Game Report: Leicester Riders 104 – 88 Manchester Giants

The Leicester Riders defeated the Manchester Giants in an assured British Basketball League Trophy display to move to 2-1 in Group B and leave the Giants on 0-2 ahead of a potentially decisive clash with the London Lions on Friday night.

Leicester Riders starting five: Kimbal Mackenzie, Miryne Thomas, Teddy Allen, Mo Walker, Jaren Holmes
Manchester Giants starting five: Legend Robertin, William Lee, Nick Stampley, Mason Bourcier, Nicholas Lewis

First Half:

The Manchester Giants travelled to the Morningside Arena on Wednesday night, looking to recover from their opening loss in this year’s British Basketball League Trophy campaign. Their defeat in Newcastle meant that they entered the East Midlands with a 0-1 record in the competition.

The Leicester Riders have played twice so far, currently holding a 1-1 record in the group stage. They beat the Bristol Flyers at home, before being brought back down to earth by a dominant London Lions team.

Attempting to get back to winning ways, Rob Paternostro’s side got off to a tremendous start. Miryne Thomas was particularly impressive, spreading the floor and shooting confidently, as the Riders established a double-digit lead within the opening five minutes.

The Giants responded swiftly, with William Lee leading the way inside and Evan Walshe causing problems for his former team with aggressive transition play, as Manchester shrunk Leicester’s lead.

Legend Robertin joined Lee in producing some dominant inside play on both sides of the floor, as the Giants kept themselves in touching distance of a confident Leicester side.

The newest Riders, Duke Shelton, provided some help to counter Manchester’s size. A big block and some brawny interior defence helped his team earn a 59-44 lead heading into the break.

THAT is why they signed him! Duke Shelton with the big-time block on Legend Robertin and a spectacular early contribution for his new club, @ridersbball!

📺 WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/504ruRF5zN#UNBEATABLE #BritishBasketballLeague pic.twitter.com/AIL6abP2L9

— British Basketball League (@britishbasketm) January 10, 2024

Second Half:

The Giants returned to game with a sense of determination. Nicholas Lewis made a series of layups to inject life into Manchester’s performance. Just like that, the deficit was back down to single-digits.

But the Riders resisted the charge effectively. Recent offensive revelation Teddy Allen made up for an inconsistent shooting night by driving aggressively, while an explosive Thomas continued to affect the game in every conceivable way.

The Giants weren’t done, however. They chipped away at Leicester, through baskets from Lewis, Lee and Robertin. With five minutes remaining, Leicester’s advantage was down to four points.

But the run wasn’t enough to truly disturb the Riders. Allen turned up once again, as did Tj Lall, who provided a powerful scoring punch off the bench and drained a pair of shots from beyond the arc down the stretch to push Leicester beyond Manchester’s reach.

As the final buzzer sounded, the Riders had secured the 104-88 victory. With the win, they now hold a 2-1 Trophy record, with the Giants now in a 0-2 hole.

💥 MIRYNE THOMAS! The @ridersbball slamming it down as he cleans up on the glass in the #BritishBasketballLeague Trophy.

📺 WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/504ruRFDpl#UNBEATABLE pic.twitter.com/TqXKATHYRP

— British Basketball League (@britishbasketm) January 10, 2024

Player of the Game:

Tonight’s Player of the Game was Miryne Thomas who had showed his versatility with a well-rounded performance. He scored 16 points, to go along with his nine rebounds and eight assists as he flirted with a triple-double towards the end of the game.