A BIT of luck and a triumphant cup tie may have provided the spark with which the BiG Storage Cheshire Jets reignite their season.
Paul Smith’s side dramatically ended an eight-match unbeaten run which stretched back to November when they defeated Leicester Riders at the John Sandford Centre in the BBL Trophy on Saturday.
The Jets’ luck came in the form of the Riders’ injury jinx, which robbed them of Rod Wellington and the outstanding LaTaryl Williams due to knee and ankle problems respectively – and Cheshire took full advantage.
The Jets limited the Riders to just 19 first-half points and were never in danger after bagging 11 points in the opening two minutes.
Chez Marks scored nine of those and only got three more before retiring with a knee injury himself early in the second period.
But the dependable Shawn Myers stepped up to sink a game high 18, and Calvin Davis put on 14 as the Jets took control from start to finish.
After building a 42-19 half-time lead, the Jets ramped things up in the third quarter as Davis, Phil Perre and Steven Gayle all shot from ‘downtown’ to complete three-pointers.
Jets scored the first four points of the final stanza to give themselves their biggest lead of the match at 66-31 before Riders brought the lead back below 30 through Tony Windless and Brad Wierzbicki.
The win gives Chester one win out of two games in Group Two of the Trophy after they lost to BBL Cup winners Everton Tigers. Only the top team qualifies for the semi-finals.
