Lions 96-99 Riders
For me, this campaign marks the 21st season of following the Riders and it's fair to say that in that time i've seen some very poor games, some good games, some great games and some flat out barnstormers and last week's road win at Vince's Lock Up was definitely in the latter category.
A game with the added spice of a steadily escalating local rivalry got off to a blistering start with both teams going at it from the opening tip, the excellent Demarius Bolds was pulling all the strings for the home side whereas Riders tried and trusted team ethic provided a stark contrast with the points being shared around as per usual. The lead changed hands on numerous occassions throughout the game but no team had a lead of more than 9 as each mini run was halted and another one started. Bolds was proving a tough assignment inside and out as his pull up J's and knifing moves to the hole racked up the points and with Daniel Northern claiming 17 and 8 in the opening twenty minutes for the home side, it would need a special effort from the boys in white to get the away win.
Cam Rundles was trying his hardest on D to slow up Bolds and added to this he was hitting some tough shots for Riders ably backed up by the reliable arm of Bradd Wierzbicki whose persistence to get to the bucket in the absence of any whistles was great to watch. The long arm of the law provided by Messrs Sullivan, Royster and Lamble kept Northern and Crawford quiet into the second half and the irrepressible force of Ayron Hardy supplied the now expected array of steals, dunks, tremendous D and fantastic attitude and will to win, have we ever had a better player in this position? I personally don't think so.
Riders had a 6 point lead into the closing stages which Bolds and Crawford wiped out and the Lions had the lead 96-93 with 71s left in the ball game on the back of Bolds' 38th and 39th points of the night. Riders now had their work cut out for them but a nerveless fake in the corner followed by a big triple from Rundles saw the game tied up at 96. Unsurprisingly, Lions went to Bolds for their next attack but Riders switched on the D with Hardy taking the Bolds assignment and his swarming style left Bolds with a difficult step back effort which was short, Royster garnered the rebound and Riders had the chance for the lead......
#5 brought the ball up the floor and checked the options available to him, he could maybe find Hardy cutting hard to the bucket or maybe go inside to Sulli or Royster or even pick out the loitering Wierzbicki licking his lips outside?
Nah, let's gun another one from deep shall we?
Swish.
Time out Lions, with Mike New's towel getting ever wetter on his shoulder..........
4.7s were left for Lions to try and save it but their final play was flimsy to say the least, Bolds inbounded to Pedroso who ran down a blind alley and could only find Bob Youngblood who had entered the arc, he found himself with the ball and tried to step back and hit the big one, he got one off but it drew iron leaving a rowdy road support to go crazy and the road team celebrated a crucial 2pts added to the total.
The win had the added gravitas of being achieved without Rob on the sidelines after his young son was taken to hospital that afternoon, a situation which just like the game itself had a happy ending. LT and Phil stepped in to the breach and between them engineered a big win, one of which the absent Coach would have been proud to oversee himself.
Now we head towards a home game and a quick chance of revenge over the Rocks who can't shoot as well as they did last time, can they??
It's been a while between blogs but the one thing that hasn't altered is probably the most important thing of all, that being our strong top 3 position on the BBL leaderboard being cemented.
This has been achieved despite comings and goings on the roster plus the odd injury thrown in for good measure. Since i last blogged we have said goodbye to John Griffin and perhaps more crucially, a few days later he was followed out of the door by Flinder Boyd [pic above] leaving our depth in the guard position looking one injury away from a major problem. Compounding this was the exit of Robert Youngblood and suddenly our 10 strong squad had reduced in numbers and more tellingly, experience.
The loss of Griffin and Blood was a blow but the influence the vastly experienced Boyd had on the squad and in particular guiding the rookies in the line up cannot be underestimated. He was a major voice and sounding board for Coach Paternostro as well as he could regularly be seen taking the role of semi assistant coach reminiscent of how Tony Windless used to get involved on the sidelines.
Being a seasoned European vet, Boyd could also set the tone once on court, his uncanny unhurried style bought instant control to the side, a technique that wasn't lost on Paternostro who leaned quite heavily on that side of Boyd's game.
To many fans, it didn't sit well that Flinder didn't ever go for 20+ points an outing but he had never been a heavy scorer through his career, his game being all about tempo and getting the ball to the right place on the offense at exactly the right time, if that took 22s then so be it.
I'll certainly miss the former GB starter, his retirement to the game is a real pity but he goes with everyone's best wishes as he embarks on a University degree down in the Big Smoke. I'll also miss his blogs which were legendary, his collection of random stories and crazy emails to various hapless recipients while fighting boredom often had me laughing out loud.
So long Flinder!
With the above departures happening, we obviously needed back up bodies and fast so Rob brought in everyone's favourite pantomime villain, former Rider Yorick Williams who has been a solid addition adding the obvious threat from deep but also his often under rated defensive skills utilising his long wing span. Also joining up is former Lion guard Connor Washington who can give decent PG back up and will be a good signing once he learns the sets and beds in with his new team mates. With Tom Sherlock also returning from ankle problems things look pretty rosy all told, the team are playing outstandingly on the defensive end at the moment with the increasingly effective Brett Royster[pictured dunking above, pic by Dave Lowerson] and the outstanding form shown by Barry Lamble shoring up the middle, the long arms and nous of Drew Sullivan and the league standout in Ayron Hardy providing steals, dunks, rebounds and points aplenty. Cam Rundles and Bradd Wierzbicki are both having big bearings on the outcomes of games from the guard positions with Jamell Anderson adding a spark at both ends off the pine with his energy and athleticism.
Although the Trophy and BBL Cup are done for another year, i'm sure that no team wants to see us in a play off situation particularly as our road form has been red hot so far. The only blips being the defeat in the South West to Plymouth and the surprise dropping of 2 home games to MK and the hot shooting Rocks who really got the collective hot hand recently at the JSSC.
Next up are the noisy neighbours from Vince's lock up in Milton Keynes whom we lock horns with on Friday.
Bring.It.On.
