Phoenix return to winning ways with victory in Yorkshire
BBL Championship
Leeds Force 83-101 Cheshire Phoenix (12-26, 40-43, 58-75)
Cheshire Phoenix produced a terrific third quarter to lay the foundation for a road victory at Leeds Force as the visitors bounced straight back from last Sunday’s disappointing derby loss to Manchester.
Force had picked up their first victory last weekend against the Giants, but there was to be no repeat for the Yorkshire club as they struggled to keep pace with the Phoenix in the second-half.
Leading Scorers – Nix 22, Toluwase 21, Bennett 16 (Force); Riley 19, Jackman 17, Gettys 17 (Phoenix)
Turning point – Force did all the hard work of almost wiping out the deficit from their dreadful start as they made it a one-shot game at the interval. But the break killed their momentum and handed Phoenix a chance to compose themselves. The visitors did just that with a massive 32 points in the third period as they took the game away from Force.
Key stat – Phoenix came alive from long-range and shot almost 50% from behind the arc, which gave them a big edge in this match-up.
Game hero(es) – This was a real team performance by Phoenix, with five players into double-digits, perhaps Malcolm Riley most impressive with 19 points, 6 assists and 5 boards.