Worcester Wolves’ defence of the BBL Trophy is over after Saturday’s 80-71 defeat at Leicester Riders.
The Riders built a double-digit lead from the second quarter onwards and led 66-50 going into the final ten minutes.
A 12-0 run from the Wolves cut the deficit to 66-62, but they could not get any closer as Leicester responded with a 6-0 spurt to put the game out of reach.
“We knew coming into the game we were playing a really good team,” said Riders’ coach Rob Paternostro, whose side is the first to reach the semi-final stage.
“I thought in the first half we did a really good job of coming out aggressive and playing tough.”
He added, “As the game went on, [Worcester] made a run which we knew they had the capability to do, but our guys made some big plays late in the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t lose a game in January. Our defence is winning us games and Saturday was no different, the defence was there from start to finish.”
Rashad Hassan led the way for Leicester with 21 points, while Neil Watson had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.
In the league, Newcastle Eagles have a little breathing space at the top of the table after picking up two more wins.
On Friday they won the highest-scoring game of the season, beating Plymouth Raiders, 123-101.
Andre Jones led the way with 27 points for the Eagles, who took control of the game in the second quarter after the visiting Raiders had won the opener, 33-29.
There were double-doubles for Eagles duo Darius Defoe [19 points, 11 rebounds] and Scott Martin [18 points, 10 rebounds], while Jordan Clarke’s 24 points led the Raiders.
Jones was the key man again on Sunday as his 30-point haul helped Newcastle to a 97-84 win at Sheffield Sharks.
The unluckiest team of the weekend was Surrey United, who fell to a pair of one-point defeats on the road.
Alex Owumi had 20 points for Worcester Wolves as they edged Surrey, 71-70. After the Wolves had turned the ball over in the final seconds, Surrey had a chance to win the game, but Elvisi Dusha’s last-second shot missed.
On Sunday afternoon it was Fran Urli who denied Surrey a much-needed win as his basket at the buzzer gave Durham Wildcats a 76-75 victory.
United’s new signing Dominique Coleman led all scorers with 30 points, while the Wildcats’ top scorer was Joel Madourie with 24.
The victory moved Durham into joint-8th alongside Manchester Giants, who lost 90-85 at Glasgow Rocks.
Rocks’ GB International Kieron Achara had a big game with 23 points and 12 rebounds but it was Giants’ Stefan Gill who top-scored with 24 points.
Two defeats for Bristol Flyers means the West Country side now sit outside the playoff places.
Drew Sullivan’s 17 points helped London Lions to a 78-65 win over Bristol on Friday and Taylor King’s double-double of 28 points and 15 rebounds gave Cheshire a 79-68 victory over the Flyers on Sunday evening.
In the final Yorkshire derby of the season, Sheffield Sharks have the bragging rights after Mike Cook’s 23 points helped his side to a 79-73 win at Leeds Force.
