MATCH REPORT: Rocks season comes to an end after Playoff defeat

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The Glen Luss Glasgow Rocks bow out of the 2021-22 British Basketball League Playoffs in the semi-final after a 104-78 (aggregate 209-162) loss against the top-seeded Leicester Riders.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Rocks overcame a first-leg deficit against the Sheffield Sharks of seven points. Big games from Jordan Harris and Jaycee Hillsman spurred the Rocks on to a total score of 172-155, sealing another semi-finals berth of the season.

As for our opponents tonight, the Leicester Riders, they cruised to a 174-158 aggregate victory against the Plymouth Patriots.

In the first leg, despite a huge 29 point performance from Jordan Harris, the Rocks fell short by 21 points in the Emirates arena, so there was a big ask for the boys going into tonight’s matchup.

Prior to the first leg of this tie, the last time these two sides met was the 19th of April when the RIders dominated their way to a 101-86 victory, despite the Rocks’ best efforts.

The Riders were unbeaten in four against the Rocks this season prior to tonight’s game, extending the streak to five. In the four games, the average loss margin was 23.5. 

The Riders are the top-seeded team in the British Basketball League with a 25-2 record, eight wins ahead of the Sheffield Sharks who finished second.

Darien Nelson-Henry won the top off and the Riders got tonight’s game started with the first possession but Crandall missed his lay-up and it was Gareth Murray, fresh off a one-year extension, who opened the scoring with a contested three, Crandall then rectified his missed lay-up with a three of his own to tie the game.

After the three to open the scoring, the Rocks went on an almost four-minute scoring drought, seven field goals on the bounce were missed before Fraser Malcolm made a two under the basket, in the time between the two buckets, the Riders gathered a fourteen point lead with every member of their starting five on the board already.

After Malcolm ended the drought, the RIders’ lead was brought down to 12 and it mostly stayed that way for the rest of the opening quarter with the final score at the buzzer being 29-17.

Jonny Bunyan and Boban Jacdomni opened up the second quarter with five quick points to take the deficit down to seven but the Riders kept on matching most of the buckets, making it a struggle to get a run going and take control of the game. 

WIth 3:45 left in the second quarter, Fraser Malcolm made it a one-possession game with a lay-up, but this was the closest we would get for the rest of the game with Leicester closing out the half with an eight-point lead.

Despite being down at the half, it was still a strong showing from the Rocks, matching the Riders in field goal percentage and besting them in 2P%, assists, points in the paint, second-chance points, points from turnovers, points from the bench, and fast-break points.

The Rocks shot 40% from downtown in the opening 20 minutes and were only two rebounds down on the Riders’ 21, the Rocks were still in contention to take this game but the tie was a long shot.

Fraser Malcolm had 13 points and five rebounds at the half, the Rocks’ best performer with an index score of 18.

It didn’t take long for Leicester to extend their lead, Jacdomni opened the third quarter with a two to take it down to six points but the Riders took it from six to 14 in a flash, the score kept fluctuating between 12 and 16 for most of the game, the Rocks struggling to make a run to snag this leg away from the victors.

Things went from bad to worse in the fourth quarter for the Rocks with the Riders carrying on their hot form from everywhere on the court, defensively, offensively, just all over the court from Leicester, their lead reached the highest point in the fourth right at the death when Jordan nailed an and-one free throw after a three-pointer.

It is no secret that the Rocks fell off in the second half and the shooting splits describe it best, from 45% FG, 50% 2P, and 40% 3P in the first half, leaving our guys with an eight-point deficit to far lesser percentages than the opposition and a 26 point gap, efficiency killed our hopes at a finals appearance but we should be happy with the resilience our team showed throughout the season to take us to this point. A comeback in the first round gave us a shot at a finals run but it wasn’t meant to be.

Tonight’s MVP was Fraser Malcolm who had 17 points on 7-11 shooting, three assists, six rebounds, and a steal.

Well, that wraps up our 2021-22 British Basketball Campaign, a seventh-place finish in the league and a semi-final run in the playoffs, we hope to see you guys back next year for an even better year!

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