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Game Report: Caledonia Gladiators 84-83 Leicester Riders

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3 years ago

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Moore scored with two seconds left as Caledonia edged Leicester 84-83 at PlaySport on Sunday evening.

Kimbal MacKenzie had the chance to sneak the visitors over the line, but his attempt missed the mark.

Patrick Whelan led the winners with 24 points.

Caledonia Gladiators starting five: Ian Dubose, Prince Onwas, Patrick Whelan,

Leicester Riders starting five: Miryne Thomas, Xavier Pinson, Caleb Asberry, Jaren Holmes, Braelen Bridges, Fahro Alihodzic.

First Half

With the main talking point being Whelan’s first game against his old club, the question was how he would approach the game.

The answer was aggressive. The Great Britain international hit an awkward jumper from the top as the shot clock expired, along with getting to the foul line as the Gladiators built up a 24-16 cushion with 3:08 left in the first.

But the Riders fought back, and a 12-2 finish to the quarter, highlighted by a four-point play from Conner Washington, stole the lead from the hosts.

Washington was able to connect on two three-pointers in the early stages of the second, as Leicester kept their stranglehold on the game.

However, Caledonia were threatening and, despite trailing for most of the second period, finally tied things up at 44-44 on the half-time horn as Clifton Moore Jr. connected.

Second Half

Moore’s buzzer-beater ignited a flame within Caledonia as they came out the blocks on a 12-2 stretch, capped by a triple from Lukas Palyza that saw them lead 58-48.

Riders were unable to execute offensively as they were in danger of fading away. Under adversity, Leicester hit back as Caledonia were defensively caught napping and as the third quarter concluded, Blake Bowman was able to hit to narrow the gap to 67-63.

The fourth quarter was nip-and-tuck with the biggest lead for either team only being three points and emotions pouring.

It was all about who could hold their nerve when it matters most.

Whelan got the crowd of 1,200 on its feet with a three-pointer to give the Gladiators an 82-81 lead with 30 seconds left, only for MacKenzie to answer with a pull-up jumper.

The stage was then set for Moore – who only had one field goal at the time – to shine. And he delivered.

Bowman led Leicester with 15 points.

Player of the Game

Against his old club, Patrick Whelan put the Riders to the sword with 24 points and was able to grab today’s Player of the Game.

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Regular Season Round 9 MVP: Lonnie Walker, Besiktas Istanbul

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2 days ago

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October 31, 2026

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Lonnie Walker, number 4, in a white Besiktas Istanbul jersey dribbling the ball and pointing during the EuroLeague game at Virtus Bologna

The new arrival delivered a career night in just his second game for the club

Lonnie Walker needed just two games to make himself at home at Besiktas Istanbul. The new arrival produced a stunning performance as Besiktas came from behind to win 101-103 at Virtus Bologna in the final seconds, and his career-high PIR of 36, the best of the round, earned him MVP of the Round honors for Round 9.

Walker scored 30 points on 2-of-4 two-pointers, a red-hot 7-of-11 from three-point range and 5-of-9 free throws, adding 4 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and 8 fouls drawn. It is the second MVP of the Round award of his career, and he is the first Besiktas player to win this honor.

Lonnie Walker, number 4, in a white Besiktas Istanbul jersey standing on court during the EuroLeague game at Virtus Bologna

Theo Maledon of Real Madrid posted the next-best PIR of 35 in a 95-76 home win over Fenerbahce Tarfin Istanbul. Maledon scored 26 points on 3-of-6 two-pointers, 3-of-4 three-pointers and 11-of-12 free throws, adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 9 fouls drawn.

Nadir Hifi followed with a PIR of 30 as he led Paris Basketball to a 94-99 road win over Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv. Hifi had 26 points on 4-of-7 two-pointers, 3-of-4 three-pointers and 9-of-10 free throws, plus 4 assists, a steal and 11 fouls drawn.

Three players rounded out the top performers with PIRs of 29. Chima Moneke led Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade to a 103-73 home rout of FC Bayern Munich with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Tyty Washington was perfect inside the arc for LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, going 7-of-7 on two-pointers and 2-of-3 from deep to finish with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in a 94-79 home win over Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. In the same game, Baskonia’s Kenneth Faried had 17 points, including 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, plus 8 rebounds and 10 fouls drawn.

Individual highs: Facu Campazzo, Real Madrid, 10 assists

Walker led all scorers in Round 9 with 30 points against Virtus. Hifi leads the EuroLeague at 21.2 points per game.

Dario Saric of Anadolu Efes Istanbul led all rebounders with 12 boards in an 83-68 home win over Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens. Jonas Valanciunas of Zalgiris Kaunas leads the season standings at 8.1 rebounds per game.

Facu Campazzo of Real Madrid was the only player to reach double digits in assists, handing out 10 against Fenerbahce. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade’s Carlik Jones and Zvezda’s Chris Jones are tied atop the standings at 5.9 assists per game.

Wenyen Gabriel of Besiktas made a round-high 4 steals against Virtus. Luca Vildoza of Partizan leads the league at 2.1 steals per game.

Six players blocked a round-high 2 shots: Moneke, Mo Gueye of Valencia Basket, Jaylen Hoard of Maccabi, Olivier Nkamhoua of FC Barcelona, Austin Wiley of Bayern and Azuolas Tubelis of Zalgiris. Aliou Diarra of Virtus is the EuroLeague’s top shot-blocker at 2.1 per game.

Campazzo (10 points, 10 assists) and Saric (11 points, 12 rebounds) were the only players to record double-doubles in Round 9.

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