Game Report: Cheshire Phoenix 87-83 Leicester Riders

The Cheshire Phoenix put on a remarkable comeback to overturn a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter and beat the Leicester Riders 87-83 in the British Basketball League.

With this win the Phoenix move up to a record of 11-5 and keep the pressure on League leaders London Lions, who lost to the Caledonia Gladiators earlier today.

The Riders now drop to 7-9 and remain in seventh place.

Starting Five

Cheshire Phoenix starting five: Laquincy Rideau, Maceo Jack, Aaryn Rai, Ethan Chargois, Skyler White

Leicester Riders starting five: Kimbal Mackenzie, Miryne Thomas, TJ Lall, Mo Walker, Jaren Holmes

First Half

Cheshire started the game stronger, rushing to a quick 6-0 lead.

Kimbal Mackenzie put his team on his back to tie the game at 6-6, but a put back by Mo Walker gave Leicester their first lead of the game (6-8), completing an 8-0 run.

The Riders increased their lead to five (12-17) when Jaren Holmes attacked on the transition and laid the ball in.

A 5-0 run by the Phoenix tied the game again at 17 apiece, after Laquincy Rideau fought through the contact to score.

TJ Lall managed to score despite having two defenders all over him, completing a 9-2 run for the visitors who finished the first quarter ahead 19-26.

The start of the second period saw the hosts fight back and manage to tie the game again – this time at 33 apiece when both Maceo Jack and Ethan Chargois connected from downtown.

The Phoenix then managed to get their noses in front (38-37) for the first time since the starting minutes, when Jack hit a wide open three from the corner to break Leicester’s zone.

Despite the momentum being on Cheshire’s side, the Riders managed to take the lead once more (38-42), on the back of a 5-0 run.

First, Samuel Idowu laid the ball in, before Mackenzie hit his second triple of the night.

Leicester continued with the zone defence as the half drew to a close, but Cheshire successfully broke it with their excellent ball movement that found an open Rideau on the perimeter.; He drained the three and brought his team to within one (44-45) to end the half.

Second Half

The second half started in a similar way to the first, with the Phoenix coming out hotter.

The hosts hit two threes – one by Skyler White and one by Rideau, to take the lead (50-47).

It was Leicester’s turn to join the three-point party, with Lall hitting a three of his own, giving his team their first double-digit lead (60-70).

That marked the Canadian guard’s fifth triple of the game, with the two teams combining for 20 threes between them up until that point.

A strong drive by Holmes allowed him to finish with the right-hand layup to give his team their largest lead of the game (60-73), completing an 8-0 run.

Leicester managed to hold onto their 13-point lead to close out the quarter up 62-75.

The fourth quarter saw a huge turnaround in the performance of the two teams.

An and-one by Jack to start the period brought the difference to 10 points once more (65-75).

Idowu answered with a mid-range jumper (65-77).

But that’s when the Phoenix started an incredible 20-2 run to turn the game completely on its head and go up 85-79.

First it was Rideau who brought his team to within three (76-79) with a wide open layup following a pinpoint bounce pass by Cam Holden.

Rideau then hit the game-tying three (79-79) after grabbing the offensive rebound following two missed free throws by Chargois.

The remarkable run was completed when Rideau connected with Chargois, throwing him a lob from the three-point line, with the American forward laying it in while in mid-air.

The Riders managed to end their opponents’ run, but were unable to recover the deficit and lost 87-83, held to only eight points in the entire final period by an excellent Phoenix defence.

Player of the Game

Tonight’s Player of the Game was Laquincy Rideau who was just two assists shy of a triple-double. The Cheshire Phoenix guard scored 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out eight assists.

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