29/01/2006
Heat 73 - Riders 60

Guildford Heat gained some revenge for their Trophy semi-final defeat by beating DMU Leicester Riders 73-60 in the BBL Championship.

Riders took on the Heat for the first time since their dramatic victory in Guildford three weeks ago, but this time the home side hung on to their fourth quarter lead.

Anthony McHenry netted Riders first seven points as they led 12-9, but Guildford hit back through Ajou Deng to lead 19-14.

A three from Marlin Capers had the Heat 24-18 up in the early stages of the second quarter, before Riders posted a 15-4 burst to lead 33-28. The home side, though, bagged nine of the last 11 points in the period to lead 37-35 at the interval.

Guildford netted six without reply midway through the third period and that helped them to open a 55-46 lead at the end of the quarter.

An 8-2 start to the final period by the home side made it 63-48 and effectively ended the contest, although Riders did narrow the gap with a 10-2 run to make it 65-58.

Anthony McHenry led the Riders for the second night in a row with 14 points and 7 rebounds, closely followed by 13 and 7 for Tony Holley. Deg Erskin had 11 and 8, whilst Marcus Knight added 11 points. Ryan Huntley had 5 points, 4 boards and 4 assists, with Steve Bucknall adding 4 points and 6 rebounds. Darren Mills had Riders other 2 points.

Ajou Deng led the way for the Heat with 20 points and 14 rebounds, with Brian Dux netting 17. Marlin Capers bagged 12.

28/01/2006
Riders 63 - Towers 70

DMU Leicester Riders slipped to a third home defeat of the season against London Towers as they fell to a 70-63 loss to Robbie Peers’ men.

Riders had started the game well, but fell behind in the middle quarters and never really recovered.

With the scores level at 6, Deg Erskin made his first appearance in three weeks for the Riders and quickly set about making up for lost time. He hit eight points in a 10-4 run which had Leicester 16-9 in front.

Riders led 18-14 at the end of the first, but five quick points from Erksin in the second quarter stretched the lead into double figures at 29-19.

London, though, responded quickly to post a 13-2 burst and claim a 32-31 lead. Towers went into the locker room 34-33 to the good.

At the start of the second half London extended their lead with a 14-4 start to the third quarter which made it 48-37.

Four quick points and a steal from Marcus Knight saw Riders net six in a row to narrow the gap to 45-49, but London hit the last three points of the period to lead 52-45.

With Riders struggling to put points on the board, London soon boasted a 61-49 advantage in the fourth quarter and there was only ever going to be one winner from there.

Anthony McHenry led all scorers with 20 points, whilst also posing 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Deg Erskin marked his return from injury with 19 points, 8 boards and 4 blocks, whilst Tony Holley chipped in with 8 points and 14 rebounds. Marcus Knight also had 8 points, with Steve Bucknall adding 6. Ryan Huntley had 2 points, 5 boards and 8 assists.

Towers were led by ex-Rider Mike New’s 15 points, with Chez Marks and Lynard Stewart adding 14 each. Terrance Simmons chipped in with 13.

22/01/2006
Riders 101 - Bears 107 (5OT)

DMU Leicester Riders and Brighton Bears battled it out for longer than any two teams have ever done in BBL history, before the Bears eventually edged the game 107-101.

It took five periods of overtime – 65 minutes of play – before the two sides could be separated, which surpassed the previous four overtime record in the BBL.

There was little to choose between the sides in the opening quarter, but a 10-0 burst by the Bears in the second quarter gave them a 26-18 advantage. They led 32-26 at the half, but a 16-4 start to the third quarter by the Riders had them in front 42-36.

Riders led 60-58 with 4:30 to go but five unanswered points by the Bears had them 63-60 in front. Two Anthony McHenry foul shots cut it to one, before a Brighton turnover allowed Joel Burns to give Riders a 65-63 lead with a triple (1.57).

Both sides missed shots, before Steve Parilion levelled it at 65 (59s) with two freebies. Steve Bucknall missed on Riders next offence, but knocked the ball away from the Bears with 12s on the clock. This left them with just 2s on the shot clock and with the ball in their own backcourt.

A block by Huntley forced the 24s violation and gave Riders the ball for the final offence. Huntley ticked down the clock, penetrated and then dished it to McHenry who dunked it home as the buzzer sounded.

The officials checked with the table to see if the bucket was in time, but it was deemed to be just after the horn and overtime ensued.

Brighton led 71-69 with two minutes left, before Ryan Huntley set about putting Riders back in front. He went 1-for-2 from the line to make it 70-71, stole the ball off the Bears, got his own rebound of a miss and then drew a foul. His two foul shots made it 72-71 with 32s on the clock.

Andrew Alleyne missed with 15s remaining, but an offensive rebound allowed Jerry Williams to draw a foul with 9s on the clock. He calmly tied the game at 72 with the first, but then airballed the second to give Riders another final shot to win.

Huntley got off a contested shot on the buzzer, but it didn’t drop. With both sides starting to show fatigue, points were hard to come by in the second overtime and with two minutes left Terrence McGee made it 76-75 with a foul shot.

Neither side could score after that until Steve Bucknall was fouled with 10s on the clock. He missed the first and made the second to make it 77-75, but a 10-foot floater from Williams tied the game again at 77 (1.6s). Huntley tried to win from the halfway line but it fell wide.

In the third extra period Brighton opened an 81-78 lead at the mid-point, but a bucket from Tony Holley and three from Joel Burns put Riders 83-81 in front (1.28). Steve Parilion tied it again at 83 (38s) with two foul shots, before a great assist from Bucknall found Burns cutting to the basket (18s). Burns couldn’t convert the and-one however and with 4s left McGee again tied it at 85 to send it to a fourth overtime.

Riders edged 89-85 in front but a three from McGee (1.58) cut the lead back to one. A Huntley steal led to him making it 91-88 (1.19), but McGee again netted from deep to tie at 91.

Neither side scored in the final minute and it was Riders who stood firm on the final offence to prevent Bears getting a final shot off.

In the fifth period both teams were out on their feet and mistakes were aplenty. Another McGee triple capped six unanswered points by the Bears to give them a 99-95 advantaged with 2.08 left and Riders never really recovered.

With their threes not dropping, Riders allowed Brighton to stretch the lead to as many as nine, before Cameron Wright hit the final shot of the game to make it 107-101.

Riders had four players notch up double-doubles led by Tony Holley’s 25 and 13. Steve Bucknall netted 20 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Ryan Huntley had 15 points and 13 rebounds with Robert Reed adding 13 points and 14 boards. Anthony McHenry had 11 points, 10 boards and 7 assists.

Joel Burns netted 8 points, with Darren Mills (4), Cameron Wright (3) and Marcus Knight (2) also scoring.

Jerry Williams and Terrence McGee both posted 31 points, with Steve Parilion (12 and 13) and Andrew Alleyne (14 and 18) both adding double-doubles.

21/02/2006
Bullets 64 - Riders 75

DMU Leicester Riders eased to a third win of the season over the Bullets by registering a 75-64 victory in Birmingham.

Both sides were a man light with ex-Bullet Deg Erksin still sidelined through injury, whilst Birmingham’s player/coach Skouson Harker was serving a one-match suspension.

Riders were boosted by the return of Steve Bucknall who netted four points as Riders opened a 10-6 lead.

Birmingham, though, responded with a 9-0 run to lead 15-12 at the end of the opening period. The highlight of the quarter were two defensive rebounds from Tony Holley which saw him past Alan Cunningham at the top of the all-time defensive boards list.

Holley now holds all three rebounding titles to confirm himself as the leading rebounder in the history of British basketball.

In the second period it was Robert Reed who came to the fore for the Riders, with a dominant display at both ends of the floor. Reed danced past the Bullets defence at the offensive end and ripped down the boards at the other as he poured in eight of a 22-4 run by the Riders.

That gave them a 34-21 advantage, but Birmingham hit back with the final seven points of the first half to narrow the gap to 37-31.

A Bucknall triple capped a 7-2 start to the third quarter as Riders re-established a double-figure lead and they kept Bullets at arms length through the period.

Bucknall and Joel Burns gunned threes at the start of the final period as the lead went out to 70-51 and the game was just about done.

Birmingham did managed a 13-5 finish to the game but it was only ever going to trim the margin of defeat.

Robert Reed led the Riders with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks, whilst Steve Bucknall went 3-for-3 from deep as he missed just one shot all night to chip in 15 points. Ryan Huntley added 9 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, whilst Tony Holley had 9 points and 8 rebounds. Anthony McHenry had 8 points and 4 steals, whilst Joel Burns (4 assists), Darren Mills and Marcus Knight (5 rebounds) all netted 6 points.

Jeff Bonds (22 points) and Yorick Williams (18) led the Brummies despite neither shooting that well, with Dino Tanner chipping in 12.

14/01/2006
Riders 74 - Jets 91

DMU Leicester Riders suffered a BBL Trophy hangover as they were beaten 91-74 by Chester Jets at John Sandford Sports Centre.

Steve Bucknall (groin) joined Deg Erskin (calf) on the sidelines, but Robert Reed returned to the starting line-up for the first time in 2006 after an ankle injury sustained on England duty over Christmas.

Riders, though, made a spluttering start to the game and with Phil Gilbert gunning three three-pointers, Chester opened a 26-6 lead after only seven minutes.

Riders trailed 32-10 at the end of the first period and were still 21-points behind four minutes from half-time. But some explosive play from Darren Mills sparked Riders best spell of the match.

With his usual attacking style Mills netted nine of 15 consecutive points. It was a Mills and-one called against Billy Singleton that sparked ire from the former Leicester captain and his bench which earned a technical foul.

Riders trimmed it to 37-43 as Mills hit 12 second quarter points, but Chester stretched the lead to 52-41 at the break and with the teams pretty much trading scores in the third Riders could draw no closer than eight.

With Shawn Myers coming to the fore Riders couldn’t get the lead below eight in the final ten minutes either and Damon Bailey stretched the advantage even further in the dying seconds.

Anthony McHenry led the charge for Riders with 19 points, 5 boards and 8 assists. Darren Mills posted 16 points and 7 rebounds with Joel Burns going 3-for-6 threes for 13 points and 5 assists. Tony Holley and Robert Reed both had 10 points and grabbed 16 boards between them, although Holley is still one defensive rebound short of completing his set of rebounding records.

Marcus Knight had four points and Ryan Huntley, who was tightly guarded by the Jets all night, scored 2 and also notched up 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Philip Gilbert had 21 of his 25 points in the first half, whilst Shawn Myers (22) and Damon Bailey (20) both scored well in the second half, with Myers adding 12 rebounds.

09/01/2006
Heat 66 - Riders 69

DMU Leicester Riders are into the BBL Trophy Final for only the second time ever as they snatched a dramatic 69-66 semi-final win at Guildford Heat.

Ryan Huntley was the hero of the hour - or rather 26.5 seconds - as he turned a four-point deficit into a three-point win with seven points, an offensive rebound and a steal.

It was a dramatic conclusion that had looked unlikely after a first half in which Riders shot poorly and gifted Guildford a massive lead with fastbreak points off turnovers.

Leicester led 5-2 after the opening minute but it was to be their last until the final seconds as Chad McKnight led the Heat to a 19-3 run which put them 21-8 in front. Despite two threes from Huntley, Riders trailed 27-14 at the end of the first period.

It didn’t get much better in the second quarter for the Riders as Deg Esrkin hobbled out of the game with an ankle injury, but a triple from Burns closed the gap to 35-27. Mike Martin and McKnight helped the home side to nine unanswered points to lead 44-27.

Guildford stretched their lead to 50-31 early in the second half, before Steve Bucknall led the charge as Riders posted a 14-4 tear to close back to 54-45. The Heat led 60-47 at the start of the final quarter, but Riders stepped up the defensive intensity and put the squeeze on the home side.

At the other end, Riders went inside with Tony Holley, Robert Reed and Anthony McHenry all getting important scores. With 3.21 left a three-point play from McHenry closed it to 64-58 and the visiting fans sensed an amazing comeback.

But a minute later McHenry was fouled out of the game and Mike Obaseki had two foul shots. After an officiating mistake he was given a second chance on his first shot, but missed three consecutive free throws.

Holley missed on Riders next offence, but Reed was on hand for an offensive rebound and put back to make it 64-60 with 2.01 on the clock.

Riders pressure defence forced Dean Williams to step out of bounds and Holley made it 64-62 (1.21) with a strong move inside.

Leicester had held Guildford to just four points in nine fourth quarter minutes and with 55s left Mike Obaseki was whistled for a three second violation.

A Holley jump shot looked to have tied the game, but after going halfway down it rimmed out. Something of a melee ensued as the ball bounced from player to player before Holley was called for a foul to send Brian Dux the length of the court for two shots.

The roars that greeted his two scores from the packed Spectrum crowd suggested the home fans thought that may be enough for victory with a 66-62 lead and only 35.7s remaining.

But it was the vociferous Riders travelling fans who were screaming with delight 8s later when Ryan Huntley not only drained a three-pointer, but was also fouled in the process.

After a time-out (26s) Huntley went to the line to tie the game, but his shot came back off the ring. Quick to the opportunity Huntley raced to rebound his own miss and then drove across the court to hit a 14-foot jumper to give Riders a 67-66 lead.

Heat had 18.3s to score for a place in the BBL Trophy Final, but they weren’t given the chance to get a shot off as Huntley stole the ball away and then wasted precious seconds before being fouled.

He nailed both foul shots and Guildford, with no timeouts remaining, had 2s to get the length of the court and hit a three to force overtime. A good long pass gave Dux a shot on the buzzer in the corner. It was mighty close, but as the ref had signalled it was only worth two it wouldn’t have mattered – not that the Riders players or fans had noticed as they wildly celebrated the most spectacular of comebacks.

Riders outscored Guildford two to one in the second half and won the fourth quarter 22-6.

Huntley was the hero, not only for the last 26s, he hit four threes as he led all scorers with 20 points. Steve Bucknall hit some key buckets in his 11 points. Tony Holley overcame a difficult shooting night to hit two key buckets down the stretch netting 7 overall and grabbing a game high 11 rebounds. Joel Burns hit all threes in his 9 points, Anthony McHenry bagged 7 points as did Deg Erskin who only played 11 minutes before getting injured. Robert Reed netted 4 points and grabbed 8 boards in 20 minutes on his return from ankle injury.Darren Mills hit two clutch free throws and Marcus Knight also scored 2.

Chad McKnight had a great first quarter as he led the Heat with 17, with Dean Williams 12 and Mike Martin 11 also scoring in double figures.

07/01/2006
Riders 79 - Sharks 75

DMU Leicester Riders moved up to second in the BBL Championship table as they claimed their first ever season series win over Sheffield Sharks. Riders defeated the Sharks 79-75 to give them a 3-1 head-to-head win – the first time Leicester have beaten Sheffield three times in the same season.

Robert Reed suited up for the Riders despite his ankle injury sustained whilst on England duty, but the big centre never took to the court. It just meant there were more rebounds on offer for his team-mates and Tony Holley wasn’t one to refuse as he became the leading rebounder in the history of British basketball.

Holley added the total rebounds title to the offensive boards record he set earlier this season and needs just four more defensive boards to claim that mark as well.

Riders never trailed but it wasn’t until they posted an 8-1 run late in first quarter that they managed their first significant lead at 23-16.

Todd Cauthorn netted the first five points of the second quarter to close the gap for the Sharks, but Joel Burns showed his shoulder had fully recovered from injury by netting consecutive triples to open out to 35-28.

Midway through the third quarter Ryan Huntley took control of the game with five quick points including a stunning three-pointer – his usual off-balance, hand-in-the-face, shot clock expiring type – to give Riders a 52-38 advantage.

With 2.05 on the clock a defensive rebound moved Tony Holley moved level with Alan Cunningham at the top of the all-time total rebound charts and then ten seconds later he grabbed an offensive board to surpass him.

Sheffield narrowed the gap to seven, but Huntley bagged seven in a row as Riders finished the third with nine unanswered points to lead 63-47.

With Sterling Davis coming to the fore Sheffield threatened to get back into the game, but each time that looked likely Huntley gunned a three to snatch back the momentum.

Riders looked to be keeping Sheffield at arms length until the final minute when a three and three free throws from Iain McKinney cut the gap to 78-75 with 6.2 left, but Joel Burns iced the win with a freebie 4.9s from the buzzer.

Huntley hit 20 of his 23 points in the second half and went 5-for-10 from behind the arc whilst also adding 7 boards and 6 assists. Tony Holley had 12 points and 11 boards whilst Anthony McHenry had a stunning stats line – 4-for-4 shooting, 11 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals. Deg Erskin added 11 points and 6 boards, whilst Steve Bucknall chipped in with 11 points. Joel Burns had 7 with Darren Mills and Marcus Knight each bagging 2 points.

Sterling Davis had 16 fourth quarter points to lead all-comers with 25, whilst Iain McKinney had 10 his 12 in the final period. Eddie Cage added 13 points and Richard Windle 10, with Blake Shelton netting 9.