Pirates capture fifth win of season at home to Raiders

ESSEX Pirates scored their fifth BBL Championship win of the season after edging out Airwaves Plymouth Raiders in a rollercoaster match in Southend.

The Raiders led at the end of the first and third quarters, but the Pirates would not lie down and came storming back both times to capture an 82-80 win.

Alan Metcalfe and Taner Adu starred for the home side, scoring 23 and 22 respectively as the Pirates established a four point gap ahead of bottom club PAWS London Capital.

The Capital showed little sign of claiming their fourth win of the season as they slumped to a 93-60 defeat at Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.

The Riders have been in dazzling form in the past two months and won all four quarters in the East Midlands to score their fifth league win on the bounce.

Jason Johnson recorded a double-double of 23 points and ten rebounds for the Riders while the impressive Bradd Wierzbicki led the way with 25.

Finally, Everton Tigers ended a miserable four-game losing streak to move into sixth place in the table.

The Merseyside outfit raced out of the blocks, establishing a 20 point lead in the first quarter, before progressing to a 107-89 win.

Sam Cricelli was lethal for the Thunder and led all scorers on 27 while Jerome Gumbs led the Tigers' cause with 24.