The Bristol Flyers made the journey to the Midlands to take on the Leicester Riders at the Morningside Arena, in what posed to be an intriguing matchup. Both sides have had their struggles in the League this season, seeing multiple changes to the Riders’ roster, while injuries have played a large role towards the Flyers’ inconsistencies.
Starting Fives:
Leicester Riders: Kimbal Mackenzie, Miryne Thomas, Teddy Allen, Mo Walker, Jaren Holmes.
Bristol Flyers: Corey Samuels, Kedrian Johnson, Raphell Thomas-Edwards, Brad Greene.
First Half
In the early exchanges, neither side wanted to relinquish the momentum and for the first seven and a half minutes of the first quarter, there was little to choose between them.
Miryne Thomas and Raphell Thomas-Edwards went toe to toe and exchanged points, each of them nearing double figures early in the quarter, Thomas with 9 and Thomas-Edwards with 8.
But it would be the Riders that found the early spark, opening up a 12-point lead in the closing minutes of the opening quarter.
The second quarter picked up where the first had left off, with the Riders out scoring the Flyers, thanks to excellent ball movement and an injection of points from Teddy Allen, adding an unanswered 5 points.
The Flyers woes continued as the game approached halftime, only managing 7 points in the last five minutes of the half.
Thomas, Idowu and Allen however, managed to notch up 15 points combined, stretching the Riders’ lead to 25 at the end of the first half, leading 57-32.
👀 A 25-POINT lead at the half for @RidersBball against @BristolFlyers! Teddy Allen with 15 points at the half for the hosts.
📊 LIVESTATS: https://t.co/5fNZpyGnGH#UNBEATABLE #BritishBasketballLeague pic.twitter.com/8dqDMxEh8p
— British Basketball League (@britishbasketm) January 5, 2024
Second Half
The Riders once again turned up the pressure at the start of the second half, increasing their lead to 31 points, with Teddy Allen bringing his tally to 21 points, with Idowu, Thomas and Mackenzie also all in double figures.
The Flyers would enjoy a run of their own however, towards the end of the third quarter, with Trejon Jacob pouring in 12 points for the visitors, closing the Riders’ lead to 21 points heading into the fourth quarter.
Bristol would start the fourth with an 8-0 run, that included a period of solid defence from the visitors, causing the Riders to force up shots and turn the ball over.
For a moment it looked as though a comeback wasn’t impossible, closing the gap to 16 points.
Up stepped Teddy Allen who single-handedly stopped the rut hitting two free throws, before combining with Idowu for the assist. This was followed by a driving layup to bring the Riders’ lead back to 19 and Allen’s own personal tally to 30 points.
The Riders never looked back and put the game out of the Flyers’ reach, taking the win 95-74.
The @RidersBball deliver an impressive showing in their #BritishBasketballLeague Trophy opener as they power to a 21-point win over Bristol!
📺 WATCH HIGHLIGHTS: https://t.co/9BrjK005vx#UNBEATABLE #BritishBasketballLeague pic.twitter.com/QqDVDXTWjo
— British Basketball League (@britishbasketm) January 5, 2024
Player of the Game
Samuel Idowu impressed off the bench with a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds in just over 25 minutes, but Player of the Game must go to Teddy Allen. The new Rider impressed massively with a monster stat line, finishing with 30 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in 33 minutes, knocking on the door of a triple-double.
The Flyers struggled on the night, with Trejon Jacob and Leslee Smith offering the biggest sparks. Jacob finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists with Smith managing 13 points and 7 rebounds.
The night would belong to the Leicester Riders however, who have begun their Trophy campaign with a convincing win over their opponents and will take all the momentum they can muster to the nation’s capital Sunday, when they take on the London Lions.
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