Basketball: Moore's consolation for Riders

At least the Riders have won something this season. But Tim Moore's award as the BBL's Player of the Month for January is scant reward for a club who won the first silverware in their history last season with the National Cup and Championship titles.

Moore, who joined the Leicester Riders in November, played five games before injuring an ankle but recovered quickly. The Riders have won a single game this year, with last weekend's 106-96 victory at Derby Storm ending a run of seven Championship defeats. They lost their grip on the Cup in the quarter-finals, failed to reach the last eight of the Trophy and are far from certain to hang on to fourth place in the northern conference for the chance to defend their play-off title. Since losing Malcolm Leak and Purnell Perry in the close season, the coach, Billy Mims, has tried to recreate the mix of last season, but has not been helped by injuries.

Tonight's visitors to Loughborough University, Sheffield Sharks, are unlikely to ease the demands on Mims' renowned motivational qualities and he said: "To be honest, if we run into a team that's healthy and hungry they don't have to be at the top of the table to beat us right now."