BRITISH Basketball League (BBL) action kicked off last Wednesday with top-of-the-table Leicester Riders beating Cheshire Phoenix 82-70.

Mustapha Heron achieved a career high of 19 points and six rebounds, Conor Washington contributed with 15 points and 12 assists.

Matthew Bryan-Amaning came from the bench to hit 17 for the Phoenix with Kahron Ross on an impressive 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Riders now sit 12 points clear at the top of the BBL table.

Worcester Wolves were defeated by the Manchester Giants, for whom Sam Cresswell Jnr continued to impress with 27 points. Donovan Marshall-Johnson and David Ulph joined Cresswell with impressive numbers from the paint, with Marshall-Johnson securing 18 points, 13 rebounds and Ulph with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Wolves’ Josh McSwiggan hit 20 points, with a fine effort by Maarten Bouwknecht, who bagged 11 points and nine rebounds.

Friday night live on Sky Sports saw Plymouth Raiders face Braun Sheffield Sharks. The action took off as the Raiders looked to secure a win after their Trophy Cup final heartbreak at the hands of London Lions.

The game finished Plymouth raiders 89, Braun Sheffield Sharks 74 with Ricky McGill ending the game with 21 points for the Raiders and Jordan Ratinho securing 17 points and eight rebounds for the Sharks.

Fresh from their cup-final victory, the London Lions looked set to continue their winning streak as they took on second-in-the-league Newcastle Eagles.

However, the Eagles were game — and on fire in the first quarter.

Lions were without Josh Ward Hibbert and the injured Justin Robinson, and Trophy Cup finalist MVP DeAndre Liggins was ejected in the first period having picked up two technical fouls.

Though they had plenty of talent to see them through, the Lions succumbed in a 109-95 loss.

Bristol Flyers flew to a deserved win at home on Friday against the Worcester Wolves, the game turning out to be one of their best defensive performances, and coach Andreas Kapoulas was rewarded with his 100th win in the BBL. Eric Lockett ended the game with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

The Glasgow Rocks rocked the Manchester Giants with an impressive win ending on 104 for the home team and the Giants on 94.

The weekend fixtures saw Bristol Flyers face off against Leicester Riders, both teams fresh off Friday-night wins.

Riders extended their win at the top of the BBL Championship by securing a win, ending 76-62, with Conner Washington on fine form, playing the full 40 minutes with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, making it an impressive five wins in a row for the table leaders.

Justin Baker secured 14 points for the Flyers with Lockett on 11.

The two teams meet again tonight when the Flyers travel to Leicester.

After facing defeat at the hands of the Eagles, the London Lions looked to bounce back as they faced Worcester Wolves at the Copper Box on Sunday, with an early tip-off at 2.30pm.

Wolves opened the game up to a flying start, hitting an 11-0 run, and never let the lead slip. Lions managed to cut the deficit to within three points, but Wolves were relentless, and it was a big win for the away team in the capital, final score: Lions 72-84 Wolves.

Glasgow Rocks took on Surrey Scorchers in what started as a closely fought game, but the Rocks just couldn’t quite get the win, even after a last-minute attempt to fight back. The Scorchers bagged the win, ending the game with a score of 99-83. 

It’s been a good run for the Scorchers as they now have three wins in their last four BBL championship games.

Ending the weekend off were the Newcastle Eagles, who were looking to make it two wins in a row when they faced Cheshire Phoenix away; and the Plymouth Raiders, who were on the road to Manchester.

Newcastle successfully secured their second win of the weekend with a 103-87 victory, and Plymouth Raiders beat the Manchester Giants 101-80.

As we head into the last month of the Championship season there is still all to play for.

We also have the play-offs to look forward to and I'm predicting some twists and turns, with a few unexpected surprises along the way.

Next week I will be speaking with a special guest, one of the BBL’s finest players. Do not miss it.

Keep up to date with my column every Tuesday, only in the Morning Star.