GBR - Lions maintain 100% start

LONDON (BBL) - Milton Keynes Lions maintained their 100% start to the 2006-2007 BBL Championship campaign thanks to a comfortable 86-71 victory over last season's Champions Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles on Friday night.

The game was broken open in the second period when the Lions enjoyed 15-4 and 9-0 bursts to lead 51-27 at the half.

In other Championship action, the Chester Jets got their campaign off to a winning start defeating the Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks 89-86, while the Leicester Riders bounced back from defeat in their opening game with a 89-86 victory over the Sheffield Sharks.


Chester Jets 89 (22,45,67) (Virgil 29, Cowan 19, Hamilton 15)
Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks 86 (26,42,57) (Yanders 26, Joseph 24, Davis 13)

Chester Jets got their 2006/2007 BBL Championship campaign off to a winning start with a hard-fought 89-86 victory over the Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks at the Northgate Arena on Friday night. Both sides exchanged baskets early on, but the Jets took the early advantage with a 9-2 run midway through the second period to lead 43-34.

Chester were able to increase their lead out to ten points through the third quarter, and maintained that lead at 67-57 going into the final stanza. In the final quarter, the Jets led 76-61 before the visitors came storming back with a 15-2 tear of their own to trim the deficit back to two points at 78-76 with 2:34 remaining.

A Julius Joseph three-pointer at the buzzer was not enough for the Rocks as the home side were able to pick up the "W". Rookie Alto Virgil led all scorers with 29 points for the Jets, while the visitors scoring was led by Rob Yanders with 26.

Milton Keynes Lions 86 (19,51,71) (Windless 21, Jamison/Brown 19)
Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles 71 (14,27,51) (Walker 19, Flournoy 14, Defoe 11)

Milton Keynes Lions maintained their 100% start to their BBL Championship campaign with a comfortable 86-71 victory over the Springfield Honda Newcastle Eagles at the Bletchley Leisure Centre on Friday night.

A close opening quarter saw the Lions head into the second period with a 19-14 advantage. A Terrell Brown three pointer to open the period sparked a 15-4 Lions burst to take the score out to 37-18 before another 9-0 run helped the Lions to a 51-27 lead at the half. The home side led by as many as 30 points midway through the third period at 66-36.

The visitors trimmed the deficit to 20 going into the final stanza at 71-51, but could not complete the turnaround as the Lions held on for the comfortable victory. Tony Windless led all scorers with 21 points for the Lions, while TJ Walker led the Eagles scoring with 19.


Sheffield Sharks 86 (21,40,68) (Cauthorn 24, Bonds 21, Shelton 16)
Leicester Riders 89 (22,47,63) (Williams 28, McGee 22, Paternostro 15)

DMU Leicester Riders bounced back from defeat last weekend to pick up a hard-fought 89-86 road victory over the Sheffield Sharks at Ponds Forge ISC on Friday evening. Both sides traaded baskets during the opening exchanges, but a 7-2 run by the visitors saw them close out the first half leading 47-40.

Leicester maintained that lead until midway through the third quarter where a Sharks 16-0 burst saw them leap ahead 64-53, but the Riders responded right back with nine points of their own to trim the deficit to two points at 64-62.

In the final stanza, the Sharks led by ten points at 80-70 with four minutes remaining, but a Riders 10-0 bought the scores level with less than two minutes left in the game. Both teams exchanged free-throws before a Terrence McGee three-pointer took the Rocks ahead 87-83.

A Todd Cauthorn three-pointer bought the Sharks to within a single point at 86-87, but McGee sealed the victory for the visitors from the foul line. Yorrick Williams led all scorers with 28 points for the Riders, while Cauthorn led the scoring for the home side with 24 points personal.