Riders look to improve on offence

Paternostro has not been impressed by Riders' recent attacking displays

Leicester Riders head coach Rob Paternostro has told his team they need to improve offensively after Friday's 82-63 defeat at Sheffield Sharks.

He told BBC Radio Leicester: "I thought offensively - other than the third quarter - we struggled.

"It's been a problem. Even in the wins we have had recently we have had a hard time putting the ball in the basket. We really lacked an outside threat.

"But I can't fault our effort. We came back and played hard."

Riders were without two of their big scorers in injured duo Bradd Wierzbicki and Phil Missere and were always struggling to stay with the Sharks, who led from tip to buzzer.

An early 15-3 tear saw the home side end the opening period 23-9 ahead and they maintained the pressure to lead 37-25 at the midway point.

A spirited third-period effort saw Riders pull the deficit back to three points at 52-49 but Sharks upped the tempo in the final quarter and eased to victory thanks to a 12-1 burst.

Dwayne James led all scorers with 23 points for Leicester, who are next in action on Saturday, 28 March when they host Worthing Thunder.