Glasgow Rocks 111 Leeds Force 57: Faltering Force crushed by ruthless Rocks

The ruthless Rocks pounced on a faltering Force’s poor start by powering into a quick double-digit lead, with GB international Kieron Achara’s long-range effort and a vicious slam from Earl Brown capping Leeds’ collapse that began from the opening buzzer.

Force continued to splutter as the minutes ticked by – failing to score a single point in the opening six minutes in a one-sided first-quarter affair that saw Rocks take a commanding 20-point advantage.

Threatened with a scoreless opening 10 minutes, athletic American guard Tavarion Nix hauled Force back into contention with consecutive trebles as Leeds searched to make amends for a nightmarish start to the contest. Rocks menace Brown responded by effortlessly carving apart Leeds’ porous defence with a sensational 19 points inside a single quarter, as the buoyant Glasgow looked to build on their impressive dispatching of table-toppers Newcastle Eagles 48 hours earlier.

Glasgow native Chris De Sousa injected energy into a dreary Leeds offense with a vital pair of threes as Force clung onto their slim hopes of mounting an unlikely comeback. Having whittled Rocks’ lead down to 10 points, Brown demolished Leeds’ progress with a scintillating seven-point burst to up his incredible first-half tally to 26 as the American continued to decimate the Force defence.

A ferocious finish from the determined Nix and a lethal triple from Eric Curth to begin the third period sparked an offensive purple patch from Force, as Leeds looked to chip away gradually at Glasgow’s impressive leading margin.

Rocks responded to Leeds’ momentum in predictable fashion however, mercilessly racking up a devastating 21 straight points to put the result beyond any doubt. After the third quarter Glasgow held an unassailable 40-point lead, with the shell-shocked Force playing purely for pride in an uneventful final segment.