Plymouth Raiders... 75, Glasgow Rocks... 83

PLYMOUTH Raiders were reminded why Glasgow Rocks are the hottest three-point shooting team in the BBL Championship yesterday.

Rocks decisively destroyed Raiders 36-9 in three-pointers in a relatively comfortable victory at the Pavilions.

Raiders rallied, after trailing by as many as 15 points, 79-64 in the final quarter, and pulled within nine, 79-70 with a 6-0 run.

But Raiders small-forward Terry Horton missed a long two-pointer from the right corner, which would have cut the gap to seven with one minute remaining – and Rocks finally won by eight.

Rocks' chief three-point threat was the contest's leading scorer, guard Rob Yanders, who hit 7/12 three-pointers and had 30 points.

Rocks shot an underwhelming 35 per cent from the perimeter overall, but outrebounded Raiders at vital times and created eight extra shots in the game.

The visitors were happy either creating the three-point opening with dizzying ball movement, or ruthlessly drilling the shot right over a defender.

Raiders centre Anthony Rowe, who had 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, said afterwards: "We played really hard, but I felt we faced one of Glasgow Rocks' performances of the season today.

"Our effort and defence was there – they weren't the issues. But offensively we couldn't get into a rhythm and our shots didn't fall. Theirs did.

"At times Rocks made that extra pass, they hit shots and were fantastic."

Raiders were led by 20 points apiece from shooting-guard Drew Lasker and power-forward Tino Valencia.

Horton, starting in place of the injured Matt Hilleary (ankle), had 16 points in support.

Hilleary's loss effectively reduced Raiders to a six-man rotation, because reserve big-man James Noel (back spasms) was risked for less than two minutes.

Rocks employed an eight-man policy and outscored Raiders 17-0 in points off the bench.

The game was tied 58-58 late in the third before Rocks small-forward Michael Crowell drilled a three from the top of the arc after losing his defender, Raiders shooting-guard Allister Gall.

Crowell's three put Rocks up for good, 61-58 heading into the fourth and triggered the contest's pivotal tear.

An 11-2 Rocks' run built a 69-60 lead early in the fourth and Raiders never recovered.

Rocks guard Jessie Sapp banked in a fluky three off the glass, over Raiders point-guard Anthony Martin to stretch the gap to six, 64-58 at the start of the fourth.

Rocks were red-hot now.

Yanders next buried a three over Gall from the right wing to make it 67-60.

Lasker scored a two in transition to cut the gap to eight, 72-64 with a little over six minutes remaining, before another 7-0 Rocks run swelled the lead to 15, 79-64.

Yanders again was the ringleader with five of the seven points, including a three over Martin from the top of the arc.

Raiders had led by as many as eight, 49-41 early in the third, after an encouraging start to the second half and an 8-0 run spanning the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third.

Horton, who shot the ball well from the floor, sparked it with a long two from the left corner.

Rowe and Valencia added baskets inside before Martin took the ball all the way to Rocks' hoop, cleverly faking the pass to an open Rowe en route to the basket, to make it 49-41.

But Rocks were at their most dangerous when they were down and a 10-0 response tied it up at 51-51.

Yanders grabbed the spotlight with eight of the points, including a three off one of seven, uncharacteristic Martin turnovers on the day.

Yanders added three points the old fashioned way after attacking Martin, one-on-one on the counter and scoring and drawing the foul from his opponent.

Rocks small-forward Gareth Murray's transition slam-dunk capped the tear and made it 51-51.

Raiders started well in the first frame too and led 9-2 with four points from Valencia, who attracted double and even triple-teams from defenders, who, around the BBL, are beginning to really target him, and a three from Lasker.

Rocks immediately answered with a 10-0 run to lead 12-9, with five points from Murray and Yanders' first three of the contest from the right corner.

Rocks opened an ominous 31-24 lead early in the second, but a timely 9-0 response from Raiders snagged a narrow 33-31 advantage.

Lasker had five of the points, including a huge three from the left wing. Valencia had four.

But Raiders – and not just Martin – were guilty of small mistakes throughout the contest, which all added up to an eight-point defeat.

Raiders coach Gary Stronach said afterwards: "When you're down, Rocks are going to kick you. They made that lucky three, but they hit some tough shots in our faces.

"At times we couldn't get going offensively when we needed to.

"We had that great run in the third quarter, but then a couple of things went against us and all of a sudden Rocks were back level. They had the momentum then."

Rowe added: "As much as we're gutted, we've got to take something from today and look forward, because we're not even halfway through the (league) season yet.

"There's still a lot to play for, but the league is all we have now.

"We're underdogs after our bad start, but we have to rise to the challenge – we have no option."

STATS

Points: Raiders: Lasker 20 (8/15 Field-Goals), Valencia 20 (8/12), Horton 16 (8/16), Rowe 14 (6/13), Martin 5 (2/5), Gall 0 (0/7); Glasgow: Yanders 30 (11/20), Sapp 17 (6/15), Crowell 11 (4/9)

Rebounds: Raiders 47; Glasgow 38

Assists: Raiders 16; Glasgow 14

Turnovers: Raiders 15; Glasgow 11

Points Off Turnovers: Raiders 10; Glasgow 19

Points Off Bench: Raiders 0; Glasgow 17

Field-Goal Percentage: Raiders: 47 per cent (32/68 attempts); Glasgow: 43 per cent (33/76)

Three-Point Percentage: Raiders: 21 per cent (3/14 attempts); Glasgowr: 35 per cent (12/34)

Free-Throw Percentage: Raiders: 62 per cent (8/13 attempts); Glasgow: 56 per cent (5/9)

OTHER RESULTS

BBL Trophy First Round: London 62 Everton 106

BBL Championship: Everton 87 Cheshire 98, Newcastle 92 Worcester 71, Sheffield 101 Essex 77, Essex 85 Worthing 90, Leicester 66 Glasgow 87, Cheshire 97 Guildford 74, London 64 Newcastle 88, Worcester 82 Worthing 83 (after overtime)