Game Report: London Lions 89-74 Leicester Riders

London Lions used a strong third quarter to create space between them and Leicester Riders to go 2-0 in the British Basketball League Trophy on Sunday.

A 13-0 start to the second half, leaving Leicester scoreless for nearly six minutes, lifted the Lions to an 89-74 win at the Copper Box.

Matt Morgan came back from injury with a bang, leading the Lions with 15 points with Donte Grantham adding 14.

Teddy Allen had 19 points in the first half but settled for 21 in the end to lead the Riders.

Starting Fives

London Lions starting five: Gabe Olaseni, Conor Morgan, Tarik Phillip, Matt Morgan, Donte Grantham.
Leicester Riders starting five: Kimbal Mackenzie, Miryne Thomas, Teddy Allen, Mo Walker, Jaren Holmes.

First Half

It was a scrappy first four minutes with London defending free-scoring Teddy Allen well, as he hit all his four points from the foul line, starting 0/4 from the field.

In fact, as the first timeout loomed, Leicester were only shooting 1/9, whereas the Lions were able to take a 10-7 lead with Tarik Phillip scoring four of those, going 50% overall.

The introduction of Blake Bowman off the bench injected some life into the visitors, but on the other side, Luke Nelson did the same for the hosts, commanding the court on both sides.

As was the case with Josh Sharma as he got two quick buckets, the latter being a tip off the lob from Nelson to give London a 25-19 lead after one.

That lead sprung to 31-19 after just 1:15 of the second played, as London got good second-chance looks, taking advantage of isolation plays from the Riders that came to nothing.

Leicester were able to keep the scoreboard ticking out of the timeout, with Allen finding his groove. Still, the Lions were able to keep their double-digit advantage thanks to numerous second-chance opportunities.

Despite Allen’s 19 first-half points, he didn’t have much support as the Riders only shot 36%, with London quiet yet deadly at 54% as they led 50-40 at the break.

Second Half

The half-time break seemed to rejuvenate the Lions as they raced to a 13-0 start, hitting three from range as Leicester were sluggish, unable to get the ball in the hoop despite decent looks.

It wasn’t until the sixth minute of the third when the Riders finally got their first basket when Miryne Thomas got a tough lay-up to drop, followed by a triple from the wing by TJ Lall.

But London’s hot start to the quarter was a huge difference maker, taking a comfortable 70-49 cushion after three.

There were highlights for the fans inside the Copper Box as Sharma brought the house down with a one-handed slam off the pick-and-roll to provide a highlight play.

Briefly, the Riders managed to claw the deficit a little with Kimbal Mackenzie and Allen narrowing the gap to 14 points having trailed by as many as 23.

However, the start of the third quarter proved to be the game-changer, as London sail to 2-0 in the British Basketball League Trophy.

Player of the Game

Anyone from the Lions could have landed this accolade, but Donte Grantham has announced his return from a injury lay-off. A big task to mark Leicester’s main scoring threat in Allen, Grantham shot 5/8 from the field for his 14 points and held Allen to 6/25.