Leslee J. Smith finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block as Bristol Flyers beat Leeds Force 85-77, on Saturday April 1, 2017 and moved even closer to the final play-off spot. Photo: Internet Source

Leslee J. Smith (right) has been a strong force for Bristol Flyers in the British Basketball League. Photo: Internet Source

Force opened the scoring with a neat pick and roll finding Robert Marsden, on his way to ten first quarter points, for the open two-pointer.

Mike Vigor answered back by converting two free-throws to tie the score. Vigor was found again but failed to cash in with a lay-up at point blank range.

Force looked to take advantage on the following possession but Flyers locked down defensively, causing a 24-second shot clock violation. Bristol then found Brandon Boggs on a breakaway slam dunk to energise the home crowd early on.

Flyers' offence was clicking as all five starters scored in the first quarter, though Force were more efficient on the offensive end, shooting 52% in a tightly contested opening period. After one the score was tied at 22 apiece.

Flyers had 47 points and Leeds 41 at the break.

Smith comes into play

After an offensively charged first half, Flyers looked to continue their attacking success by posting up Leslee J. Smith to open the second half scoring. Smith followed this up by playing the passing lanes, coming up with the steal to deny Leeds the shooting opportunity.

Force put together a late third quarter run behind Sanders, who scored seven straight points. Ali responded by hitting a two-pointer buzzer beater to give Flyers a five point advantage heading into the final period.

Leeds opened the fourth on fire tying the game up at 66 apiece, but Bristol would respond. Smith showed the full repertoire by shooting the mid-range jumpshot and following it up with a driving lay-up.

The fourth remained tense as even though Flyers had the lead, they faced a resilient Force attack. In the final two minutes, Flyers were finally able to string together enough field goals to build a lead. Leeds tried to draw the game out with intentional fouls but Bristol converted the clutch free-throws to put the game out of reach and in the process close the gap on the much sought after final play-off place.

Smith finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block.