The London Lions kept up their win streak over the Leicester Riders in the British Basketball League, beating Leicester 102-94.
London Lions were able to stop any conversations of revenge by the Leicester Riders, beating the runners-up of the 2022/23 season to the score of 102-94.
Starting Five
Leicester
Riders starting five: Miryne Thomas, Xavier Pinson, Caleb Asberry, Jaren
Holmes, Braelen Bridges
London Lions starting five: Gabe Olaseni, Jordan Taylor, Mo Soluade, Conor Morgan, Matt Morgan
First Half
😬 The #BritishBasketballLeague top-scorer doing what he does best! @TheRealMM10 getting BUCKETS.
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— British Basketball League (@britishbasketm) November 10, 2023
In the
long-awaited rematch of the British Basketball League Playoffs final, the
London Lions and Leicester Riders did not falter with their expectations.
With the
London Lions missing Josh Sharma and Sam Dekker, the Lions were still heavy in
star power and was seen with Donte Grantham and Matt Morgan combining for 17
points in the first quarter.
Leicester’s
offence was a lot more spread out with a single player not scoring above five
points, but eight of their 10 players who had logged minutes were on the box
score for points scored.
In a very
tight game, the London Lions were ahead 30-26. The Riders were taking their
chances and keeping it very close with both teams shooting over 50% from the
field while making their three-point shots.
The second
quarter followed the script with the scoreline staying remarkably similar
throughout.
Caleb
Asberry and Kimbal Mackenzie started to show their scoring touch in the second
quarter after solid first quarters. A combined 18 points between the guard duo
by the end of the first half was keeping Leicester incredibly close to London.
The Lions
were starting to get more points out of their other stars, with Olaseni, Conor
Morgan and Grantham all hitting double-digit points by the end of the second
quarter.
Leicester were edging closer, making up another one point to their deficit, but were still behind 51-f8 to the London Lions by the end of the second quarter.
Second Half
The game
kept giving with the tight score constantly swapping through the third quarter.
Asberry was definitely the man on fire for Leicester, with 15 points by his
name by the end of the third quarter.
The London
Lions big three of Olaseni and the Morgans had combined for 49 points by the
end of the quarter, with Donte Grantham off the bench still on 15 points.
The game
was getting tighter, with no team taking a significant lead.
By the end
of the third quarter, the score was 74-72 to the London Lions.
The London
Lions showed why they are still top of the British Basketball League standings,
taking their two-point lead into a much bigger one.
While
Leicester couldn’t keep up offensively, the Lions ended up with Conor Morgan,
Matt Morgan, Gabe Olaseni, and Donte Grantham all scoring at least 19 points
each.
Leicester’s
multiple-man offence continued to show with Mackenzie scoring 14 points, while
Asberry and Jaren Holmes had added 15 points, but it wasn’t enough to keep up
with the London Lions.
The London Lions were able to hold on and take their lead properly in the fourth quarter, beating the Leicester Riders to the score of 102-94.
Player of the Game
Tonight’s Player of the Game was Conor Morgan. The London Lions star put up 19 points and eight rebounds in the close-fought win.
Team | Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
London Lions | Donte Grantham | 22 | 11 | 0 |
London Lions | Conor Morgan | 17 | 8 | 3 |
Leicester Riders | Caleb Asberry | 16 | 9 | 4 |
Leciester Riders | Jaren Holmes | 18 | 4 | 8 |
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channel to relive all of the best moments from the current
season.