The London Lions lost their third game of the BBL Cup 97-76 to the Leicester Riders at the Morningside Arena on Sunday, leaving them at the bottom of Group C.
The Riders outplayed the Lions whose usual stars struggled to make an impact on both ends of the court with the Lions only making 37 per cent of their shots as opposed to the Riders’ 48 per cent.
Riders head coach Rob Paternostro speaking after the game said: “It was a great win for us. From start to finish we were in command, I thought we came out of the blocks really well playing really well on both ends of the floor.”
The Riders took an early lead, limiting the Lions to just 11 points in the first quarter. Once the lead reached 20 points midway through the second quarter, the Riders took control and kept the Lions at arm’s length for the rest of the game.
There were a number of standout performers on the Riders’ team with Conner Washington being voted player of the game with his 20 points and 4 assists, including a highlight assist to William Lee.
Washington finds Lee for the alley-oop!#WeAreLeicester #BritishBasketball pic.twitter.com/EivrKZ8kgU
— Leicester Riders (@RidersBball) November 15, 2020
Reigning two-time MVP Justin Robinson continued his difficult start to the season, finishing the game with only 2 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 3 turnovers whilst only making one of his nine shots.
With several new faces in the team, Robinson has taken a back seat to get the new players involved, but this has come at a detriment to his performances on the court. The Sharks game last Friday showed glimpses of improvement, but there is still more to come from the Lions star.
The Lions sit at the bottom of Group C with only one win from four games, leaving them with an uphill battle to make it to the knockout stages. After this result, the Riders have jumped to the top of the group alongside the Newcastle Eagles.
The Lions travel to Newcastle for their next game on Friday against the Eagles at the Eagles Community Arena at 7:30 pm.