Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders’ hopes of reaching a nine-game unbeaten run were ended by Cheshire Jets yesterday, as Paul Smith’s side beat them 92-82 at the Northgate Arena. The head-to-head between the two clubs will now come down to the game this Saturday, also in Cheshire, as the Jets aptly bounced back from their Trophy Final disappointment the week before. Shawn Myers and Jerrah Young were in irrepressible form with 20 points each to lead Cheshire’s attack, but leading all scorers was the Riders’ Jason Johnson, who put up 21 points and 10 rebounds.

This win saw the Jets propel themselves into fifth place, whilst the Riders are now in fourth place, but on the same number of points as third-placed Glasgow Rocks, who managed to take care of the struggling Airwaves Plymouth Raiders 102-86, whilst the basement battle between PAWS London Capital and Essex Pirates resulted in the Capital missing out 64-73. This result saw the Pirates complete a very pleasing weekend to stay ahead of the Capital at the bottom of the table, as they also overcame Guildford Heat 84-93 on Saturday evening. However, for London, the loss topped off a miserable weekend, as they went down 77-103 to Everton Tigers on Saturday evening.

Yesterday also saw the Playoff race intensify, as Worcester Wolves bounced back from a tough loss against the Riders on Saturday to beat Worthing Thunder 90-85, as they were led to victory by Daniel Gilbert’s 22 point haul. Wolves’ boss Paul James said the following on a key victory for his team:

‘Tonight was a very tense game, and we did concede too many errors at times. However, we displayed lots of character in a real 'pressure pot' sort of a game. Our team was desperate to win and showed real character in achieving the victory.’

With Worthing having also lost out to Everton on Friday night, their security in eighth place is now becoming more and more threatened by the Wolves. Meanwhile, Marshall MK Lions losing streak continued on Friday, as they failed to get past BBL Cup Winners, Sheffield Sharks, and lost 105-98. Despite 25 points from Yorick Williams, the Lions were unable to stop Sharks’ talisman Mike Cook put up 29 points in this fixture, as the Sharks kept up the pressure on Newcastle Eagles at the top of the table. The Eagles, on the other hand, showed no signs of giving up their league title lightly as they beat the Rocks on Thursday evening 91-82.