UEL started brightly and took a five-point lead in the first few minutes, before a period of sloppy play ensued from both sides. As the first quarter wore on, the game seemed destined to be a low-scoring affair, with both teams missing a high percentage of their chances, and UEL went into the second quarter a couple of points down.
However, following on from this tepid first spell, the east Londoners started to push on, with point guard Will Clayton pulling the strings to level things up. The home side then started edging away from their opponents to make the half-time score 28-18.
Moving into the second half, UEL began stretching their lead as they started to put Anglia Ruskin under the cosh. The final two quarters contained dominant passages of play which led to the large gulf in the final score, with the team from Anglia Ruskin seemingly losing some motivation after their spirited first-half display.
Flurry
However the home side, having improved on their low-scoring start to the game, pushed towards the final buzzer with some flamboyant scoring. A final flurry of baskets resulted in the final score of 77-27, with UEL producing some excellent basketball in the latter 20 minutes of the game.
East London could have hit the 100-point mark had their shooting in the first two quarters been on par with their display towards the end of the game, however Clayton commented that UEL were pleased with their performance.
He said: “Personally I had a good game, getting it done on both ends of the floor. I was able to score for the team and help maintain our lead, and I had a great game.
“We played great team defence, keeping them to a very low score, and that really helped us to get a solid win.”
Improves
The win establishes UEL’s top-half position in the league, and also significantly improves their points difference, bringing it to plus-77 in total, comfortably ahead of their nearest rivals King’s College, who sit just below them in the table.
UEL’s final game is away to Hertfordshire, who sit one place off the foot of the table in one of the relegation places. Motivation from the Hertfordshire team should be high as they hope to make a strong finish to the campaign, so UEL will have to be on their toes to maintain their good form and finish the season strongly.