Glasgow Rocks have recorded BBL Championship wins in consecutive nights with their biggest win against Leicester Riders in more than five years, behind huge double-doubles from Kieran Achara and Will Hall.

BBL Championship
Leicester Riders 57 (12,26,45) (Sullivan 12, Gruis 10, Watson 9)
Glasgow Rocks 77 (16,32,50) (Achara 24, Hall 16, Gillis 14)

Glasgow Rocks completed a fantastic weekend in their pursuit of a top four spot in the BBL Championship as they beat second-placed Leicester Riders 77-57, for their second road win in as many nights and their first back-to-back league wins for two months.

Led by massive double-doubles from their inside duo of Kieron Achara (24 points and 15 rebounds) and Will Hall (16 points and 11 rebounds), it was Glasgow’s biggest win against the Riders since 2010 as they kept the hosts to their lowest points tally of the season so far, and condemned them to a first league defeat in ten outings.

And Rocks led for all-but the first minute of this game, soon establishing a 12-4 edge as Hall and Achara shared nine early points. Riders came back through Ant Rowe and Drew Sullivan, but Jonny Bunyan’s three-pointer early in the second stanza helped the visitors maintain their cushion. Riders were struggling to narrow the deficit and, despite being the best three-point shooting team in the BBL, were 0/14 from long-range in the first half.

The closest Leicester came was after a 7-0 burst in the third period, bringing them back to 40-38, sparked by Tyler Bernadini’s ‘and-one’ play. But, once more, they could not quite get back on level terms, before Hall, Achara and Warren Gillis responded immediately with six points in little more than a minute.

And the decisive run came midway through the fourth quarter, when Rocks rattled off 17 unanswered points to see the lead peak at 71-50: Achara scoring the first five, before Bunyan and Riley Grabau hit triples, and Gillis scored the last six points in the spell. They held Riders scoreless for five minutes in what was Glasgow’s best defensive performance of the season so far.

Both teams were depleted on the night, Rocks without Armin Mazic, Jordan Clarke and Marcus Ware, while the Riders were missing Coach Rob Paternostro after the birth of his second child, and Shane Walker through illness.