Riders overcome early Eagles lead to tie game heading into second leg

Fans at the John Sandford Sports Centre on Saturday witnessed arguably the game of the season as the Leicester Riders battled back from a first half 21 point deficit against the Newcastle Eagles to eventually tie the game at 90 heading into the second leg of the BBL Cup.

In what was a fiercely competitive game between two sides eager to be crowned ‘Best in the BBL’, it was the Newcastle Eagles who started quickest, steamrollering the Leicester Riders in the first quarter and watching in astonishment as the Riders appeared to be choking under
the pressure.

The second quarter didn’t get any better for the home side as they struggled to get started, missing more than they made and appearing almost helpless to stop the Eagles who took a commanding and seemingly unassailable lead into the half at 58-40.

There can be little doubt that all the praise and plaudits lavished upon Fab Flournoy’s side at the interval was justified as his team simply out worked, outplayed and out thought the previously unstoppable Riders juggernaut.

But just as whispers of ‘no team in the BBL can compete with the Eagles’ began to be heard coming from the away section of fans, the second half began.

Straight out of the gates and putting a stop to any such suggestions, the Leicester Riders cut the lead by four with two quick buckets, lighting a fire under the crowd who duly responded with raucous applause.

To their credit, the Newcastle Eagles could see the momentum the Leicester Riders were building and attempted to stifle the flow by scoring on the other end.  But a three pointer by Player of the game, Bradd Wierzbicki, cut the lead to just 10 and showed the visitors that their opponents would continue to be unrelenting in their attacks regardless of what they faced.

With the curse of poor shooting which had harmed the Riders in the first half now affecting the Eagles (highlighted by the previously smoking hot Joe Chapman who discovered that he was unable to hit shots in the fourth, going only one for four when he had previously shot 50% for the game), Paternostro’s men charged forward.

As time ran down and with the Riders trailing by two points the returning American import, John Griffin, was fouled and sent to the line with only 36 seconds remaining to tie a game that had not previously been level since there was 6:27 left in the first quarter (7-7).

As he nailed the first, the crowd erupted and as the second swished through, a wave of joy and relief swept over the JSSC crowd.  The game was tied at 90 and the Riders had completed their comeback.

The buzzer signalled the end shortly after Brett Royster’s block of the Eagles last ditch effort to win the game and although the scoreboard showed no victor, both teams will feel they have the advantage going forward: The Eagles proved that they can travel to the highly talented Leicester Riders on the second night of a back to back and take a commanding lead while the Riders will take confidence from their remarkable comeback against one of the best teams in the BBL despite looking long dead and buried.

Mark down Friday 2nd December in your calendars folks because if it’s anything like the first leg, you will not want to miss it.