The Wolves made a strong start, opening up a nine point lead over their nearest rivals before the Riders, who have a game in hand closed the gap to five at 23-18.

But the hosts remained in control throughout the match and an excellent third quarter, which saw them outscore their visitors by 28-10, proved decisive.

Richie Gordon led all scorers with 24 points for the Wolves who hold a two point advantage over the Riders in the standings while Tommy Freeman chipped in with 17.

In Saturday's other clash Durham Wildcats secured just their third win of the season with a 96-85 victory over play-off hopefuls Guildford Heat.

The match was finely poised at the end of the first quarter, with the Wildcats holding a narrow three point advantage at 27-24.

Guildford drew level early in the second period, but the home side kept them at bay with some excellent shooting gradually built their lead in the last five minutes to go 53-44 up at the buzzer.

The Wildcats kept the Heat at arm's length throughout the third quarter before two Albert Margai free throws gave the visitors hope at 73-68 to start the final quarter

But Durham kept their composure to see out the win, with Mike Capocci leading their scoring with 28 points and Tayo Ogedengbe netting 26 for Heat.