Basketball: Early correctional time-out fails to divert the Phoenix flight path - Sayers

With the Force having won their last three games in a row, they were intent on continuing the impressive run. However, Friday night, their opponents were out for revenge and determined not to leave Leeds with anything less than a victory.

The visitors started the game in an offensive groove hitting three shots from behind the 3-point line, causing coach Matt Newby to call a time-out. We came out fighting, however, and managed to finish the quarter with the lead (26-23). Unfortunately, the Phoenix regained control of the game and took the lead once again and closed the half with a 40-46 lead on the hosts.

Drawing confidence from the fact that we had been in this position before and prevailed, we refocused and prepared to fight back in the second half. Despite closing the gap in the opening minutes of the third quarter, Phoenix rallied back and went on to open up a convincing lead. In the second half they ultimately out-scored us by 15, resulting in a 72-93 win over the Force.

Some notable performances for Leeds force were Bullard, who finished with 18 points, Marsden, who followed closely with 16 points, and Wells and Waller both contributed with 13 points each.

After such an exciting couple of weeks for Leeds Force the loss against Cheshire Phoenix was disappointing, there is no denying that. Having said that, we cannot afford to dwell on it too much because we have many more games to play. While it’s important to understand the mistakes we made so that we can correct them, it’s equally as important to ensure that we focus on the next challenge as soon as possible.

Around the BBL this week there have been some interesting results. One of which came from the match-up between Sheffield Sharks and Leicester Riders. Before the game, Riders were one of two undefeated teams in the league, but that would all change. Sharks put an end to the unbeaten streak as they beat the second-place Riders by 6 points (85-79). The statement victory was propelled by the Sharks’ Jerrold Brooks and Mike Cook who had 29 and 22 points respectively.

Another big win in the BBL this week was on Sunday night as the Plymouth Raiders won 91-101 away from home versus the Worcester Wolves. The Raiders started the season slowly and struggled to claim a win for some time but are now starting to find their feet and proving so.

The high-scoring game was a product of six Raiders players in double-figure scoring with Daryl Corletto and Adrien Sturt leading the way with 24 and 20 points respectively. Meanwhile, Newcastle Eagles are now the only team yet to be beaten this season despite being given a close game from a more-than-worthy opponent in Worcester Wolves (95-88).

This weekend Leeds Force travel to the University of Worcester to face off against the Worcester Wolves. This is a game which, after our encounter with them last month, will definitely warrant a better performance.

We have come a long way in one month and we’re confident that this will show. We’ll be doing our absolute best to come back to Leeds with a win!