UEL Men’s 3rd Basketball team got their season off and running with their first win this season with a nail-biting 68-62 win over a tough Medway squad at SportsDock.
After two consecutive away defeats, UEL were in need of a boost in confidence and duly obliged against Medway.
Electric Start
The away side started the quarter in a sloppy manner, with several turnovers as Manasseh Gumah and William Clayton picked up loose balls for easy layups and a fast start for UEL. The home side’s blistering start was capped off when quick ball movement led to an open three-pointer for Clayton, resulting in a timeout for Medway early in the quarter.
However, the away side had a positive end to the quarter, scoring twice from offensive rebounds as they trailed by 11 as UEL ended the quarter leading 18-7.
Super CJ
To start the second quarter, UEL’s CJ West was everywhere: blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and making shots.
This would prove infectious for his teammates as they swarmed Medway on the defensive end, leading to several shot clock violations.
When West was eventually subbed out of the match, it seemed that UEL lost their edge, with lazy passes and lapses of concentration starting to creep up in their play.
UEL led at half-time 34-22.
Medway Revival
The start of the second half was mainly a back and forth affair as both teams scored in a variety of ways: three-point shots, free throws and lay-ups as Medway refused to be written out of this contest, matching UEL shot for shot.
Even though the home side led 53-40 after three quarters, there was a sense that Medway had one last big scoring run in them, and this was never more evident than the 15-2 run that the away side made with three consecutive three-pointers without reply to start the fourth quarter, tying the game up at 55, leading to a timeout for UEL.
Kufre Inua and West were the deciding factors late in the fourth quarter as Inua made a mid-range shot and a fast-break lay-up to stretch the lead and the defensive-minded West made a great play, with a huge block on a Medway guard.
West View
After the game, CJ West gave some insight to his defensive prowess: “It’s something that I’ve always done whenever I come into the game, [playing with energy] always trying to play harder than the other team and doing what the team wants of me”, said West.
“I messed up defensively earlier on in the quarter and did what was needed to get the points”, said West.
UEL’s next match is not for another three weeks as they come up against Queen Mary’s at SportsDock on the 28th of November at 1:30pm.
