| Raiders 2006-7 Fixtures | Capitals = home games
CH = Championship
CP = BBL Cup
TR = BBL: Trophy Sat 2 Dec Worthing 8:00 TR
Sun 3 Dec Chester 5:30 CH
Sat 9 Dec Worcester 7:00 CH
Sun 10 Dec Scottish Rocks 5:00 CH
Wed 13 Dec LONDON UNITED 7:30 CH
Sun 17 Dec Milton Keynes 4:00 CH
Fri 22 Dec Sheffield 7:30 CH
Thu 28 Dec Scottish Rocks 7:00 CH
Sat 6 Jan Leicester 7:30 CH
Fri 12 Jan Sheffield 7:30 CH
Sat 13 Jan GUILDFORD 7:30 CH
Sat 20 Jan MILTON KEYNES 7:30 CH
Sun 21 Jan WORCESTER 4:00 CH
Sat 27 Jan CHESTER 7:30 CH
Sun 28 Jan Guildford 3:00 CH
Sun 4 Feb SCOTTISH ROCKS 4:00 CH
Sat 10 Feb SHEFFIELD 7:30 CH
Fri 16 Feb Chester 7:30 CH
Sun 18 Feb LONDON UNITED 4:00 CH
Fri 23 Feb Newcastle 7:30 CH
Sat 3 Mar SCOTTISH ROCKS 7:30 CH
Sat 10 Mar GUILDFORD 7:30 CH
Sat 17 Mar MILTON KEYNES 7:30 CH
Sat 24 Mar London United 7:45 CH
Wed 4 Apr Milton Keynes 7:30 CH
Sat 7 Apr LEICESTER 7:30 CH
Sun 8 Apr NEWCASTLE 4:00 CH |
LATEST NEWS: RAIDERS' UPCOMING FIXTURESWorthing Thunder v Plymouth Raiders
BBL Trophy
Saturday 2 December (8pm) Chester Jets v Plymouth Raiders
BBL Championship
Sunday 3 December (5.30pm) PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 87-78 WORCESTER WOLVESBBL Championship: Sunday 26th November
Plymouth Raiders moved into second place in the BBL Championship table thanks to an 87-78 victory over the Worcester Wolves at the Plymouth Pavilions. After a close opening quarter, the Raiders took the initiative in the second period outscoring their opponents 28-11 to lead 56- 36 at the half. The second half saw the visitors claw their way back into the game in the third quarter to trim the deficit to eight points off the back of a 23- 11 quarter score to trail 59-67 going into the final stanza. The Raiders managed to hold off the visitors challenge in the final period, and thanks to cool shooting from the foul line by Gavin Love and Carlton Aaron, the Raiders held on for the all-important victory. Aaron led all scorers in the game with 23 points personal for the Raiders, while Worcester's scoring was led by Soloman Sheard and Andy Harper with 21 points each. Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 87 (28,56,67)
Aaron 23, Moore 22, Love 15
Worcester Wolves 78 (24,36,59)
Sheard/Harper 21, Perkes 15 LEICESTER RIDERS 71-85 PLYMOUTH RAIDERSBBL Championship: Saturday 25th November Plymouth Raiders closed the gap on league leaders Sheffield Sharks after a superb 85-71 road win at DMU Leicester Riders. The Raiders are still in fourth but level on points with Guildford Heat and Milton Keynes Lions in second and third respectively. Leicester’s dismal run continues and they remain eighth. After an even first quarter, which finished 21- 21, the Raiders began to take control. At half time the score was 43-40 in their favour and there was more to come after the interval. Alistair Gall hit a three and Andrew Lasker notched five-points as the visitors went 62-56 in front with ten minutes remaining. Riders were hampered by the loss of point-guard Rob Paternostro with an ankle injury during the third quarter. In the final stanza Plymouth continued to pull away with the help of a couple of Leicester technical fouls. DeAntoine Beasley led the Raiders scoring with a game-high 22. DMU Leicester Riders 71 (21,40,56)
Alleyne 18, Williams 15, Myers 11
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 85 (21,43,62)
Beasley 22, Aaron 14, Gall 13 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 81-75 NEWCASTLE EAGLESBBL Championship: Sunday 19th November Plymouth Raiders won their fourth consecutive BBL Championship game as they knocked off the reigning champions Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 81-75 at the Plymouth Pavilions. After trading baskets in the early stages the teams finished the first ten minutes tied at 16. In the second quarter the Raiders restricted their visitors to just 10 points as they moved out to a 37-26 half-time advantage. However, after the break Fab Flournoy's men reversed that with 29 third quarter points to knot the teams again at 55 and set up an exciting final stanza. The Raiders gained the advantage early in the fourth with an old fashioned three-point play from Gaylon Moore and started to make their move with 7:45 remaining and the teams tied at 60. The home side posted a 12-4 burst, including four points from Allister Gall and capped with a DeAntoine Beasley triple, to lead 72-64. However, the Eagles weren't done and on a Shawan Robinson deuce they had it back down to a one possession game at 76-73 with 24 seconds remaining. The Raiders held on as Gall netted two points and with 8.8 seconds left Andrew Lasker stole the ball and scored to seal the win. Carlton Aaron had an outstanding night for the home team with 18 points and 20 rebounds. Meanwhile Robinson also had 18 for Newcastle and Tony Dorsey marked his debut with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in almost 21 minutes. Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 81 (16,37,55)
Aaron 18, Love 17, Moore 17
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 75 (16,26,55)
Robinson 18, Bridge 15, Flournoy 13 LONDON UNITED 69 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 71BBL Championship: Sunday 12th November Plymouth Raiders moved into joint fourth spot in the league with Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles and London United after beating United in the capital. The match was tight throughout as neither side could put together a run long enough to break away from the other. In the end the decisive burst came deep in the fourth quarter as the Raiders turned a 58-61 deficit into a 65-61 lead. Despite two threes by Chris Haslem, United wouldn't lead again and it was left to Andrew Lasker to seal the match from the free throw line in the closing seconds. The win is Raiders third consecutive in the league, while United have now lost five of their last six in all competitions. STATS: London United 69 (16,29,51) (Johnson 23, Haslem 12, Knight 11)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 71 (19,29,47) (Moore 20, Lasker 20, Aaron 17) GUILDFORD HEAT 95 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 88
BBL Cup: Saturday 11th November: Plymouth Raiders missed out on a place in the semi-finals of the BBL Cup, after a battling 95-88 defeat at Guildford Heat. After a close first quarter, the Raiders opened up the second period with a 6-2 run to lead 32-28, but an 8-0 burst midway through the period and a 20-5 tear for the Heat to close out the half saw the home side leading 53-40 at the break. The second half again saw the Raiders open strongly, with a 6-0 run to get the score back to 53-46 before the Heat responded instantly with a 10-3 burst of the own to take it out to 63-49 with seven minutes remaining in the third. Another 10-3 Heat tear to finish the period saw them leading by eleven at 75-64 going into the final stanza. The Raiders valiantly attempted to claw back the deficit, and got to within five points at 86-81 with 3:12 remaining, but the Heat were able to hold on and secure the victory from the foul line. STATS: Guildford Heat 95 (26,53,75) (McKnight 39, Martin16, Dux 15)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 88 (26,40,64) (Beasley 22, Love 21, Lasker 17) PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 76 GUILDFORD HEAT 73Saturday 4th November Kularoos Plymouth Raiders kept their hopes of qualification for the semi-finals of the BBL Trophy alive thanks to a hard-fought 76-73 victory over the Guildford Heat at the Pavilions. After a close first quarter, the home side got their noses in front thanks to some strong defence and good execution of their offense to lead by 19 points at 54-33 going into the second half. The third quarter saw the visitors came storming out of the blocks, and restricted the Raiders to just eight points in the third quarter, whilst netting 21 of their own to trim the deficit back to eight points at 62-54 going into the final stanza. The final quarter saw the Heat get to within three points at 68-71 with three minutes remaining, but they could not close the gap any further as the Raiders held their nerve from the foul line to secure the victory. Raiders star man was Gavin Love who netted a game-high 20 points for the home side, while Chad McKnight led the scoring for the Heat with 19. STATS: Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 76 (24,54,62) (Love 20, Lasker 17, Aaron 16)
Guildford Heat 73 (17,33,54) (McKnight 19, Dux 18, Martin 17) PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 90 SHEFFIELD SHARKS 85Friday 27th October Plymouth Raiders won their third game on the bounce as they defeated Sheffield Sharks 90-85 at the Plymouth Pavilions. The win sees the Raiders join a group of teams on three wins at this stage of the season. The Raiders established a lead by the end of the first ten minutes at 28-25 and maintained this through to half time, still leading 51-48. The visitors won the second half 17-23 to edge in front at 68-71 going into the deciding stanza. However, once in the fourth the Raiders snatched the lead back and stifled the Sharks late on as no points were scored in the last two minutes. Andrew Lasker led the victors with 24 points, notably Allister Gall shot 4/4 from beyond the arc for 17 points on the night. The leading scorer was Blake Shelton, who made 27 points in vain for the Sharks. Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 90 (28,51,68)
Lasker 24, Moore 19, Gall 17 Sheffield Sharks 85 (25,48,71)
Shelton 27, Bonds 22, Cage 14 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 79 LONDON UNITED 74Sunday 22nd October The Kularoos Plymouth Raiders progressed to a BBL Cup quarter-final showdown with the Guildford Heat after defeating London United 79-74 at the Plymouth Pavilions. It was a hard-fought second win of the weekend for the Raiders and was close throughout. The home side edged the first quarter by 17-15 and managed to stretch that lead to 40-34 by the halfway point. However, the Raiders couldn't establish a significant lead and the game went down to the wire with Andrew Lasker the hero for Plymouth down the stretch. With less than two minutes on the clock Tarrick Johnson drained a three-pointer to make it a one point game at 71-70. Gavin Love responded with a deuce for the hosts before Lasker took over. The American guard stole the ball and scored, before netting another basket with 40 seconds left to give the Raiders a 77-70 lead and it was left to Gaylon Moore to secure the win with a pair of free-throws to cap an 8-0 burst. Carlton Aaron once again led the Raiders with a 26 point haul, that was matched by United's Tarrick Johnson, whilst Lasker finished with 18 points. STATS: Plymouth Raiders 79 (17,40,58) (Aaron 26, Lasker 18, Beasley 13)
London United 74 (15,34,55) (Johnson 26, Feggins 14, Haslam 9). PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 74 CHESTER JETS 65Saturday 21st October Kularoos Plymouth Raiders picked up their second win of the 2006/2007 BBL Championship campaign with a comfortable 74-65 victory over the Chester Jets at the Pavillions. The Raiders started the game strongly, and opened up an early 22-13 at the end of the opening period, before the visitors began to claw back into the game and reduce the deficit to four points at 34-30 going into the half-time interval. The second half began in much the same way as the first with the home side beginning strongly, and were able to open up a eight-point gap at 53-45 going into the final stanza. Some good execution and strong defence midway through the final period saw the Raiders open up a 15 point advantage at 72-57 with 1:32 remaining. However, the Jets bounced back again, and closed the gap to seven points at 72-65 off the back of a 8-0 burst with 17.8s left, before Carlton Aaron sealed the victory for the Raiders with a bucket as time expired. Aaron led all scorers in the game with 23 points for the home side, while Jaz Cowan led the Jets scoring with 16.
STATS: Plymouth Raiders 74 (22,34,53) (Aaron 23, Moore 16, Beasley/Lasker 13)
Chester Jets 65 (13,30,45) (Cowan 16, Robinson 13, Hamilton 11). NEWCASTLE EAGLES 95 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 81Sunday 15th October On Sunday, the Kualroos Plymouth Raiders were the unfortunate victims of a Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles’ lash back after the northern team had lost their opening two games. The Eagles’ player/coach Fab Flournoy led by example with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals, was pleased that they have finally got their season started, Six Eagles scored in double-figures and there were four double-doubles (points-rebounds) amongst the team with TJ Walker one assist off of a rare triple-double, he had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. As well as Walker and Flournoy, Andrew Bridge had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Darius Defoe had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. Yet it was Shawan Robinson, on his MetroRadio Arena debut, who led the Eagles’ scoring with 24 points. READING ROCKETS 63 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 79Saturday 14th October
BBL Trophy Plymouth Raiders got their BBL Trophy campaign off to a convincing start as they inflicted a second defeat of the competition on the Reading Rockets, winning 63-79. The Rockets struggled to cope with the presence of Plymouth's dominating centre Carlton Aaron, who had 27 points for the game. The Raiders started strongly and led 10-22 after the first period. The stifling defence continued as they remained in front at 26-39 at the half way point. The EB Division 1 side did close the gap as they won the third quarter 21-17 to give the home fans some encouragement going into the final frame at 47-56. However, the Raiders proved too strong and stretched the lead back out late in the game. Carlton Aaron was backed up by 15 points from Gaylon Moore and 14 each from Andrew Lasker and Gavin Love. Richard Wellings scored 18 points for the Rockets. Reading Rockets 63 (10,26,47)
Wellings 18, Humphries 14, Cook 12
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 79 (22,39,56)
Aaron 27, Moore 15, Lasker/Love 14 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 87 LEICESTER RIDERS 89Wednesday 11th October
The Plymouth Raiders went down to the narrowest of defeats, as the visitors won by two points in an extremely tight overtime affair at the Plymouth Pavilions. The teams could barely be separated throughout the game, although Leicester held slight leads at the end of the first quarter (20-24) and at half-time (45-48). The Raiders had tied the game up by the end of three at 65-65, and the teams traded baskets from there until the conclusion of regulation time. Leicester thought they had it won when Andrew Alleyne scored with eight seconds left to give them an 80-82 lead, but Dru Lasker netted with just four seconds on the clock to force the extra period. Terrence McGee opened the overtime period with a triple, and the Riders didn't trail again. After Yorick Williams made a free-throw, Lasker scored and then Alleyne responded with a deuce of his own. Lasker was the home side's only scorer in OT and he kept it close as his three-pointer with 40 seconds left made it 87-88. The Riders called a time-out and looked to run down the clock, Delme Herriman was sent to the line with 18 seconds remaining, he missed his first and made his second to complete the scoring. The Raiders failed to get a meaningful shot off in the dying moments as a scramble ensued under the Riders' basket. STATS:
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 87 (20,45,65,82) (Lasker 27, Beasley 15, Gall 12)
DMU Leicester Riders 89 (24,48,65,82) (McGee 27, Aliu 16, Alleyne 16)
(After overtime) GUILDFORD HEAT 107 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 98Saturday 7th October
The Raiders fell to their first defeat of the season, but they gave the Heat a real run for their money. The Heat were in control of the match throughout without ever really being able to put their opponents away. A 10-0 in the first quarter contributed to a 32- 26 lead at the break and this had been stretched to 56-45 by half time. Raiders responded after the interval with an 8-2 burst to start the second half, but Heat guard Brian Dux poured in 10-points during the quarter to give his team a 78-69 cushion at the final break. Despite the Raiders closing to 86-82 during the final stanza, Heat managed to hold off their visitors thanks to Daniel Gilbert’s 10-points in the quarter and Chad McKnight’s six. STATS:
Guildford Heat 107 (32,56,78) (Gilbert 25, Dux 21, Martin 15)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 98 (26,45,69) (Aaron 25, Lasker 20, Moore 17) RAIDERS UPSET THE WOLVESSaturday 30th September Plymouth Raiders came from behind in the fourth quarter to upset the Worcester Wolves, on their BBL debut, with a 77-82 road win. The Raiders started quickly and led 4-0, but the Wolves took their first lead in a BBL game on the back of a Tom Perkes three-pointer at 8-6. The teams traded baskets until a Plymouth triple at the end of the quarter saw them take a 20-23 lead at the first break. Plymouth opened the second frame with five unanswered points and continued to stretch their lead up until half time, by which point they were leading 31-44. The Wolves came back with a massive 14-point swing as they scored 30 points in the third quarter. They brought the game back to 52-55 largely thanks to 10 points from Valdas Urbonavicius, and took the lead when Andy Harper nailed a three and was fouled, netting the free-throw for a 58-57 lead, which became 61-60 going into the final quarter. The teams remained close throughout the decisive stanza, the Wolves took the lead at 77-76 afer an Urbonavicius three pointer, but after a poor inbound pass led to a Plymouth score, the Wolves failed to score again, as the Raiders scored the last six points of the contest. Carlton Aaron led all scorers with 19 points, supported by 18 from Gaylon Moore. For Worcester, Harper and Urbonavicius scored 18 each. Worcester Wolves: 77 (20,31,61)
Harper 18, Urbonavicius 18, Perkes 12
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 82 (23,44,60)
Aaron 19, Moore 18, Lasker 13 RAIDERS TO VISIT BRISTOL:Wednesday 13th September Kularoos Plymouth Raiders will play a second pre-season friendly when they visit Bristol Academy on Sunday September 17th, tip-off at 4pm at Filton College (WISE Campus). Coach Gary Stronach will use this game as a final stepping stone to the start of the BBL season, which begins when Raiders face Worcester on September 30th. Stronach was pleased with his team’s performance last Saturday against the USA Select team, even though it resulted in a 6 point defeat in overtime. "I felt the guys played well in patches. We know that there is a lot of work to do before the start of the league season," said the head coach. "I have to say that I was quietly pleased with everybody’s performance at the weekend. Bristol, from all accounts, is young and athletic and it will be a good test for us to go there. "It’s always nice to have a game at the weekend when you have put a full week in at practice.” Bristol is coached by ex-Raider Danny James and he contacted Stronach earlier in the summer to see if Raiders were willing to make the trip up the M5. Stronach is hoping that Carlton Aaron will be available for the weekend as it is likely that he will be in the country by then. Overall there is no doubt that Stronach will be looking for a victory and improved performance from Raiders. | 
