BBL: Leicester win in Cheshire, Newcastle back to winning ways in Plymouth
The Leicester Riders remain out in front in the BBL Championship after a 69-60 victory over Cheshire Phoenix.
Last Updated: 17/02/13 9:03pm
Phoenix, fresh off a victory over reigning champions Newcastle Eagles on Friday night, overturned a slow start to out-score the Riders 21-8 in the second period.
However, Leicester stepped up their defence after the half-time interval to take control of proceedings, even though they went one-for-14 from three-point range. Slovakian forward Pavol Losonsky top-scored with 24 points.
Newcastle, meanwhile, avoided a third successive defeat - including losing in the quarter-final of the BBL Cup to Worcester Wolves - with a 96-79 victory against Plymouth Raiders.
Former Plymouth point guard Anthony Martin poured in 18 points against his old employers, while Charles Smith had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Kareem Maddox managed 20 points and 14 boards.
There was further good news for Newcastle with the return of player-coach Fabulous Flournoy from injury.
Matt Schneck top-scored with 24 for the Raiders, who led 10-4 in the early stages but then trailed by five at the end of the first half.
Durham Wildcats saw their play-off push suffer a blow when they went down to a 99-73 loss at the hands of Glasgow Rocks.
Rocks player-coach Sterling Davis led the way with a game-high 30 points, including helping his team race out to a double-digit lead.
Durham simply never recovered from giving up 27 points in the opening 10 minutes. They trailed 74-57 going into the last quarter and were never able to get close.
Donald Robinson had 17 points and eight assists to back up the efforts of Davis, while Andrew Keister who had a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds in a losing cause.