International Hoops

Bristol fly past Plymouth; Eagles outlast Caledonia in thriller

Bristol fly past Plymouth; Eagles outlast Caledonia in thriller

BBL Championship

Plymouth City Patriots 70-96 Bristol Flyers (13-17, 34-39, 48-67)
(Patriots: Williams, 31; Dusha/Hawthorne Jr./Simons, 8; Brandon, 7– Flyers: Bell III/Olison, 17; Watson-Gayle, 14; King, 13)

BBL Championship

Newcastle Eagles 94-87 Caledonia Gladiators (23-26, 42-54, 68-68)
(Eagles: Hamlet, 34; Defoe, 20; D. Johnson, 11 — Gladiators: Bailey, 29; Sloan, 19; Burns, 12)

Bristol Flyers beat the Plymouth City Patriots 96-70 in an exciting but fiery south-west derby at the Pavilions on Wednesday night.

In front of a sell-out crowd, a closely-fought first half was blown open in the third quarter as the Flyers, who had led by five points going into the locker rooms, saw their lead balloon to 21 points heading into the final period.

The gap proved too much for the Patriots as Bristol, who hit ten three-pointers, going 35% from deep, outscored their counterparts 57-36 in the second half.

Thomas Bell III and Tevin Olison paced the winners with 17 points each, with the former pulling down eight rebounds. Jelani Watson-Gayle added 14 and seven assists in the win.

Antonio Williams led all scorers with 31 points for Plymouth but was the only player in double figures for scoring.

The electric atmosphere was reflected on the court as both teams pushed the tempo early. A three-pointer from Watson-Gayle handed Bristol a 7-4 lead after the two sides traded buckets.

The physicality of the first quarter showed its colours; fantastic team basketball, led by Elvisi Dusha, fed Rashad Hassan for the easy lay-up to give Plymouth an 11-9 lead, only for Leslee Smith to knot it up again with a hook.

Only four points separated the two sides at the end of a physical opening period, typical of south-west derbies; however, the fast-paced nature continued in the second.

And it favoured the visitors as they raced to a 23-16 lead early in the second on the back of a Corey Samuels three-pointer.

Bristol were flying, and the Patriots needed a good spell as they missed good looks given to them inside.

A thunderous two-hand slam in transition from Markedric Bell – his only score in the first half – looked to give the hosts the boost they needed, and a further score from Williams gave them a 32-31 lead.

Bristol fought back, though, and they finished the half on a high, taking a five-point cushion to the locker rooms, helped by free throws by Watson-Gayle with 0.2 seconds left.

And sure enough, Bristol’s stranglehold on the game was tightened as their lead grew to…

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at British Basketball League…