Report: Bristol Flyers 60-74 Glasgow Rocks

Hameed Ali led the way with 19 points and 8 rebounds, Flyers fall to 8-13 for the season and drop to eighth in the BBL championship.

What Happened

The visiting Rocks entered the game looking to start their south-west road trip with a win, whilst Flyers came into the contest searching for their eighth league win in nine games.

Ali opened with a three-pointer, which was matched Rocks' Watson and Keiron Achara. Glasgow went straight to the pick and roll to establish the defensive mismatch inside.

Rocks found some early success in putting size against the smaller the defender, for high percentage shots in the paint. Rocks racked up an early lead 4-12.

Flyers stepped it up defensively by stepping over the screens and sticking with their man, they put a stop to the offensive flurry, highlighted by Mike Vigors' block on Watson's lay up attempt. With Flyers' shooting under 15% for the quarter they relied on their defence kept them in the game holding Rocks to just 16 points for the quarter.

Bristol came storming back into the game with an offensive surge. Aaron Cosby started the charge by converting on an And-1, Ali followed with a behind the back pass to find Vigor three points. Mid-way through the second quarter Flyers tied the game in after two converted free throws by Ali.

FLYING Leslee Smith makes the basket as Kieron Achara looks on.

Seeing their lead evaporate, Rocks responded by going on a seven to nothing run with Anthony Elechi making a strong move inside and converting an And-1. Flyers looked to respond by moving the ball around to find the open shot, but Glasgow worked hard on defence forcing Bristol to commit a 24 second violation.

Despite the sluggish shooting performance Bristol looked as though they were going to take the lead into the second half. Until the final possession of the second period when, on his way to 11 first half points, Achara hit an open two-pointer. Glasgow went into the break with a one point lead, 28-29.

Flyers opened the third quarter looking to establish Leslee Smith as their offensive weapon scoring four straight points. But Glasgow had other plans and went on a eight to nothing run of their own. Rocks countered as Murray rebounded his own miss and converted And-1. Glasgow continued the offensive pressure with an alley-oop layup by Thomas and a fastbreak slam dunk by Murray.

Bristol were in for a long third quarter as the visitors' Achara started to heat up from the field, scoring almost at will to add to Rocks' lead. The home team found themselves down by as many as 14 points, but just before the third quarter buzzer, Smith found Brandon Boggs on a two-handed slam dunk.

Glasgow started where they left off with Hayden Lescault scoring on a reverse lay-up inside. Flyers retaliated with Daniel Edozie dunking the ball off an Ali assist.

Ali wasn't done stroking a deep shot from three-point land. Bristol were pushing to cut Rocks' lead but Glasgow stood firm, calmly finding open shots and maintaining their double digit cushion, beating Flyers 60-74.

Key Moment

After a frustrating first half for both teams the game seemed up for grabs. The visitors took control of the game with a dominant third quarter which saw Rocks outscore Flyers and build a nine point lead. Rocks were lead by their talisman Kieron Achara, who carried the offensive load on his way to 18 points. Glasgow established their lead in the third and never looked back.

Photo Of The Game

SUBWAY Bristol & West Player Of The Game

Social Media Post Of The Game

@BristolFlyers @Bristol_Sport great match pic.twitter.com/Eh2KdmiWAV

— Mike (@Mike_1972_murph) February 11, 2017

Game Leaders

Hameed Ali recorded 19 points , 8 rebounds and 4 Assists.

Gareth Murray recorded 20 points and 6 rebounds

Stats

Box Score: http://www.fibalivestats.com/u/BBL/307319/index.html