Cheshire Phoenix made a winning start to their BBL campaign with a hard-fought 82-68 success at Leeds Force on Friday night.
The Nix, who are back in league action at home to Manchester Giants tomorrow night (5.30pm), came out on top in a rollercoaster clash at Carnegie Sports Hall, with captain David Aliu leading the way with 25 points.
Cheshire's new signings Jordan Williams and Akeem Ellis played their part, draining 18 and 16 points respectively from beyond the arc, while Sean McGonagill had eight points and 10 rebounds against Matt Newby's men.
The opening quarter was a low-scoring affair with the Nix limiting the hosts to just six points to their 15. But the second quarter was a wholly different proposition with Leeds, paced by Zak Wells' 21 and a high-percentage shooting performance from Dwayne Camille (17), poured in 30 points in the next 10 minutes to head into the break 36-31 to the good.
But the game swung massively in the Nix's favour in the opening minutes of the third as John Lavery's side went on a 14-0 run to put them back in the driving seat as Aliu, Williams and Ellis all found their range.
Leeds kept pace with the visitors in the third, though, and tied the game at 65-65. But, not to be denied, Cheshire pressed and bossed the final minutes to secure a welcome triumph on the road that sets them up nicely for their curtain-raiser at their new Cheshire Oaks Arena home tomorrow.
