LEICESTER MOVE INTO TOP SPOT

By Mark Woods
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Updated: January 8, 2013

Leicester Riders had to come from behind to see off London Lions 73-68 and move top of the British Basketball League.

And it needed a final quarter rally at Crystal Palace before Rob Paternostro’s men overcame their hosts and extend their winning streak and extend the Lions’ slump to five consecutive reverses.

Pavol Losonsky led all scorers with 17 points and 9 rebounds for the victors, supported by Drew Sullivan’s 15 and a double-double of 11 points and 12 boards from Jay Couisnard. Joel Barkers and Adrien Sturt led the Lions with 15 points each.

Leicester burst into a 13-1 lead but that was turned on its head in the second period with a 6-0 start for London.

Their push became 17-5 over the first eight minutes of the quarter; the Riders stubbornly held onto their lead until Jordan Spencer tied the game at 30 with two minutes to play in the half, and the Lions took the lead with a pair of Sturt free-throws on their next offence. But the Riders dug in and hit the next 4 points through Losonsky and Couisnard to ensure that lead would last only 46 seconds and, after Ogedengbe put the Lions up again, Couisnard scored on the buzzer to ensure that the Riders held a slim 36-35 edge going into the break.

But the Lions – without injured Orlan Jackman – stayed in touch as the teams traded baskets in the early exchanges of the third quarter until a 7-0 burst, capped by Spencer’s triple, gave them the lead once more at 44-40. The Lions built on that lead, with Sturt scoring 6 straight points for them and blocking Anthony Rowe at the other end, as the hosts were 54-47 in the ascendancy – their largest lead of the game – with under two minutes to play after a spell in which the Riders were over-reliant on the three-point shot and missed 5/6 at the line. But Sullivan provided the momentum-changing moment as he drove the lane for an ‘and-one’ play inside the final minute in what became a 6-0 finish to the quarter as Riders also scored a steal and lay-up through Connor Washington and Taylor made 1/2 free-throws, after another steal, as the Riders rediscovered their defensive vigour to trail 54-53 heading into the decisive quarter.

That momentum stayed with them as they opened the fourth with an 11-4 surge

But a spell of tough defence followed as neither side scored for a minute and a half after Martin got the Lions back to 68-66 with two minutes to play. Within the final 30 seconds, Taylor made just 1/2 at the line to keep the Lions’ hopes alive and it was a one-point game as Martin scored with 11 seconds left.

Couisnard was sent to the line, holding his nerve to make both free-throws and leaving the Lions 8 seconds to find a three-pointer to tie the game; but Lawson couldn’t find a shot under pressure from Sullivan and the latter saw the game out with the final two free-throws as Leicester edged into top spot and picked up a major confidence boost ahead of Sundayâ€™s Cup final clash with Newcastle.

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