Wounded Riders hammered by Plymouth

Leicester’s weekend went from bad to worse as they followed up Friday’s cup defeat to Newcastle with a 82-64 hammering at the hands of Plymouth.

The Riders missed out on a place in January’s BBL Cup final as they were beaten 71-63 at Sport Central, and a tough weekend on the road was made even worse by Gavin Love’s men.

It was a third Championship win of the season for the Raiders, who poured in 31 fourth quarter points to see off the previously unbeaten Riders.

For Plymouth, it was a big win to get them back on track following last weekend’s thumping at the hands of Newcastle, and it was their best defensive performance of the season.

The only time Leicester was led was right at the start, when they took an early 2-0 lead.

But Love was still threatened when Cameron Rundles brought the Riders back within nine points at 64-55 with 6:22 left on the clock. His inspiring words in a time out put the game to bed though, and the Raiders closed the game out with 12 unanswered points to put down a marker for the rest of the season.

Plymouth were much-fancied at the season’s start, having added the likes of James Jones to the ranks, and the addition of last season’s MVP Jeremy Bell has made them a force to be reckoned with.

The win puts them on a positive 3-2 record for this season, while Leicester have now lost ground on the leaders Newcastle at 4-1.