Smith wins battle of the boards on debut with Plymouth Raiders
Smith played 30:25 minutes, dropped in 6 points, made 4 steals, 3 blocks and grabbed 10 rebounds in the 62-71 defeat to the visiting Sharks.
Joshua Wilcher, with 16 points, and Ron Mvouika, with 12, were the leading scorers for Raiders who managed to recover from a slow first quarter where they were outscored 27-16 to reach the half trailing 36- 40.
Raiders kept themselves in the game and trailed by just 4 points at the end of the third quarter, 55-58.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Raiders seized the lead for the first time in the game; however, their one-point lead was short-lived as the Sharks upped their game to outscore the Raiders 13-7 in the final quarter.
The final score of the game was 72-62 in favour of Sheffield Sharks, whose top scorers were Connor Cashaw (16 points) and Michael Tuck (13 points).
‘Leslee did a good job’- Raiders coach
Speaking on the debut by forward Leslee J. Smith, Raiders coach Paul James had positive words about his inclusion to the roster.
“He’s come in and had 10 rebounds which is something we wanted to do. We won the battle of the boards, which is something we haven’t done in a long time.
“Overall, I think Leslee did a good job and once he finds his rhythm offensively I think he’s going to be a very strong player for us and defensively he is always going to be there,” James said, according to an article on the Raiders website on January 4, 2020.
The next game for Raiders will be against the BBL Trophy leaders, London Lions, at 7:30pm on Friday, January 10, 2020 at Plymouth Pavilions.
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