The London Lions have cemented their place atop the British Basketball league with a gritty come from behind win against the Newcastle Eagles. The 96-78 victory is the Lions 8th straight win in the BBL. In a post-match interview guard Andre Lockhart said: “I think Coach Vince would be a happy man right now.”
Dominating Bench
Despite another stellar performance from point guard Justin Robinson, it was the Lions bench that really made the difference on Friday night. After going behind to the Eagles in each of the first three quarters, the Lions bench were introduced and led the team on a staggering 8-0 and 10-0 scoring run to get them back in the game.
Backup guard Andre Lockhart spoke after the game about the contribution made by the subs.
“I just knew we wanted to bring the intensity, the energy. We wanted to be in a situation where we didn’t want them to have confidence…Whoever I was guarding on defense I just wanted to make sure they had no confidence on me.”
Stellar Second Half
The message of taking their opponents confidence was clearly shown late in the third quarter. After falling behind again, Coach Macaulay went to his trusted bench unit to provide a spark.
Led by UEL’s own Flo Larkai the Lions subs went on a 10-0 scoring run to end the quarter and give them a lead going into the fourth, which they would not surrender.
The Lions were in severe foul trouble early on which allowed the Eagles an easy pathway back into the game via the free throw line. Newcastle lived at the foul line in the 1st half, but that all changed in the 3rd quarter as the duo of Larkai and Lockhart were reintroduced.
Larkai anchored the defence, barking out orders to his teammates, ensuring there would be no easy points for their opponents. Along with his lockdown defense, Larkai added 12 points to crush the Eagles hopes of victory.
Elite Defence
Between the 3rd and 4th quarters there was a staggering 7-minute spell when the Eagles did not score a point. When asked how the Lions able able to maintain such a strong bench unit, Andre Lockhart credited his team’s ability to sacrifice for each other.
“We’re experienced guys. We could go to other BBL teams and probably get a lot more minutes, but we want to be here in London and we want to win. Justin’s our MVP. We just ride his wave, we just want to help.”
Squad Depth
Head Coach Vince Macaulay deserves a lot of credit for how he has managed to bring the team together. The Lions are blessed to have a deep roster which boast several players that could be stars on other BBL teams.
However, this doesn’t guarantee success, every player needs to buy in to the team’s identity and accept their roles, if this continues you can expect big things from the Lions this season.
With games coming thick and fast around the winter period, having a deep and talented roster will prove more vital than ever. The Lions next game comes swiftly as the face Leicester Riders at the Copper box this Sunday.
