Leicester Riders safely secured their passage into the BBL Cup final with a 165-115 aggregate win against the Sharks while their position at the top of the table was strengthened.
Sheffield already faced a tough ask ahead of the second leg having lost by twenty points at home and poor shooting didn’t help their cause as they fell to a crushing 75-45 defeat in Leicester.
Drew Sullivan top scored for the Riders with 15 points as Rob Paternostro was able to run his bench while Demitrius Jemison had a game high 18 points on 9/11 shooting as well, as 13 rebounds in the sole positive for Sheffield.
Newcastle Eagles await in the final and they fell further behind in the league after suffering a defeat in Worcester before bouncing back the next day to win on the road at Plymouth.
Kai Williams top scored, with 20 points on his Worcester debut, along with Arturas Masiulis as their combined 40 points helped the Wolves to an 88-73 win over Newcastle. The visiting Eagles led by two points early on in the fourth but an 11-2 burst from Worcester gave them the momentum needed to get over the line for the win.
BBL Molten Player of the month for November, Kareem Maddox top scored with 19 points and did so again the following day with his 24 point haul helping the Eagles to a crucial 73-70 win against the Raiders.
Plymouth looked on course to inflict a second defeat on their rivals in as many days as they edged the first three quarters to lead 56-48. The lead had increased to double figures with less than six minutes remaining before the visitors made their move.
Five points in quick succession from Joe Chapman capped a 13-2 run which gave Newcastle the lead inside the final two minutes. Jeremy Bell restored Plymouth’s advantage but Damon Huffman scored eight points in the last 44 seconds, making 5/6 from the line to secure the two points for Newcastle.
Surrey kept up the pace at the top of the table with a 91-74 success in Durham. Heat are now just two points behind second-placed Newcastle having played one less game. The Wildcats led 21-14 after the first ten minutes but the visitors produced a strong second half display to take the win.
Chavis Holmes top scored with 22 points with his twin brother Travis contributing a fine stat-line of 16 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Ralph Bucci led all scorers with 26 points.
The final game on Sunday saw Cheshire Phoenix end the unbeaten run of Glasgow with a 90-79 win at the Northgate Arena. Sterling Davis picked up the BBL Molten Coach of the Month award for November with five straight league wins but was unable to come away with another victory.
Chez Marks top scored with 27 points while Jerome Gumbs added a valuable 24 point haul as Cheshire now draw level on points with Glasgow after their strong final quarter display helped them towards the victory.
This is how the table shapes up after the weekend’s action:
Leicester Riders 12-1 (24pts); Newcastle Eagles 11-2 (22pts); Surrey Heat 10-2 (20pts); Plymouth Raiders 8-5 (16pts); Worcester Wolves 8-7 (16pts); London Lions 7-7 (14pts); Glasgow Rocks 6-5 (12pts); Cheshire Phoenix 6-8 (12pts); Sheffield Sharks 4-8 (8pts); Manchester Giants 4-10 (8pts); Durham Wildcats 3-11 (6pts); Mersey Tigers 0-13 (0pts)
