16/04/2006
Sharks 101 - Riders 85

DMU Leicester Riders season came to an end with a 101-85 play-off defeat at Sheffield Sharks. The final scoreline was deceptive, however, with Riders leading heading into the final quarter.

But Riders hopes faded in the final ten minutes and to cap a bad night Steve Bucknall was ejected from what could be the final game of his career with 16s remaining.

As they had on Riders last trip to Ponds Forge, Sheffield made a blistering start to the game and Karl Brown was forced into a time-out with less than three minutes gone and Riders trailing 11-3.

Iain McKinney in particular was in sensational shooting form as the Sharks barely missed a shot in the opening ten minutes. Indeed only triples from Corey Jackson and Steve Bucknall kept Riders in touch at 21-16.

McKinney gunned his fifth triple of the period, though, to put the Sharks back in command and one from Todd Cauthorn made it 29-18.

With 29s left in the first quarter the Sharks led 33-23 but Bucknall fired the Riders comeback. He bagged six points as Riders posted 10 without reply to level matters early in the second quarter.

A couple of minutes later Bucknall stroked one from deep to give Riders their first lead of the game at 40-38. With Deg Erskin proving a handful inside for the Sharks, Riders maintained their advantage to the break and led 49-46 at half-time.

Bucknall netted another long ranger as Riders opened the lead out to 56-53, but McKinney’s only other score in the game cut the deficit to 60-62. An and-one from Ryan Huntley was followed by a long-range effort from Corey Jackson as Riders posted an 8-2 burst to force Sharks into a time-out at 72-66.

Mike Slattery scored a jumper to finish the third quarter with Riders still 75-72 in front. Sheffield started the stronger in the fourth quarter with Riders failing to find some luck around the basket.

By the time Riders got their first score of the quarter 2.30 had ticked off and Deg Erskin made it 78-77. That was to be his last significant contribution however as on the next play Blake Shelton tried in vain to save a ball going out of bounds.

Though he couldn’t prevent a Riders possession, he did manage to toss the ball back into court and it inadvertently jammed off Erskin’s thumb – reaggravating an old injury and ending the game for Riders top scorer.

Without Erskin in his way, Eddie Cage took full advantage to pour in the next seven points as part of his nine in a 13-2 burst which had Sheffield 85-77 in front.

Riders needed stops but every time they got Sheffield to late in the shot clock and needing to force it, the Sharks would find a whistle coming their way and free throws.

That prevented any hopes of a comeback and infuriated the Riders - in particular Bucknall. When the England international was fouled with 16s left he was not too happy with the official and said something to earn himself a technical. This left him even more upset and he was tossed from the game for what he said next.

The ensuing free throws allowed Sheffield to run up their winning margin.

Erksin went 11-for-16 to lead all scorers with 26 points despite injury limiting him to only 25 minutes. Steve Bucknall also shot well for his 16 points, 4 boards and 3 assists, as did Ryan Huntley who added 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Corey Jackson went 3-for-5 from behind the arc for his 11 points, with Tony Holley netting 8 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Anthony McHenry had 5, Darren Mills 3 and Marcus Knight 1.

Sterling Davis topped the Sharks with 23 points off 9-for-12 shooting, with Eddie Cage shooting exactly the same for his 22. Iain McKinney went 6-for-7 from behind the arc for his 18, Blake Shelton chipped in 17 and Todd Cauthorn 14.

11/04/2006
Rocks 75 - Riders 62

DMU Leicester Riders fell to a 75-62 defeat in their final regular season game, as they were unable to extend their good run of results in Glasgow against Scottish Rocks.

In a largely irrelevant game, Riders never fully recovered from a first quarter blitz by the home side, who were desperate for a return to form after an end of season slump which saw them hand the league title to Newcastle Eagles.

The opening quarter of the game was something of a three-point shooting contest. Deg Erskin netted from behind the arc on the opening play to set the tone and Ryan Huntley soon followed that up with two three-pointers to give Riders the lead.

The home side, though, weren’t to be left out and hit three triples of their own to make it 13-14.

The impressive shooting continued when England international Gerymane Forbes netted a further three long range efforts as the Rocks bagged 17 of the last 20 first quarter points to lead 30-17.

Riders only score in that spell was a three from Darren Mills to take the first quarter tally to 10 long-range efforts between the sides.

Leicester should have drawn closer than 36-26 midway through the second period, but a series of four free throw misses in five attempts allowed the Scots to post a run of 7-2 to finish the first half 43-28 in front.

Erksin and Steve Bucknall combined at the start of the second half to give Leicester 11 of the opening 13 points, which narrowed the gap to 39-46.

The Rocks, however, replied with a similar burst to end the quarter and were back in the ascendancy at 59-44 with ten minutes to go.

With nothing really to play for, Riders couldn’t make a serious challenge in the final quarter and conserved their energy’s for the far more important business of Sheffield in the play-offs on Sunday.

09/04/2006
Riders 88 - Heat 79

DMU Leicester Riders finished their home campaign on a high with an 88-79 victory over Guildford Heat.

The victory – the 18th in the league this season – means Riders will in finish sixth in the BBL Championship, their highest placing since 1992. It also marks Leicester’s third best tally of wins in a league campaign behind the 20 recorded in 1993/94 and 23 posted in 1983/84.

Riders will now play in Sheffield next Sunday (16th) at 4.00pm in their first play-off game since winning the title – against the Sharks in the Final – back in 2001.

Prior to the game a capacity crowd at John Sandford Sport Centre rose to their feet to acclaim their Player of the Season – Anthony McHenry edged out Ryan Huntley in the fans’ voting by two votes, the closest ever result.

Undeniable helped by an impressive turnout of vociferous Guildford fans, the atmosphere in the JSSC was electric right from the start, but it was the away supporters who had the most to cheer.

Keen to take advantage of the fact Riders were facing their third game in five days, Guildford upped the tempo led by Brian Dux and dominated the opening period. Dux and Chad McKnight combined for the first run of the game as Guildford netted 16 points to just two Huntley three-pointers to open a 24-12 lead.

Dux went on to net 16 first quarter points as he guided his side to a 32-19 lead. The Heat advantage didn’t last too long, though, as Riders roared back into the game at the start of the second quarter.

With Steve Bucknall at the top of the zone defence, Riders put the squeeze on Guildford and turned defence into offence with repetitive ease. An offensive stick back from Tony Holley was followed by a triple from Bucknall and three points from Deg Erskin.

Corey Jackson then came off the bench, gunned a long two and then tied the game with a three in the corner only 3.30 into the quarter. Shortly afterwards Bucknall gave Riders their first lead of the contest with a long deuce to cap a 15-0 tear to start the quarter.

It was only 19s from the mid-point of the second that Martin Gottfried finally managed to get his side’s first bucket with a rather scrappy offensive put back. Guildford did regain the lead, but not for long as Jackson dropped back-to-back treys to spark another eight unanswered points.

Miraculously Riders entered the second quarter 13 behind but went into the locker room 48-41 in front to rousing applause.

There weren’t too many highlights in the third quarter, threes from Dux, Bucknall and Williams as well as a stunning slam dunk rebound from McHenry were about it, as a plethora of whistles ensured a stop-start quarter of free throw shooting.

Guildford edge the foul shooting competition in the third by going 10-for-16 compared to Riders 6-for-9 and that ensured the sides were level at 63 with ten minutes to go.

They weren’t tied for long however as triple from Huntley and two Marcus Knight free throws had Riders back in front. The victory was sealed with another eight unanswered points from the Riders highlighted by back-to-back long range efforts from Bucknall to make it 78-67.

Riders spread the scoring about led by Steve Bucknall who had 19 points – including 4-for-7 threes - and 5 assists. Marcus Knight missed only twice for his 17 points, 6 boards, 4 steals and 3 assists. Ryan Huntley hit three long ones for his 13 points, 5 boards and 5 assists, with Tony Holley posting a double-double 12 and 11. Deg Erskin netted 12 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, whilst Anthony McHenry was dogged by foul trouble and managed only 15 minutes during which time he posted 4 points, 5 boards and 4 assists. Corey Jackson hit 3-for-4 from behind the arc as all of his 11 points came in a four-minute spell in the second quarter.

Brian Dux was easily his side’s best performer shooting 67% for his 30 points, with Dean Williams (13) and Chad McKnight (14) the only other Heat players in double-digits.

07/04/2006
Towers 65 - Riders 88

DMU Leicester Riders confirmed their play-off berth with an 88-65 victory over London Towers at Crystal Palace.

Riders’ play-off game next weekend will be their first since that glorious May day of 2001 when they lifted the coveted silver basketball and will be only their third play-off campaign in the last dozen years.

The victory over London completed their set of scalps against BBL opposition – again the first time since 2000/01 that they’ve beaten all of their rivals.

To make it an even better night for the Riders, Chester lost 91-85 at Milton Keynes which saw Riders move ahead of Billy Singleton’s side and probably only a victory away from a sixth place finish which would be their highest placing since 1991/92.

One more success in the last two games would also mark the most league wins in a season for the club since the 1993/94 campaign.

Riders’ cause was helped when Sullivan Phillips was ruled out with a rib injury and Lynard Stewart was also absent due to the birth of his baby.

Despite the absentees, London started strongly and a 13-1 run gave them a 15-6 lead which they maintained to the end of the period when they led 20-12.

With Riders switching to a zone defence, they stifled the Towers and a 7-0 burst trimmed the gap to 22-19. Riders then moved into a 28-25 lead before another unanswered spell of 11 points opened their advantage out to 39-28.

A three on the buzzer from Antonio Hudson cut it to 39-34 and London narrowed the gap to 45-43 early in the second half, but 12 more without reply from the Riders put them well clear again at 59-45.

Riders led 64-48 thanks to a three from Ryan Huntley to end the third quarter and a 15-2 burst in the fourth sealed the victory at 86-57.

Deg Erskin was in unstoppable form shooting 15-for-21 to lead all scorers with 33 points. Steve Bucknall also shot 71% from the floor for his 13 points and handed out 7 assists as well. Marcus Knight chipped in with 13 points and 5 boards, whilst Anthony McHenry had 11 and 5. Tony Holley posted a double-double 10 and 12, with Ryan Huntley adding 6 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds. Darren Mills had Riders other basket.

Niki Arinze topped the Towers with 20 points and 10 boards with Antonio Hudson adding 17 and Terrence Simmons 13.

04/04/2006
Bears 72 - Riders 80

DMU Leicester Riders are almost there after an 80-72 victory at Brighton Bears put them on the brink of their first play-off berth in five years.

Riders need just one more win to be mathematically sure of post-season participation, but would also qualify if Brighton don’t beat the Rocks in their final game of the season, or Milton Keynes lose any of their remaining three games.

Deg Erskin once again turned up the heat in the opening exchanges and Riders soon posted a 12-2 run to lead 15-6. Brighton, though, responded with a strong finish to the first quarter to level the match at 18-18.

A 10-2 run by the Riders had them back in front at 35-25 midway through the second period and they held a 43-36 advantage at half-time.

The sides traded 6-0 runs in the third quarter, but Riders still edged away from their hosts and led 62-49 with 10 minutes to go.

Brighton rallied with 13 unanswered points to close the gap to 66-64 after three minutes of the final period, but Riders steadied the ship with a 9-0 burst which gave them an unassailable 75-64 lead.

Deg Erskin led the Riders with 23 points, closely followed by Ryan Huntley who had 21. Tony Holley netted 14.

01/04/2006
Riders 83 - Raiders 86

DMU Leicester Riders are still waiting to confirm their play-off place after Plymouth Raiders kept alive their hopes of a post-season berth with a dramatic 86-83 victory.

Riders had bossed much of the match, but with their season on the line Drew Lasker snatched victory for the Raiders.

Deg Erskin was in top form in the opening quarter (12 points) as he helped Riders to an early 17-11 lead. Lasker, though, bagged 9 points of his own to help his side back in the game at 26-24 at the end of the first.

Lasker and Carlton Aaron combined to lead the Raiders to eight unanswered points as they opened a 34-30 advantage, but Riders soon hit back with Marcus Knight and Ryan Huntley leading the charge.

Eleven unanswered points gave Riders a 46-38 lead and they took a 48-41 advantage into half-time.

Gaylon Moore and Aaron guided Raiders back into the game at 57-56 midway through the third period, before another seven straight points by the Riders - capped off by an audacious three-point play from Huntley - saw them 64-56 to the good.

Raiders, though, netted the last five points of the third and the first five of the fourth to reclaim the lead at 76-70, before back-to-back triples from Corey Jackson capped a 10-2 reply by the Riders.

DeAntoine Beasley dunked in an Aaron miss to level the game at 82 with 2.33 left, but neither side could score for the next two minutes. Finally Erskin had the chance to get the scoreboard ticking with 39s left when Aaron fouled out of the game.

Deg made the first but missed the second and Tony Holley was called for a foul on the rebound. It was only Riders second of the quarter, but Huntley was called for his and the team’s third and fourth on the ensuing play.

Drew Lasker drove to the basket in the closing seconds somewhat out of control but was bailed out by a harsh call on Steve Bucknall which allowed him to go to the line with 7s left.

He made both and after a time-out Riders got possession from the half-court. Safe in the knowledge his team had a foul to give, Lasker gambled on a steal and robbed McHenry of the ball and dunked home the winner.

Deg Erksin led the Riders with 23 points, with Ryan Huntley posting a double-double 14 points and 10 assists. Marcus Knight shot well for his 13 points, as did Ant McHenry who missed just once for his 12 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Corey Jackson had 8 points and Steve Bucknall marked his return from the Commonwealth Games with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Tony Holley added 3 and Darren Mills 2.

Drew Lasker was Raiders star performer with 28 points, closely followed by DeAntoine Beasley who netted 22. Carlton Aaron was Raiders other main scorer with 15.