26 FEB 2016: Phoenix 64-84 Riders (TRO)

Riders cruise back to another BBL Trophy Final

BBL Trophy Semi-Final, Second Leg
Cheshire Phoenix 64 (15,29,47)
(Allen-Jordan 19, Adekoya/May-Thompson 12)
Leicester Riders 84 (13,47,65)
(King 19, Clark 16, Thomson 15)

Riders win 135-175 on aggregate.

Leicester Riders secured their place in the BBL Trophy Final with a 64-84 victory away at Cheshire Phoenix completing a convincing overall success.

The defending champions trailed after 10 minutes on the night, but responded with a huge second period en route to a 135-175 triumph on aggregate.

Taylor King top scored with 19 points with four players reaching double figures as the Riders extended their club-record win streak to 14 games.

The home side made an 8-2 start and still led by the end of the first period despite being pegged back by the Riders. However, the game changed in the second as Leicester went on a 15-2 run in the midst of racking up 34 points to establish an 18-point lead at the half.

The damage had been done with Cheshire needing to win the second half by at least 38 points, though they continued to fight and shared the third period to halt their opponents’ charge.

Leicester edged the final quarter to secure back-to-back 20-point wins to book their place at the Emirates Arena in style.

Dii’jon Allen-Jordan scored 19 points off the bench for Cheshire, but they were unable to overturn the first-leg deficit and focus now turns to their push for the Play-Offs.

The Riders have now reached the BBL Trophy Final in four of the last five years and will play Plymouth Raiders on 19 March.

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