Brilliant Battle steals show as Riders claim a gritty victory

THE headline coming into the night centred on the return of Marc Loving, who rejoined the Riders on Thursday and made his first appearance back at the Mattioli Arena.

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But while the crowd welcomed Loving home, it was RaeQuan Battle who stole the spotlight, dropping a sensational 30 points and earning the Trophies Plus Medals Player of the Game award.

The Riders struck first as Travis Evee picked a pocket and went coast-to-coast for the opening layup of the night.

The sides traded blows in the early stages, with Donald Carey Jr finding his touch with a smooth jumper and Evee racking up four quick points.

Caledonia answered through Mathew Ragsdale, who came out firing with seven early points, but the momentum swung back when Battle buried back-to-back triples to pull Leicester within touching distance.

The crowd rose again as Nate Martin checked in for his first action since returning from injury, driving strong to the basket for two.