Leicester Riders Basketball Club

Guildford Heat 107 (32,59,77)
(Notley 33, Martin 18, Dorsey 15)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 85 (21,40,64)
(Woodyard 27, Burns 18, Wellington 17)

Poujoulat Heat Guildford secured their place in the semi-finals of the BBL Cup thanks to a comfortable 107-85 victory over the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders at The Spectrum on Sunday afternoon.

The Heat started strongly, and a 14-0 tear in the opening period took the score out to 18-6 early on. The Heat continued in the same vein for the rest of the first half, and runs of 11-3 and 6-0 in the second quarter gave them a convincing 59-40 lead going in at the half.

The second half saw both sides trading baskets early on as the Riders tried valiantly to claw their way back into the game. An 8-2 Riders run to close out the third period trailing by thirteen points at 77-64.

The Heat got themselves back in control of the game right at the start of the final stanza with an 8-0 tear to take the score out to 85-64. The Riders immediately responded with a 10-4 burst of their own to get the score back to 89-74 with 4:16 remaining, and despite a valiant effort, the Riders could get no closer as the Heat secured the semi-final berth with an 8-2 run to close out the game at 107-85.

John Notley led all scorers in the game with an impressive 33-point haul for the Heat, while Terrence Woodyard led the Riders scoring with 27.

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 67 (20,34,50)
(McKnight 14, Greathouse 12, Jordan 11, Woodyard 11)
Guildford Heat 96 (24,42,71)
(Martin 22, Gilbert 20, Dorsey 18)

Poujoulat Heat Guildford moved into fourth spot in the league table following a 67-94 blow out at Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.

The reigning champions showed their class during a rampant third quarter when they took a 34-42 half time lead out to 50-71 going into the final ten minutes.

Earlier a tight opening period had seen Leicester stay in touching distance at 20-24 down. They’d closed to 23-26 before Heat went out to 23-35 thanks to a run built on 7 Daniel Gilbert points.

Once Heat had blown the game open in the third the Riders never got back within striking distance as Heat cruised to the victory.

It could be a season-defining weekend for the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders as they face two games with the reigning league and Cup holders, the Guildford Heat, in two consecutive days.

On Sunday, they travel to The Spectrum looking to cause an upset by deposing the Heat from their BBL Cup throne. Last season the Heat won 81-78 at the National Indoor Arena against the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks to lift the title.

Riders’ captain Rod Wellington, who joined them in the Summer from Guildford, played a crucial role in that game. He scored 7 points and most of them came at a crucial moment in the second quarter. With the Heat trailing the Rocks by 31-23, he came off the bench to provide the spark with 6 points in a 15-0 surge that gave his team a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Another former Heat player and now Leicester’s talisman, Chad McKnight, added 7 points in that run and had 20 points and 7 rebounds for the game.

Wellington is hoping for a return to the title game with his new side after their first-round win against their bitter Midlands rivals Birmingham set up this crunch tie with his former club,

“The Riders organisation are trying to take on a new identity, so to win a cup would be a big boost,” said the 6’5” forward. “It would be a massive achievement for a young and inexperienced team.

“Being picked for England and winning the league with Guildford were the biggest moments in my career, but winning the cup last season was a fantastic achievement too.”

Riders and Heat also meet in the league at Leicester’s John Sandford Centre the night before, and with Heat guard Brian Dux still in intensive care following a car accident on November 10, Wellington admits to going into the game with mixed emotions,

“Ordinarily I would be really pumped going into the game, but it’s going to be a sombre occasion. Me and Chad [McKnight] have been in constant contact with everyone at Heat, and it has definitely affected both of us over the last two weeks. I’m not sure what kind of game it will be. The three of us lived together for two years, and we’re like brothers.”

Riders come into the games having halted a four-game losing streak with a win in their last outing at the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets, and Wellington sees signs of improvement in the Leicester side,

“We played well, but the main problem is that recently that we’ve been leading games but failing to close them out. We’ve made rookie mistakes, and teams have known that they have a chance to get back into games against us. The win on Sunday was much needed as it showed everyone that we can close out games, unfortunately we didn’t do that on Saturday, but we’re a young team and we’re learning.”

Courtesy of an interesting twist in the fixture schedule, the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders and Poujoulat Heat Guildford meet for the first of two games in as many days on Saturday.

While Sunday’s game sees a place in the BBL Cup semi-finals at stake, Saturday’s action at the John Sandford Centre will see the teams battle it out for BBL Championship points.

Riders signed former Guildford pair Chad McKnight and Roderick Wellington during the summer, and with their friend and former team-mate Brian Dux still in intensive care following a car accident on November 10, Riders’ coach Martin Ford knows that the games will be emotional for two of his most important players,

“It was always going to be a difficult game for Chad and Roderick, and due to the situation with Brian it’ll be even worse. The game at Guildford will probably mean more to them than the Saturday league game.”

The Guildford side have added two-time BBL Championship winning point guard Perry Lawson to their line-up, and Mike Martin is pleased to have his former England team-mate alongside him,

“He started the season with Sheffield, but he hasn’t played since, and he needs to find where he fits in with the team. He’ll find his strengths, and he did a decent job against Plymouth. I doubt he was 100 percent happy with his performance, but basketball players are very hard on themselves. It’s going to be a long season for us, and Perry will definitely help us out.”

Martin Ford is looking at that game, in which Plymouth overcame the Heat by 67-79, for possible pointers as to how his team can defeat the reigning league champions,

“I spoke to Gary Stronach [Plymouth coach], and he’s given me a few pointers, but we’re playing against one of the top two teams in the league. It’s probably a good time to be playing them, the trip to Germany during the week will disrupt their practice, and they’ll probably miss a bit of sleep.”

Riders split their two games last weekend, losing a thriller against the Marshall MK Lions on Saturday before bounding back to win at the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets the following evening, and coach Ford was pleased with snapping a four-game losing run,

“We certainly played as a team during the whole weekend. We looked out for each other, and took the right shot at the right time, rather than rushing things. We played hard and did a good job containing Shawn Myers for a lot of Sunday’s game.”

Yesterday's Leicester Riders Supporters Club meeting went very well and the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders would like to thank everyone who attended for helping the club take another positive step forward.

If you were unable to attend this week and would like to be involved please come to the next meeting at 7.15pm on Tuesday 27th November 2007 at the Campanile Hotel.

This meeting will go into detail about the direction of the supporters club and set long term goals. A few key issues to be discussed are away travel, improving attendance, raffles, organising shootouts and to create funding for a new PA system.

Ahead of their most important game of the season so far, the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders’ Head Coach, Martin Ford, has praised American forward Terrence Woodyard after a breakthrough weekend for the first-year BBL player.

The Riders slipped to a 74-77 defeat to the Marshall MK Lions on Saturday, before bouncing back to overcome the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets 86-93 the following day. The latter game was effectively won by Woodyard as, with 4.30 remaining, he scored a basket, subsequently stole the ball and netter a three-pointer to give the Riders the edge.

Coach Ford commented,

“Terrance Woodyard was huge for us he had 19 [points] and 13 [rebounds] one Saturday and 26 and 10 on Sunday. At the moment he’s like a sponge, he’s asking me questions all of the time, and he’s taken his game to another level. I’m hoping the other guys can get the ball to him where he wants it, and he’s playing much more of an inside-outside game than before. He needs to work out where he can be most effective for us. I always thought he’d be something special in this league, and he’s started to show he can be.”

Taking the weekend as a whole, which saw them snap a four game losing streak, Ford added,

“It was a good weekend. We put in a decent performance against Milton Keynes. In the first half we were very good, we pushed the ball well, and rebounded excellently. We were 17 up at half-time, and we felt they hadn’t shot well, but they did in the third period and got back into it. In the end it was that extra experience from Mike New that helped them secure the win. But we made massive strides going forwards. We out-rebounded them, and took 18 offensive rebounds, so it very pleasing even though we lost the game.

“We started the game at Chester in the same was as we had against Milton Keynes, but even though they came back, we got the win. We certainly played as a team during the whole weekend. We looked out for each other, and took the right shot at the right time, rather than rushing things. We played hard and did a good job containing Shawn Myers for a lot of the game.”

Woodyard is averaging 13.63 points and 8.18 rebounds in his debut season in the BBL. This weekend he will be looked to during their crunch BBL Cup quarter-final tie on the road at the Guildford Heat on Sunday (3.00pm tip-off). Interestingly, the fixture list has thrown up the reverse fixture in the BBL Championship the night before, as the Heat travel to the East Midlands on Saturday (7.30pm tip-off).

BiG Storage Cheshire Jets 86 (23,43,65)
(Obazuaye 27, Myers 22, Hamilton 17)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 93 (27,42,66)
(Woodyard 26, McKnight 18, Janiska 16)

The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders snapped a four-game losing streak, and propelled themselves into the playoff places, with an 86-93 road win at the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets.

Led by Terrence Woodyard's 26 points, it was he that won the game for them as, with 4.30 remaining, he broke open what had been a tight match with 5 consecutive points. After making a basket, he stole the ball and connected on a long three-pointer to give the Riders a 77-83 lead before Mindaugas Janiska kept his cool to make 4/4 from the line to ensure that the Jets could get no closer.

Earlier in the game the visitors jumped out to a 2-14 lead, and still led 12-21 when the Jets put six straight points on the board to keep it close at 23-27 after the first ten minutes.

The hosts took the lead for the first time 4.00 into the second stanza after an 11-2 opening made it 34-29 and they still led 43-42 at the half-time break.

In the third period the teams traded baskets until a late Joel Burns triple made it 61-64. The Jets snatched the lead back only to foul Russell Jordan on the buzzer; he made his free-throws with the rest of the players sat on the benches and gave the Riders the lead for good at 65-66.

Chad McKnight added 18 points for the victors, including four three-pointers. The Jets' Jayson Obazuaye led all scorers with 27 points.

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 74 (28,46,58)
(Woodyard 19, McKnight 13, Wellington 12)
Marshall MK Lions 77 (16,33,57)
(Y.Williams 18, New 18, Windless 14)

It’s six wins in a row now for Marshall MK Lions as they moved level on points with Newcastle Eagles at the top of the BBL courtesy of a 74-77 away win at Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.

They had to come from behind to do it though as a 15-4 opening to the match by Riders put the home side firmly in command. The Lions trailed by 28-16 and 46-33 at the end of the first two quarters before coming alive in the third.

Once Leicester had gone 50-33 in front the Lions had back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to spark 24-8 burst which got them to within one (58-57) at the final break.

Runs of 7-0 and 6-0 in the fourth quarter then handed Lions the lead and despite a late 6-0 burst by Riders a Peter Heizer free throw sealed the win for the visitors.

The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders are offering a free Molten GR3 Basketball to anyone who spends over £35 on Riders merchandise or over £50 on Riders tickets.

The offer is to celebrate the launch of the Online Store and the addition of new Riders gear just in time for Christmas. We have products from Mobile Phone Holders right through to actual Basketballs.

Just added today we have the ideal gift for either the lady or man in your life with the new Riders Polo and T-Shirts.

So with less than 6 weeks till Christmas, shop from the comfort of your own home at the Riders Store and spread the word about your Leicester Riders in the process!

The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders are holding a supporters club meeting at 7.30pm on Tuesday 20th November 2007 at the Campanile Hotel on St. Matthews Way so please come along to support your club.

At the meeting you will have the opportunity to have your say on Away Travel, Events, Club Development and Game Nights. The Riders are also looking for volunteers interested in helping with the supporters club so don't miss this next step in the development of your club.

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 77 (22,40,67)
(Greathouse 16, McKnight 15, Woodyard 14)
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 79 (30,46,60)
(Yanders 23, Hampton 18, Davis 16)

SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks took a share of 6th spot in the BBL Championship table with a come-from-behind 79-77 victory over the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.

The Rocks led for most of the first half before a strong third quarter from the Riders gave them a 7 point advantage heading in to the final quarter at 67-60. The Riders looked on course for a comfortable win at 73-64 midway through the quarter before the Rocks rattled off 9 points without reply to tie the game.

After single free throws from Joel Burns and Kyle Greathouse the Riders had the initiative back at 77-75 with 68s remaining. Maurice Hampton levelled the game for the Rocks with 26s remaining and after a Greathouse turnover Hampton's single free throw left Rocks 78-77 in front with 17s remaining. Riders fouled to stop the clock and Rob Yanders scored 1/2 from the line to make 79-77 with 15s left. Riders had two chances to win the game, but three point attempts from Mindas Janiska and Rod Wellington missed in the closing stages.

Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 99 (23,43,68)
(Durham 29, Noel 18, Lasker 14)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 73 (17,31,52)
(McKnight 20, Wellington 13, Woodyard 10)

The Kularoos Plymouth Raiders halted a run of three consecutive defeats, and moved up to third in the BBL Championship table, as they beat the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 99-73 at the Plymouth Pavilions.

Terrence Durham silenced his recent critics with a massive 29 points, and James Noel added 18 as the big men did most of the damage for the Raiders. Chad McKnight led the Riders with 20 points, whilst former Raider Rod Wellington contributed 13.

The teams were evenly matched in the opening exchanges, with the home side edging the first quarter by 23-17 after a 9-3 burst broke the deadlock between the fourth and seventh minutes.

The Raiders made a strong move early in the second stanza as a 12-2 surge - including 5 points from Durham, 4 from Anthony Martin, and 3 from Gaylon Moore - gave them a 35-19 lead and from that point the Riders could not get the deficit back down to single digits. They responded immediately with a 5-0 burst, and then scored 4 late points in the first half to stay in touch at 43-31 going into the break.

The teams traded runs to open the third quarter, Raiders went 7-3 before Leicester responded 7-2 for a score of 52-41, and shortly afterwards the visitors were as close as they would get at 58-48. From there Plymouth scored 5 in a row as the teams went into the decisive stanza at 68-52.

The hosts opened the fourth with back-to-back scores and continued to push from there. The lead peaked at 97-70 after an 8-1 tear with one minute to go.

Everton Tigers 100 (16,47,74)
(Aliu 27, Davis 16, Robertson 14)
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 84 (26,37,61)
(McKnight 23, Jordan 16, Woodyard 14)

The Everton Tigers won their second BBL Championship game of the season as they overcame the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 100-84 at the Greenbank Academy.

The Tigers win was inspired by former Rider David Aliu as he led all scorers with 27 points; Calvin Davis had 16 and Tony Robertson added 14 points for the Tigers. Leicester's resistance was led by 23 points from Chad McKnight.

The visitors started the game the quicker and led after the first ten minutes by 16-26. However, Everton took control of the game in the second stanza as they netted a huge 31 points, and restricted the Riders to just 11, to gain a 47-37 edge going in at the break.

The Riders couldn't narrow the gap until the final quarter but the Tigers posted a 16-6 surge late on, capitalising on Leicester turnovers, to run out 100-84 victors.

It was Everton's second consecutive home win and moves them to the verge of the playoff places, just one win behind the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks.