VJ King's 32 points and 11 rebounds led Bristol Flyers to a third consecutive home victory as Andreas Kapoulas' side claimed a 78-73 victory over Cheshire Phoenix.
SGS College arena was a sell-out again, following a fortnight without basketball for Flyers fans and another gritty performance from the hosts helped steer them to success, leaving them the outright league leaders in the British Basketball League.
“It’s down to the togetherness our group, our hard work, but we don’t want to settle to that," Kapoulas said. "There’s a lot of games to be played. We’ve only played 11 games of a 36-game schedule, so there are a lot of things that can happen. We just want to keep on improving. We don’t care about what people say, we believe in our group and we know what we have as a team.”
Friday’s game saw a first BBL start for rookie guard Jelani Watson-Gayle following strong performances from the bench against Caledonia and London and the Flyers flew out the blocks and built up an early double-digit lead, as the visitors couldn’t get settled in the game.
Flyers forward King put up points in a hurry in the opening quarter and the hosts found themselves up 15 through five minutes - demonstrating efficient offence both on sides of the perimeter with Cheshire unable to get a lid off the basket.
But changes in the Phoenix rotation changed the game in the opening stage. Despite having only three substitutes available for the game, the guard combination of Maceo Jack and former Flyer Marcus Evans brought them back into the contest and the sides went into the first break tied at 21-apiece.
The second period started scrappily and the foul counts started to build. After a couple of minutes of the teams trading baskets, Cheshire stretched out to a 23-32 lead before King came off the bench to cut the deficit. Tensions were high at the end of the half, and after a low scoring quarter the Phoenix had a slender lead going into half-time.
Team GB forward Jamell Anderson took control of the game in the penultimate period and the visitors started playing above the rim. Consecutive dunks from Anderson and Jack hushed the home crowd, with the sizeable away contingent making their voices heard.
Flyers stayed in the game and shared the points evenly around the side. Late in the third Anderson made good of his free-throws, going three-for-three after being fouled on the attempt from downtown. Cheshire’s star guard Larry Austin beat the buzzer with the final-second lay in and the away side went into the final quarter with a 52-57 lead.
Cheshire had a hot start to start the fourth, and spread the gap to nine-points again, with a result looking in doubt as shooting struggles set in for the Flyers.
Bristol’s captain Mike Miller remained composed and strung together some clutch shots to bridge the gap between the sides, slowly reeling in the visitors. The final few minutes were jittery, and pressure was put on King to go perfect at the charity stripe - he did, and the sides were inseparable at 70-70 with less than two minutes on the clock.
The game turned into a foul-shot battle after Thomas Bell’s hook shot found the bottom of the basket. King continued to grab major rebounds off desperate missed attempts from Cheshire and sealed the game from the line, going perfect in back to back trips to make it a five-point win.
“It was a crazy game, truly a game of runs," Kapoulas said. "Cheshire are a good team - they’re a good defensive team, they’re physical and I think for us it was just hanging in there in some difficult times.
“I thought our defence at the end of the second quarter and our defence at the end of the game was really good, and that helps us to get out in transition and score some easy ones. We also shot the ball well, Mike Miller made some shots, V.J. early on in the game as well and I think that was the key to winning the game”
King, who ended the game as the MVP after putting up a 32-point, 11-rebound double-double, said: “I just took what they were giving me, they kept leaving me open under the ball-screens.”
The American forward credited the mindset instilled in the team, stating: “Next play mentality, that’s all. We had a lot of turnovers today, especially myself, but we can’t think about that and try to get back on defence and not let it affect the next play.”
Flyers return to BBL Cup action on Saturday when they host a strong Manchester Giants side in the quarter-finals of the competition.
