RAIDERS NEWS NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2007:
PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 74 CHESHIRE JETS 71
BBL Trophy (Group 1)
Saturday 29 December
Holders Plymouth Raiders went to the top of their BBL Trophy group, with a hard-fought win over Cheshire Jets.
The backcourt pairing of Brody Bishop, who had 17 points, and Anthony Martin, who had 16 points, carried the Raiders to the victory, whilst James Noel contributed 13. Shawn Myers led the Jets with 17 on the night.
The teams could barely be separated in the early stages as they played out a 16-16 first quarter.
With the Jets taking an early second stanza lead at 17-18, Bishop's 5 points and 4 from Terrence Durham helped the home side on a 10-3 burst that gave them a lead they would maintain through to the half at 37- 34.
The Jets came back in the third period and after tying the game at 39, two scores from Jayson Obazuaye and a bucket from Matt Otten gave them a lead as large as 39-45 on an 11-2 opening to the third quarter.
However, that didn't last long as a further triple from Bishop and 5 points from Martin ignited a 12-4 response and saw the home side snatch the lead back at 51-49, which became 57-54 going into the decisive stanza.
Once in the fourth, the Raiders had the better of the opening exchanges and 7 points from Martin helped them to stretch their lead to 70-63.
The Jets clawed their way back and looked to rescue the game late on; an Obazuaye score brought it back to 74-71 and the same player looked to tie the game with a last-gasp three-pointer, only to see it rim out and condemn the Jets to their second away defeat in the 2007/08 BBL Trophy.
STATS:
Plymouth Raiders 74 (16,37,57) (Bishop 17, Martin 16, Noel 13)
Cheshire Jets 71 (16,34,54) (Myers 17, Otten 16, Obazuaye 16)
LEICESTER RIDERS 78 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 86
BBL Trophy
Thursday 20 December
BBL Trophy holders Plymouth Raiders got their defence off to a winning start, with an impressive win at Leicester.
The Riders opened the game with the first three points, but this was to be their only lead of the evening as the Raiders went on a 14-0 burst midway through the opening period to lead 3-14.
The home side closed out the opening period with a 7-0 tear of their own to trail 18-24.
Both sides traded baskets throughout the next two quarters, but the Raiders maintained their lead at 54-65 going into the final stanza.
In the final quarter, the visitors opened with a 5-2 burst to take the score out to 56-70, but the Riders trimmed the deficit back to six points at 64-70 off the back of an 8-0 response.
The home side valiantly attempted to get themselves closer, but could not do so as the Raiders ran out eventual winners.
Gaylon Moore led the Raiders scoring with 20 points, but it was Mindaugas Janiska who led all scorers in the game with 21 points for the Riders.
STATS:
Leicester Riders 78 (18,36,54) (Janiska 21, Jordan 17, McKnight 12)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 86 (24,45,65) (Moore 20, Beasley 19, Gall 15)
MILTON KEYNES 73 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 67
BBL Championship
Sunday 16 December (4pm)
MK Lions narrowly defeated the Raiders to go to the top of the BBL Championship.
A close opening period saw the Lions leading 22-20, before a 6-2 start to the second quarter gave them an early 28-22 advantage.
Three-pointers from Yorick Williams and Terrell Brown saw the Lions extend their lead to 40-29, but Plymouth began to claw their way back into the game, and trailed by five points at 43-38 going in at the half.
The second half saw Plymouth enjoy a 7-2 tear to start the third quarter and tie the game at 45-45, but another three-pointer from Williams kick-started a 9-0 burst for the Lions to take the score out to 54-45 midway through the period.
The Lions maintained their lead through the rest of the quarter to lead 57-51 going into the final stanza.
In the final quarter, the Raiders desperately tried to close the deficit, and an 14-3 run towards the end of the game got the Raiders to within two points at 69-67 with one minute remaining.
But Peter Heizer and Dru Spinks held their nerve to secure the victory for the Lions from the foul-line.
Williams led the scoring for the Lions netting 17 points, but it was DeAntoine Beasley who led all scorers with 20 points for the Raiders.
The Raiders are now third in the league table.
PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 83 LONDON CAPITAL 60
BBL Championship
Sunday 9 December
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders made it five league wins in a row with a comfortable 83-60 home triumph against PAWS London Capital.
The result moves the Raiders within two points of leaders Newcastle Eagles.
After a tight opening first quarter, which was shared 13-13, the Raiders began to dominate at both ends of the court.
Tight defence to keep Capital to eight second quarter points was complemented with 22 on offence to open up a 35-21 half time advantage.
Capital responded after the break to close to 35-32, but the Raiders pulled away again to hold an eight-point cushion (50-42) heading into the final stanza.
Plymouth once again turned up the heat to pull away from the Capital and seal the win.
STATS:
Plymouth Raiders 83 (13, 35, 50) (Lasker 20, Beasley 14, Moore 14)
London Capital 60 (13, 2,1 42) (Bradley 16, Miller 15, Ataha 9)
RAIDERS 71 SHEFFIELD SHARKS 57
BBL Championship
Saturday 1 December
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders moved into second place, and level on points with Newcastle Eagles at the top of the BBL Championship table after a convincing 71-57 victory over the Sheffield Sharks at the Plymouth Pavilions on Saturday evening.
After a close opening quarter, the Raiders enjoyed a 9-2 tear in the second quarter to close out the first half at 34-22.
A 14-4 burst to open the second half for the Raiders took the score out to 48-26, and the home side continued to press home their advantage as they restricted the Sharks to 16 points in the third period to lead 57-38 going into the final stanza.
The Sharks attempted to claw their way back into the game, but they could not close the deficit sufficiently as the home side ran out eventual winners.
Terrence Durham led the Raiders scoring with 17 points personal, but it was Justice Graham led all scorers with 18 points for the Sharks.
STATS:
Plymouth Raiders 71 (17, 34, 57) (Durham 17, Martin 15, Moore 13, Gall 13)
Sheffield Sharks 57 (14, 22, 38) (Graham 18, Chaney 10, George 7, Virgil 7)
LONDON CAPITAL 71 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 73
BBL Championship
Saturday 24 November
Plymouth Raiders kept the heat on the top two with a hard fought win at London Capital.
Raiders trailed early on thanks to a 10-2 run by Capital which handed them a 19-14 first quarter advantage. A further 6-3 run to begin the second helped the home team to an 8-point (38-30) half time lead.
However, after the break it was a different story as a 15-2 burst by the Raiders brought the visitors right back into the match. Heading into the final quarter they led 56-50.
Plymouth continued to play the better of the two sides and stretched out to 52-64 and 61-73 before London scored the final 10 points of the match.
But the Raiders held on, to move within a win of top spot in the BBL.
STATS:
PAWS London Capital 71 (19,38,50) (Miller 16, Van Stein 15, Williams 13)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 73 (14,30,56) (Lasker 27, Beasley 17, Durham 9)
GUILDFORD HEAT 67 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 79
BBL Championship
Sunday 18 November
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders leapfrogged Poujoulat Heat Guildford into third place in the BBL table thanks to a 67-79 road win at The Spectrum.
Raiders turned in a superb fourth quarter effort to take a tied match at the end of the third period and make it into a fairly comfortable victory.
Earlier in the match a 12-2 Heat run compensated for a 7-0 Raiders burst as the first quarter ended 24-23 in the favour of the home side. A 10-2 start to the second gave Heat enough of an edge to lead 43-38 at half time.
Guildford looked to have seized control with an 8-2 burst midway through the third quarter but a 12-3 close to the period by Raiders tied the match at 54-54.
There was still hardly anything in it deep into the fourth quarter with Heat up one (66-65) before Raiders went on a 14-1 tear to close out the game and take the points.
STATS:
Poujoulat Heat Guildford 67 (24,43,54) (Martin 23, Dorsey 18, Jones 13)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 79 (23,38,54) (Beasley 20, Moore 17, Lasker 12)
PAVILIONS HOSTS TROPHY FINAL
Monday 12 November
Plymouth's reputation as a top basketball venue has received another big boost, with news that the Pavilions is to host this season's BBL Trophy final.
The 2008 final is set for Sunday 2 March, and it provides an added incentive for the Plymouth Raiders to repeat their success of 2007, when they lifted the trophy thanks to a stunning 74-65 victory over the Newcastle Eagles at the MetroRadio Arena in Newcastle.
Read more on this story, by clicking onto the link on the top right of this page.
PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 99 LEICESTER RIDERS 73
BBL Championship
Wednesday 7 November
Plymouth Raiders halted a run of three consecutive defeats with a 99-73 victory over Leicester Riders at the Plymouth Pavilions. The win moved Plymouth up to third in the BBL Championship table.
Terrence Durham silenced his recent critics with a massive 29 points, and James Noel added 18 as the big men did most of the damage for the Raiders.
Chad McKnight led the Riders with 20 points, whilst former Raider Rod Wellington contributed 13.
The teams were evenly matched in the opening exchanges, with the home side edging the first quarter by 23-17 after a 9-3 burst broke the deadlock between the fourth and seventh minutes.
The Raiders made a strong move early in the second stanza as a 12-2 surge gave them a 35-19 lead.
From that point the Riders could not get the deficit back down to single digits. They responded immediately with a 5-0 burst, and then scored four late points in the first half to stay in touch at 43-31 going into the break.
The teams traded runs to open the third quarter, Raiders went 7-3 before Leicester responded 7-2 for a score of 52-41, and shortly afterwards the visitors were as close as they would get at 58-48. From there Plymouth scored five in a row as the teams went into the decisive stanza at 68-52.
The hosts opened the fourth with back-to-back scores and continued to push from there.
Plymouth Raiders 99 (23,43,68)
DMU Leicester Riders 73 (17,31,52)
PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 74 LONDON CAPITAL 83
BBL Cup First Round
Sunday 4 November
PAWS London Capital pulled off a big shock, as they defeated the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 83-74 at the Plymouth Pavilions in the first round of the BBL Cup.
In a close game throughout, the first half was evenly spread, with both sides trading baskets. It was the Raiders who had the upper hand throughout however, as they went into the half-time break leading by two points at 51-49.
The second half saw the teams trading baskets again to start the third period. The game was broken open towards the end of the third quarter. The Raiders led 52-47 with three minutes left in the period, but a 16-4 tear stretching across the third quarter break for the Capital took the score out to 63-56 with six minutes remaining in the game.
The Raiders attempted to get back into the game, but were unable to do so as the visitors secured the all-important victory from the free-throw line.
Terrence Durham led the Raiders scoring with 16 points, while Sam Bradley led all scorers in the game netting an impressive 28 points for the Capital.
The Capital now face a trip to Bletchley to face the Marshall MK Lions in the Quarter finals.
STATS:
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 74 (16,41,54) (Durham 16, Lasker/Moore 15)
PAWS London Capital 83 (14,39,55) (Bradley 28, Miller 18, Ataha 11)
NEWCASTLE EAGLES 87 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 79
BBL Championship
Friday 2 November
The Newcastle Eagles recorded their eighth consecutive win to maintain their position at the top of the BBL Championship table as they beat the Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 87-79 at the MetroRadio Arena.
Richard Midgley led the scoring with 21 points and Charles Smith returned to form with 20 points. The Raiders, who were condemned to their second consecutive defeat, were led by DeAntoine Beasley's 27 points.
The home side stamped their authority on the game early on as a 10-0 run gave them an early 17-7 lead. Midgley scored two three-pointers in that run and had 11 points in the quarter as the Eagles led 32-20.
They would not relinquish that lead despite a commendable fightback from the Raiders.
That started as Beasley hit 5 points and Brody Bishop netted a triple as part of 9 consecutive points for the Raiders that brought the deficit back to 29-34 in the second quarter. However, the Eagles stood firm going into the half with the last 6 points to lead 48-41.
The visitors opened the third stanza with an 8-2 push that narrowed the gap to 49-50, but the Eagles quickly scored the next 6 points to quash the revival.
Once the Raiders scored the opening basket of the fourth quarter, the lead was just one point again at 65-64.
However, the hosts settled the game as Midgley hit a big three and Olu Babalola collected a rebound and put-back that sparked a 10-0 surge for a 75-64 lead. After a Brody Bishop triple and four-free throws, the Raiders got close again at 80-75, but the Eagles saw the game out from the foul line.
STATS:
Newcastle Eagles 87 (32,48,65) (Midgley 21, Smith 20, Stewart 15)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 79 (20,41,620) (Beasley 27, Lasker 21, Bishop 16)
MILTON KEYNES LIONS 81 PLYMOUTH RAIDERS 78
BBL Cup
Sunday 4 November, Plymouth Pavilions 4pm
Raiders' forward DeAntoine Beasley is excited about launching another assault on the BBL Cup as his side host London Capital.
The game is one of three BBL Cup first round games on Sunday 4 November, as all attention turns to the prestigious competition.
The Raiders won the BBL Trophy in 2006, but have never been beyond the quarter-final stages in this competition. That's the prize that awaits Sunday's winner at the Plymouth Pavilions.
"We're definitely looking forward to it, we did well in the trophy and we're looking for more silverware," said Beasley.
"It's kind of like being in the NCAA or conference tournament in that if you lose one game you're out of it. You have to leave it all out there on the floor. It makes it fun.
"When you've got around 40 league games you can let your guard down, but the concentration level needs to be that much higher in the cup."
Despite their 79-62 win at London Capital a fortnight ago, Beasley is not taking their opponents lightly.
"They are young and athletic, and we need to pay attention to Wes Miller as he can score from anywhere. We need to make sure we don't get off to a slow start."
