Leeds Force 83 Bristol Flyers 101: Sanders' haul in vain as Force fall to Flyers

It was a dominant display by the visitors as the Force struggled to reproduce the form that saw them topple the Newcastle Eagles a week ago.

Not even 30 points from Jermaine Sanders, who top scored in the game, could stop the Flyers securing the series.

Leeds did start the better of the two sides early on as they opened a five-point lead over their visitors thanks to seven points from Rob Marsden. The game then turned as Brandon Boggs sank two triples in quick succession to give the Flyers the lead.

Leeds kept pace with the Flyers, not allowing them to open a lead more than a basket until the final minutes of the quarter where an 8-0 run opened a seven-point gap.

Eddie Matthew instantly reduced the gap at the start of the second with a coolly taken triple in the corner.

They struggled to reduce it more, in fact it grew as the Flyers then went on a 15-2 run with only Armand Anebo’s two free throws disrupting the flow of baskets for Bristol.

Just as the Flyers looked to be running away with the game Jack Isenbarger popped up with two deep three’s to give the Force some encouragement.

Leeds couldn’t wrestle the momentum away from Bristol as they continued to find the basket regularly to give the Flyers a 15-point lead at half-time.

The Force hit back early in the third with Isenbarger adding another three points to his name. Matthew also came up with a basket after starting the move, stealing the ball from a cross-court pass.

Hameed Ali put a stop to any run Leeds tried to put together as he moved into double figures along with Boggs.

Boggs and Ali combined again as the two put together a 6-0 run to restore the comfortable lead they held before the restart. Leeds were finding the basket at regular intervals with the entire roster contributing buckets but they struggled to hold back Bristol at the other end of the court.

Jermaine Sanders tried to rally his team-mates in the final quarter as he put up the first 13 points of fouth for the Force.

Despite Sanders’ best efforts, Ali and Aaron Cosby were cancelling out his points with some at the opposite basket.

As Leeds pushed to reduce the gap in the final minutes the Flyers caught them in transition and ensured they stayed comfortably ahead to win the game.