London Lions produced a game-winning final quarter at the Copperbox Arena on Wednesday evening as they overcame a spirited Kapfenberg Bulls side in the FIBA Europe Cup, winning 68-58.
Following their impressive win away from home a week ago against Dutch side Donar Groningen, Vince Macaulay’s side were looking to make it two wins from two in this year’s European campaign.
The away side settled into the game quicker and opened up a six-point advantage, leading 17-11 after a cagey first quarter that saw both sides miss a number of open chances and give away unnecessary fouls.
Lions looked more relaxed during the second quarter with Isiah Reece their standout player. The guard was potent on the break and was influential in piecing together Lions offensive plays as the home side’s extra quality started to be displayed.
A more aggressive approach was displayed in the second with Lions head coach Vince Macaulay bellowing out “get into him” throughout the period. Lions outscored their Austrian counterparts 21-16 in the quarter and reduced Bulls deficit to one point as they went into the halftime break trailing 33-32.
Home Advantage
The atmosphere inside the Copperbox started to build after the interval, helped by Lions offering tickets out for free the night before the game which saw the home side attract their biggest audience of the season.
The crowd were not let down after the break but there were still slender margins by the end of the third quarter. Lions had won the period 18-16, enough to give them a one-point lead with the score at 50-49 going into the last.
Lions added a further 18 in the last whilst limiting their opponents to only nine to cap off a fine defensive display and ensure their perfect start to the 2021/22 FIBA Europe Cup campaign continued.
Isiah Reece led the scoring for Lions as he finished with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds. Dirk Williams also had a good game for the home side, contributing 13 points in a relatively low-scoring affair.
For the visitors, Justin Briggs was the standout player as he finished on a game-high double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds.
“I’m very happy to get the win and improve to 2&0”
Following the victory Lions head coach Vince Macaulay was happy with his side’s performance:
“I’m very happy to get the win and improve to 2&0” he said. “It wasn’t a great first half for either team, we were both up and down, and we couldn’t get our threes to drop. But our defence got us through, and we tightened the screw in the fourth period and that 11-0 run in the fourth took us to the win.
“I thought we showed some real resilience, there’s a reason we have the best defensive record in the competition. Jordon Williams took a knock and couldn’t play but Chris Tawiah stepped up with a couple of big shots, and overall it was a very pleasing display.”
