as he left off by piling on the points, joined by Brisker, who pushed London 11 points ahead with a mid-range floater. However, Surrey started to feed the hot hand of James, who enjoyed an impressive scoring burst with 15 minutes remaining and pulled Surrey within three.

Carelessness crept in for London, with turnovers and poor shot decision inviting Surrey back into the game, which Lloyd Gardner’s team took advantage of. Jalen Ray hit from three-point land, before Nedas Cholevinskas drove the lane to tie the game for the visitors. Heading into the final instalment, this one was level at 67.

Surrey weren’t done. Ray nailed a step-back three seconds after the final quarter began and the ‘niners found themselves ahead. Rai and Hadzibegovic answered back with a couple of lay-ups to retake the lead, but a run of makes from Jordan Hunt and Tayo Ogedengbe kept Surrey within touch.

With just under two minutes left in the game, Gooden hit a three to put Surrey ahead, before Ray added to the advantage with a pair of cooly converted free-throws to built the lead up to four points with a minute remaining.

Ray put the nail in the coffin 30 seconds later, with a confident lay-up that ensured Surrey finished the game with a four-point comeback victory, handing London their first loss of the Championship campaign.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>JAYLEN RAY TO THE 🪣 <a href=”https://t.co/7Ua5JhOkC3″>pic.twitter.com/7Ua5JhOkC3</a></p>&mdash; Surrey 89ers (@surreyniners) <a href=”https://twitter.com/surreyniners/status/1862242124596482337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 28, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Most Valuable Player: Jalen Ray headlined a tremendously spirited team performance for Surrey, scoring 21 points and pulling down four boards.

Newcastle Eagles 94 – 88 Cheshire Phoenix (29/11/2024)

The Vertu Motors Arena played host on Friday, as the in-form Eagles welcomed the Phoenix to town.

The Phoenix experienced a positive start, when Skyler White took the lead with a contested three-point jumper, providing travelling fans with a glimmer of hope. That hope was soon quashed however, when Seneca Knight enjoyed an impressive scoring burst, draining a pair of shoes from deep to earn Newcastle an advantage of their own.

Cheshire found a response through Cameron Holden drove with reckless abandon, nailing floaters and forcing his way to the line, where he hit shots in a composed manner to regain the lead. Unfortunately for the visitors however, De’sean Allen Eikens and Josh Ward-Hibbert then combined for a tremendous offensive sequence to push the Eagles ahead yet again.

Despite Cameron Christon’s offensive efforts, Cheshire struggled to contain the now-flowing Newcastle, who found an additional scoring punch from Cole Long and Christian James from the bench, as they established a double-digit gap. A lifeline was offered by Christon in the final seconds of the first quarter, as he pulled it back to eight.

As the second period got underway, the Eagles continued the offensive onslaught, moving the ball effectively and finding open shots with increased ease, while the Phoenix found themselves comparatively frustrated and fell behind the hosts rapidly.

Allen-Eikens forced his way to the cup for a string of baskets that began to forge an insurmountable chasm for the home team, before Ward-Hibbert combined contested lay-ups with steadfast shooting from the charity stripe to add to Cheshire’s pain. Near the end of the third, Knight and Mike Okauru hit free-throws of their own and when the teams split for half-time, Newcastle held a 22-point lead.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>De’sean with the slam‼️<br><br>📺 <a href=”https://t.co/G9owIMxiYF”>https://t.co/G9owIMxiYF</a><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BritishBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BritishBasketball</a> <a href=”https://t.co/KqKXiKbzzA”>pic.twitter.com/KqKXiKbzzA</a></p>&mdash; Super League Basketball (@SprLeagueBballM) <a href=”https://twitter.com/SprLeagueBballM/status/1862598549789188129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 29, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Cheshire returned to the court with confidence, putting together a 12-0 run to force their way back into the competition and move within 10 points of the Eagles, largely lead by Holden, who carved his way through the lane with regularity. But back came Newcastle with a run of their own, with scoring a pair of lay-ups to regain the momentum.

Although Cheshire outscored their opponents by 11 points in the third quarter, they remained behind by as many points, heading into the final ten minutes.

Holden and White plugged away for the Phoenix at the start of the fourth, bringing the deficit back within single digits with a run of mid-range jump shots. TJ Atwood and Larry Austin Jr. then scored a pair of lay-ups midway through the quarter to draw closer. Then when Austin Jr. scored from close with three minutes left, Chesire were just a point behind.

A minute later, Holden took care of business from the line to earn Cheshire a lead, but that seemingly only sparked a fight back from Newcastle, who slammed home a pair of buckets and put home five free-throws in the final minute, securing the six-point victory and their fourth of the Championship season.

Most Valuable Player: Seneca Knight put together a highly professional display throughout, recording 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Leicester Riders 99 – 86 Manchester Basketball (29/11/2024)

With Manchester winless so far in the Championship, the home crowd at the Mattioli Arena had cause for optimism, as the Riders looked to scratch off their losing record.

Well, they had the ideal start, as Riley Abercrombie set the town for Rob Paternostro’s team in the opening minute with a three-pointer that created a lead that wouldn’t be eradicated. Abercrombie was joined by Charles Thompson for a solid scoring run that pushed Leicester further in front, through confident range shooting and precise cutting that couldn’t be contained by Manchester.

Zach Jackson converted at the line midway through the first period and just like that, the hosts lead by double-digits. Spencer Johnson joined the party shortly after, completing an impressive sequence that tightened the hosts’ grip over the contest. When the quarter came to an end, the Riders found themselves 13 points ahead.

Duke Shelton lead another charge for Leicester in the second, as they built upon their advantage by commanding the paint and punishing a struggling Manchester defence. Jaylin Hunter then contributed a mid-range fadeaway and a contested three to widen the difference, as Leicester continued to buzz on offence.

Thompson continued in a similar vein of form near the end of the quarter, finishing under the basket to pile in the points for Leicester. This was unfortunate for Marcus Delpeche who made an impact on both ends of the floor for Manchester, but found himself chasing from a distance, as Manchester trailed by 20 at half-time.

Jackson scored a pair of mid-range jumpers at the restart, as Leicester pulled further ahead. However, Manchester soon found a way to chip away at the deficit, through a tremendous offensive run which involved multiple players scoring from distance. When Junior Madut hit from beyond the arc with two minutes left in the period, Leicester’s lead had shrunk to just 10 points.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Don’t relax around Junior Madut! 😤<br><br>📺 <a href=”https://t.co/wIAl7PMNyQ”>https://t.co/wIAl7PMNyQ</a><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BritishBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BritishBasketball</a> <a href=”https://t.co/YMcKSTQNAu”>pic.twitter.com/YMcKSTQNAu</a></p>&mdash; Super League Basketball (@SprLeagueBballM) <a href=”https://twitter.com/SprLeagueBballM/status/1863259301558513950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>December 1, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Three consecutive baskets from Duke Shelton took care of that though, as he elevated Leicester on top by 16 to finish the penultimate quarter.

A couple of three-pointers from Ethan Wright punctuated the start of the final period, pushed 20 points ahead and realistically putting the game beyond reach. Jackson and Hunter controlled the pace of play from Leicester, offering a steady diet of scoring a facilitating down the stretch.

Manchester were able to narrow the gap near the end of the game through the efforts of Delpeche and Makai Ashton-Langford, but it was far too late. When the final buzzer sounded, the Riders had won the game by 13 points and moved to 2-2 in the Championship.

Most Valuable Player: Zach Jackson stood out for Leicester, logging 20 points, five rebounds and four assists on his way to victory.

Caledonia Gladiators 79 – 67 London Lions (30/11/2024)

Up at the Playsport Arena, the Lions paid a visit to the Gladiators on Saturday evening, with the league leaders attempting to bounce back from their first Championship loss two days prior.

With the teams on opposite ends of the table, fans expected an tough test for the home side. Alen Hadzibegovic earned London a temporary lead at the line in the opening seconds to enhance Caledonia’s anxiety, but it was short-lived. The Gladiators spread the offensive load across their starting line-up to build an advantage of their own.

A trio of consecutive makes from beyond the arc extended the gap for the hosts, with Patrick Whelan, Isaiah Hill and Fraser Malcolm shooting with extreme confidence. Nick Tomsick then converted twice in the paint, forging a double-digit lead for the Gladiators.

Fahro Alihodzic stepped up from the bench to complete a three-point play at the close of the first quarter, which the home team finished ahead by eight points.

London found a response as the second period began, with Hadzibegovic finding his way to the basket once again to pull them within just three. Tanner Stuckman answered back for Caledonia, making a reverse lay-up to re-open the gap and then Totonitowula Fagbenle made a pair of easy looks to pull away even further.

Aaryn Rai pushed back for London with a composed finish inside, but back came the Gladiators, with Kyle Jimenez scoring five points in 20 seconds to keep London at arm’s length. Trevon Barnes then impacted the game from the bench, driving through the lane to extend the gap to double-digits.

The teams swapped buckets for the remainder of the quarter and when half-time arrived, Lluis Riera’s team possessed an eight-point lead.

Barnes’ carried the momentum over to the third quarter, immediately draining a three, before Stuckman follows up with another reverse lay-up to establish a healthy gap over a struggling London team.

Aaryn Rai offered a lifeline for the Lions with a pair of turnaround jumpers, but Caledonia wouldn’t surrender, as Barnes combined with Fraser Malcolm to respond to every London make with one of their own.

Jaiden Delaire entered the fold with a pair of tough makes, but the continued team efforts benefitted Caledonia’s offence, as they controlled the rest of the quarter in a professional manner. Heading into the final period, the hosts were ahead by 18 and in full control.

Rai and Hadzibegovic made a gutsy effort for inspire a comeback in the early stages of the fourth, with a string of successful lay-ups, but Caledonia were greatly determined not to let this one slip away. Barnes carved through the lane twice, while Whelan and Malcolm spread the floor to stretch a London offence that couldn’t find any more solutions.

Whelan hit a three in the final moments of the game and earned the hosts their first Championship win of the season, while London suffered their second consecutive loss of the season.

Most Valuable Player: Trevond Barnes recorded 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists in a well-rounded team performance.

Surrey 89ers 84 – 88 Bristol Flyers (30/11/2024)

The 89ers sought their second big win of the week on Saturday, when they welcomed the Flyers to the Surrey Sports Park for Championship action.

The home team did not get off to an ideal start, falling behind in the opening minute due to lay-ups from Raphell Thomas-Edwards and Evan Walshe. Bristol raced ahead, but the excitement didn’t last long, as Mervin James scored six points in ten seconds to leapfrog the visitors.

Jalen Ray then splashed home a three of his own to widen the gap, but Keddy Johnson then did exactly the same for the Flyers. Johnson then exploded to jam it home and pull to within a single point, but that’s when Mervin James caught fire again. James reestablished control for Surrey with smooth shooting from the charity stripe and creative finishing in the paint.

Johnson showed resistance for the road team, going toe-to-toe with James and leading Bristol’s offensive charge. When he pulled up for a mid-range jump shot, they finished the opening quarter just two points behind.

Cameron Gooden came flying out of the blocks as the teams returned for the second, finishing a dunk and two deep jumpers within a minute, widening the gap for Surrey once again. Johnson’s dynamic offence momentarily stopped the bleed, but Jalen Ray and Andrew Lawrence converted on tough looks to make it a double-digit advantage.

Walshe and Johnson drained from three-point land at the end of the quarter and when the teams departed for the half-time break, Bristol had slimmed the deficit down to just four.

Andreas Kapoulas’ halftime team talk certainly had an effect, as Bristol returned to the court with a sense of purpose. Johnson hit from beyond the arc, while Thomas-Edwards and Demond Robinson attacked the paint to claw the Flyers back ahead.

Jalen Ray consecutive shots in a matter of seconds to take a short lead for Surrey, but Bristol bit back, converting lay-ins to edge ahead yet again. The veteran Lawrence pushed back with a game-tying floater, but Bristol’s improved play continued for the remainder of the third. They moved the ball with vim and when Jared Sherfield drained a three in the closing seconds, they were six ahead of the hosts.

Gooden and Tayo Ogedengbe chipped away with a couple of makes at the beginning of the final period, but Keddy Johnson swiftly responded with a pair of baskets to regain momentum for Bristol. A minute later, Owen McCormack hit a three to stretch the gap to nine points and make the Flyers firm favourites.

Though James and Lawrence made a valiant effort to bring Surrey back into the contest, Bristol had done just about enough and when the final buzzer sounded, the visitors had secured the four-point W.

Most Valuable Player: Keddy Johnson dazzled for Bristol, scoring 32 points, pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists to pull his team to victory.

Manchester Basketball 70 – 80 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (01/12/2024)

Following their loss to Leicester two days prior, Manchester faced Sheffield at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Sunday afternoon action.

The home crowd were treated to a positive start, when Donovan Mitchell and Makai Ashton-Langford finished in the paint to earn Manchester an advantage in the initial stages. Despite their efforts however, Sheffield came back to jump ahead swiftly, as Donovan Clay and Prentiss Nixon pulled up from mid-range with great results.

Rodney Chatman III then offered a red-hot scoring burst, draining a pair of threes that propelled the Sharks further ahead and earned them a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter. Nathan Cayo hit a trio of tough shots, but the hosts couldn’t slow Chatman III down; the American guard had the green light on offence and took advantage of it to finish the opening period up by eight.

Cayo hit back for Manchester with a pair of makes from beyond the arc, but was met by Prentiss Nixon, who forced his way to the line for successful free-throws and drove with bombast to beat defenders with physical lay-ups.

After a stale couple of minutes for both offences, Ashton-Langford teamed up with Junior Madut to forge something of a comeback, finding open shots to pull the deficit to within a single point. Nixon hit a three with seconds left but Marcus Delpeche quickly slammed it home to ensure that Manchester went into half-time down by just two.

The teams traded buckets upon return to the hardwood, as the Sharks continued to edge ahead, due to a steady diet of lay-ups and mid-range jumpers. Ashton Langford made a valiant efforts to level the field, but Sheffield continued to score steadily.

Manchester struggled to keep up with the dynamic Sheffield offence and when Nixon hit a shot from deep, the visitors had earned an 18-point lead heading into the fourth period.

Soon after the final quarter began, Mike Ochereobia made a lay-up to push the Sheffield lead to 20 points and create a an irreversible chasm between the teams. A couple of minutes later Chatman III converted twice at the line to build the gap to 24, but Cayo hit back with an offensive surge of his own, hitting two threes to pull the game closer.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Zach Jackson fights through the defence 🐴<br><br>📺 <a href=”https://t.co/ioBSo40yS2″>https://t.co/ioBSo40yS2</a><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BritishBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BritishBasketball</a> <a href=”https://t.co/mwrRvFpoX6″>pic.twitter.com/mwrRvFpoX6</a></p>&mdash; Super League Basketball (@SprLeagueBballM) <a href=”https://twitter.com/SprLeagueBballM/status/1863298535254381039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>December 1, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

In the final minute, Ashton-Langford teamed up with Nicholas Lewis to shrink the deficit to 10 points, but it was too late. Sheffield finished the game with a double-digit win, pushing Manchester to a 0-4 record and themselves to third position in the Championship standings.

Most Valuable Player: Rodney Chatman III put together a well-rounded display, recording 17 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Cheshire Phoenix 86 – 88 Leicester Riders (01/12/2024)

The crowd at the Cheshire Oaks Arena expected an exciting clash on Sunday afternoon, as the Riders arrived for battle.

They saw exactly that in the opening stages, when Cameron Christon came flying out of the blocks for a deep three and mid-range make to establish a Phoenix lead. Zach Jackson soon tied the game with a jumper of his own, but back came Cheshire with a trio of lay-ups to reaffirm their advantage.

Toward the end of the first quarter, Leicester enjoyed a tremendous offensive run, with Charles Thompson, Ethan Wright and Jaylin Hunter producing under the basket to leapfrog the hosts and take the lead. However, Greg Wild hit a three with seconds left in the period and just like that, this one was tied at 24.

Duke Shelton and Blake Bowman made easy looks as the second quarter began to jump ahead yet again, before Wright made a pair of his own to open the lead up to the five points. Tyreek-Scott Grayson pulled up from beyond the arc as a response and Cameron Holden converted at the line, swiftly tying the game for Cheshire.

Half-way through the second, Thompson slammed it home to re-establish Leicester’s lead, before Jackson enjoyed a successful trip to the line to push further ahead. The Phoenix struggled on offence for a couple of minutes, while Hunter and Thompson punished them on the other end. When the first half finished, the Riders were on top by seven.

Coming back into the game, the sides went blow-for-blow for a few minutes, with Leicester responding to Cheshire’s efforts to claw back into the game with buckets of their own. Scott-Grayson and Skyler White executed on offence, but Riley Abercrombie pushed back for the visitors with a pair of jumpers.

Scott-Grayson then combined an impressive lay-up with a deep jumper to pull the game back within six points midway through the third quarter.  Spencer Johnson responded with a couple of lay-ups to open the gap once again, but Cheshire wouldn’t go away, as they chipped away slowly but surely.

RJ Eytle-Rock stepped up from the bench to hit from mid-range with a minute left in the third, but Jackson cooly hit from the free-throw line to tighten Leicester’s grip on the game. When Scott-Grayson drained a shot from the elbow at the end of the quarter, the Riders held an eight-point advantage.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Zach Jackson fights through the defence 🐴<br><br>📺 <a href=”https://t.co/ioBSo40yS2″>https://t.co/ioBSo40yS2</a><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BritishBasketball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BritishBasketball</a> <a href=”https://t.co/mwrRvFpoX6″>pic.twitter.com/mwrRvFpoX6</a></p>&mdash; Super League Basketball (@SprLeagueBballM) <a href=”https://twitter.com/SprLeagueBballM/status/1863298535254381039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>December 1, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Eytle-Rock and Scott-Grayson made difficult shots to pull to within five points at the start of the final quarter, but Leicester hit back with a pair of threes from Johnson and Wright, who widened the gap to 14 points with three minutes remaining.

Cheshire’s pair of Camerons made a valiant effort in the final few minutes. Christon hit from three-point land and Holden executed from the base-line to make it a five-point contest. Eytle-Rock then tipped in an offensive rebound and absorbed the foul to earn a successful trip to the line, pulling to within a mere two points.

Jackson and Scott-Grayson traded crucial free-throws in the final seconds of the game, as the Phoenix tried to finalise an excellent comeback. It wasn’t to be however; Charles Thompson split a pair of free throws with a second remaining and secured a two-point Leicester W.

Most Valuable Player: With all of Leicester’s starting line-up scoring in double-digits, Charles Thompson played a starring role with 14 points, 13 rebounds and three assists, as well as a clutch free-throw.

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