Manchester Basketball beat Leicester Riders 87-72 in the Super League Basketball Championship.

Jordan Johnson earned CultureBox Player of the Game honours with 18 points in a 5-7 shooting night from behind the arc. Johnson led all Manchester scorers in 23 minutes off the bench.

There was no answer for the shifty guard’s elite handles and hot hand from deep. Johnson cooked defenders off the dribble and hit a barrage of threes from deep.

Kaiyem Cleary also had an efficient game in support of Johnson, scoring 15 points on 50% shooting from the field. Zak Irvin enjoyed a dominant performance on the boards to grab nine rebounds down low.

Manchester blew the Riders away in the fourth, but the game was in the balance early in the final period. There was only one point in it with nine minutes remaining.

Matthew Nicholson started the game-deciding run with back-to-back scores, and Manchester scored 15 straight points to win the fourth quarter 28-10.

Manchester had to grit their teeth and battle early. The hosts fought back impressively from a 12-point deficit in the second quarter to trail by a single point at halftime. They dug deep in the first half to weather a red-hot Riders start, before kicking on late to win it.

Last season’s playoff champions were led by 21 points from Raequan Battle and 17 from Travis Evee.

The win means Manchester now have a 2-1 record in the Super League Basketball Championship to start the season.

Next game: Manchester Basketball vs Slovan Bratislava

Manchester are back in action on Wednesday, October 15, in the ENBL. They host Slovan Bratislava at the National Basketball Performance Centre at 7pm.

You can get your tickets here!