Leicester Riders open account with emphatic victory

LEICESTER Riders opened their British Basketball League account with an emphatic victory over the Sheffield Sharks.

The Sharks' Mike Cook top-scored with 36 points on his debut but it was not enough to stop the home side running out 113-93 winners.

The visitors took an early lead but it would be the only time in the game that they would be in front, with the Riders netting the final basket of the period to lead 31-29 after the first quarter.

And Jason Johnson - who finished with 22 points - put his foot on the gas to help the Riders open up a 64-48 lead going into half-time.

The Sharks closed the gap to 11 points midway through the third quarter but the Riders continued to hold a comfortable advantage, with Bradd Wierzbicki leading the scoring with 32 points.

Meanwhile, Worthing Thunder also reached three figures with a 104-84 victory against the Plymouth Raiders.

A closely fought first quarter saw the scores tied at 23-23, before Worthing opened up a slender three-point advantage at half-time.

Worthing went on a 16-4 scoring run  after the break but the Raiders responded with a 12-4 tear of their own to set up a tense final quarter.

But Sherrad Prezzie-Blue's three-pointer sparked a 13-0 burst for the Thunder to take the score out to 96-74 before closing out the game.

Elsewhere, Guildford Heat started their campaign with a 65-95 victory on the road at PAWS London Capital.

The visitors led 34-44 after the first-half, before a 12-0 run after the break helped take the score out to 48-61.

And the Heat made no mistake from there, maintaining their advantage for a comfortable victory.