For the first time, this season a crowd of supporters were allowed at the Cheshire Oaks arena unfortunately for the Cheshire side the London Lions were in town and could not miss from three. Finishing the game with 57%, winning their second game in a row, and adding a third loss on the record of the Cheshire Phoenix in the BBL Championship.
First-quarter
The game started with DeAndre Liggins running the show after he went two out of two from the three-point line to give the Lions an early lead.
The Phoenix struggled to score inside the paint early in the game which allowed the Lions to go on a scoring run and get off to a very productive first quarter.
The first quarter finished high scoring with the Lions in the lead 27-21, after a late three from Kahron Ross pulled the Phoenix back within six.
Second-quarter
The tale of both quarters was the same: for the first half of the quarters the Lions seemed to be the team in charge but in the second phase, the Phoenix played better and more efficiently leaving the Lions just seven points in the lead going into the second half, 54-47.
Both teams struggled with ball security, Lions with four turnovers to Phoenix’s with five at the end of the first half.
It was an amazing sight as we finally got to hear the fans counting down the last five seconds of the shot clock before the shot went up. An atmosphere we have not felt in a long time.
Third-quarter
The second half started with a lot of action from both sides as Disraeli Lufadeju and Ross came out and cut the Lions lead to just three. Orlando Parker, Justin Robinson, and Dirk Williams had a response of their own each scoring a three-pointer threes times in a row.
Parker continued adding onto the lead whilst Liggins’ brought an energy that was refreshing, allowing the team to play at pace and not give Phoenix a moment’s rest. Lack of concentration from the Phoenix team left Lion players unguarded on the three-point line for a lot of the game, allowing them to stretch the lead to 69-59, halfway through the third.
The Lions seemed to catch the shooting bug with Williams and Robinson on fire from the three-point line extending the Lions lead to 12 points heading into the fourth quarter, 83-71.
Fourth Quarter
The fourth quarter had Phoenix coach, Ben Thomas holding his head in his hands after Shane Walker jumped on Williams’ missed shot and dunked it. Thomas’ team seemed to lack attention and judgment at certain times in the game.
Lions protected their lead throughout the fourth and finished the game with a 110-99 win over the Cheshire Phoenix.
It was a great game for a few of the Lions players; Robinson scored 20 points, Parker with 25 points and seven rebounds on top of the 23 points from Liggins.
The fans in attendance gave a standing ovation at the end of the game for their home side after they lost a tough one. Jaylen Hayes scored 25 points, and with nine rebounds and six assists was a real stand out player for the home side.
The Lion’s next match will be a quarterfinal matchup against the Plymouth Raiders on Wednesday December 16th.
