Cheshire Phoenix’s season came to an end on Sunday as they bowed out of the BBL play-offs with a second-leg defeat to the Leicester Riders.
However, with the Riders 77-56 up in the fourth quarter, and having taken a 13-point lead into the tie at the John Sandford Centre, an on-court ankle dislocation for Nix star Victor Moses forced officials to abandon the tie, with the home side claiming the victory.
With John Lavery’s side trailing in the final period and heading out of the competition, three-time Molten BBL Player of the Month winner Moses went over on his ankle with just seven minutes left on the clock, with medics attending to the Nix star on the court before both teams decided to bring an end to proceedings.
The Nix were given a tough task heading into the game after they fell to a 88-76 defeat at the Northgate Arena on Friday night to leave them with it all to do in Leicester.
In Friday’s encounter, the Nix were slow out of the blocks and went in at the end of the first quarter 31-18 down, a deficit that was stretched to 40-18 at the beginning of Q2.
However, the Nix, buoyed by a vocal home crowd, fought back and got themselves back into the game as they tightened up defensively and their offensive game began to click into gear.
Reggie Middleton (25 points), Dominique Coleman and Devan Bailey helped lead the home side’s fightback as the Nix managed to make it a one-possession game in Q3 with the scores 58-55 to the Riders.
They couldn’t continue their charge though, with Rob Paternostro’s Riders side, led by the impressive duo of Rashad Hassan (26 points) and Jay Cousinard (21 points) helping to see the visitors home with a healthy advantage to take into the second leg.
In game two, the Nix started much brighter than in the first leg, taking a slender 18-17 advantage into Q2.
In the second period however, the Riders, led offensively once again by Couisnard (21 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four steals), moved up through the gears and took a 44-29 lead into the locker room at the half-time break.
The Nix, for who Donatas Visockis was in superb form registering 18 points and seven rebounds, were left with too much to do and, trailing 77-56 and by more than 30 points on aggregate at the time of Moses’ injury, they succumbed to defeat.
Despite their loss, Lavery’s men can be rightfully proud of their appearance in the play-offs and a fifth-placed finish in the BBL – something that not many would have predicted at the start of the campaign.
