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The Caledonia Gladiators were on the road this evening as they headed down to Leicester to face the Riders in the first of two road games this weekend. Despite a close game throughout, the Gladiators would ultimately fall to the Riders, 85 – 74.
Both teams would start the game strong in a 50-point quarter between them, the Leicester Riders would take the early lead in the first, taking the quarter 27 – 23. With 3 minutes left of the first quarter, the Riders had created separation from their oponents as they led by 9 points, but the Gladiators fought back to cut the lead to 4 points to keep their foothold in the game early. There was little between these two teams, with both the Gladiators and the Riders showing their skill under the basket as well as from behind the three-point line.
The second quarter saw the Caledonia Gladiators take the lead, fighting from 4 points down to take a 5-point lead of their own in the first 3 minutes of the second quarter. The Gladiators continued to show their skill under the basket, with all their baskets in the first 6 minutes of action coming from within the paint or the free-throw line. However, despite keeping their 5-point lead with 3 minutes left, the Riders weren’t down fighting, bring the score back into their favour, increasing their defensive presence and taking a 1-point lead into half-time.
The Half-Time Score was 44 – 43 to the Leicester Riders.
The Riders continued their defensive pressure into the second half, limiting the Gladiators scoring in the third quarter to just 10 points and taking a 9-point lead with a score of 62 – 53. The Riders limited the Gladiators scoring throughout the third, containing them with3 blocks and 3 steals with the 10 minutes of action.
Despite entering the final quarter down 9, the Gladiators kept their heads high and continued to battle throughout the fourth quarter, but they were unable to over come the deficit and would end the game down 11-points. The Gladiators played their hearts out with a small bench against a top of the table Leicester Riders team and despite the results played a strong game on the road.
The Gladiators will be back in action on the road on Sunday against Bristol Flyers in the Quarterfinals of the Super League Basketball Cup at 3pm.
The Final Score was 85 – 74 to Leicester Riders.
Top Performers:
Trevond Barnes: 22 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals
Patrick Whelan: 17 points, 8 assists and 1 steal
Teddy Okereafor: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals
