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 Plymouth
Raiders overwhelmed Bristol Academy 83-72 in the opening game in the
inaugural South West Championship at the Pavilions yesterday.
Raiders routed their EBL Division One opponents in a terrific third
period and opened up a 58-30 lead. The win was then never in doubt,
but Bristol refused to fold and proudly flew the flag for British
basketball's second-tier.
"We knew Bristol were going to give us their best shot, because
we've been in their position before," said Raiders forward DeAntoine
Beasley, who had a team-high 19 points on 7/12 shooting.
"They gave a good fight. They have a decent squad, were
fundamentally sound and it was a good workout for us - but I never
had any doubt we were going to win."
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 Bristol
rallied and closed the gap to as little as eight, 77-69 in the
fourth frame before centre Terrence Durham scored a two inside on
forward Jamie Burchell's assist to quash any upset.
Raiders led by 10, 36-26 at half-time before exploding in the third
on a spectacular 22-4 run.
Beasley sparked the burst with a beautiful three from the top of the
perimeter before guard Drew Lasker got involved and added a dunk
after forward Gaylon Moore robbed Bristol guard Ryan Williams in
midfield. Raiders' defensive pressure swamped Bristol's backcourt
like the tide, but credit the visitors they did not collapse.
Guard Anthony Martin added two lightning driving lay-ups before
Lasker picked Bristol guard Lee Treasure's pocket and, airborne,
dunked the ball one-handed on the play of the night. Lasker
and Martin body-bumped in mid-air, and Raiders were finally enjoying
themselves. Bristol immediately called a time-out.
It initially failed to work and a pair of Lasker free-throws
concluded the clinic.
"We wanted to play like we did in the third period all game," said
Beasley. "But Saturday night was a big emotional win for us, so I
guess guys were a bit jaded." Bristol retaliated with a 16-4
tear which cut the deficit to 16, 62-46 late in the third.
The gap was down to 13, 68-55 on Bristol forward Ryan Williams'
three-point play early in the fourth before two Martin driving
lay-ups, one to the right and the other to the left of the cup,
rebuilt the lead to 17, 74-57.
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Bristol kept coming forward, like a proud fighter refusing to go
quietly, and five points from former Raiders forward Gareth Till
made it an eight point game, 77-69 inside the final two minutes.
Raiders play their second and final round-robin game in the
tri-competition, against Division One Taunton on January 23.
Raiders coach Gary Stronach said:
 "It's
important to have back-to-back games and keep the guys ticking over,
and Bristol were good opponents.
"We played down to their level in the first half, but turned on the
cylinders in the third and blew the game wide open, and overall it
was a worthwhile exercise.
"We've just got to find a bit of confidence for a few players who
are in a rut right now. We'll work on that this week."
It was easy to label yesterday's South West Championship opener a
glorified friendly, but it proved more than that and highlighted how
solid Division One teams like Bristol match-up surprisingly well to
weaker BBL clubs like Leicester.
 Bristol inevitably lacked the individual talent squads like
Leicester's boast, but they had more heart, more intensity and in
brief bottle. Good for Bristol.
Durham reacquainted himself with Bristol big-man Adam Simons
yesterday.
Simons troubled Durham in pre-season in a Team USA uniform - but
yesterday Durham manhandled Simons, underlining the progress he has
made in the last month following his return to Raiders this summer,
after two years in France's division two, Pro B.
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Words:
thisisplymouth.co.uk
Photos:
Jane Emery & Damian
Pudner
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