London Lions 101-95 Plymouth Raiders
Q1:18-27
Q2: 51-49
Q3: 85-68
Q4: 101- 95
Lions top scorers: Parker 22, Liggins 19, Ware 17
Raiders top scorers: Hamilton 31, Porter-Bunton 12, Ubiaro 11
This season hasn’t started as well as the Lions would have hoped for. Unable to replicate their recent Cup win at the Eagles Community Arena left the Lions with a record of 0-1 in the league. They faced the Plymouth Raiders heading in an upward trajectory as they topped the standings heading into the match with a record of 2-0 in the league but 7-1 in all competitions.
Vince Macaulay was looking for anything but a “tepid performance” from his team. The Friday night fixture was a chance for the Lions to make amends for their slow start and finally get their season up and running. The same lineup that lost to the Eagles was on display again (Liggins, Parker, Robinson, Tawiah, and Williams) with coach Macaulay still believing in this group of men to get a result.
1st half (Q1&Q2)
The first quarter showed a lack of shooting prowess from the Lions, the game started off slow from both teams trying to find their feet. The Lions attempted 23 field goal attempts only making seven. Only making 30.4% from field goals, this was looking like it was going to be a long night for the Lions who needed anything but a poor shooting night. Dominating the offensive rebounds did not make up for the defensive rebounds they were giving up. Even though it was a slow start to the game it was the Raiders who had started off as the better team.
Turnovers looked like it would be the same old story we had seen from the Lions when they gave up four with only four minutes left in the first quarter, which lead to Hamilton knocking down a three and Porter-Bunton capitalising to add to his score. The quarter was rounded out with Liggins heading to the line after a shooting foul was called on Neighbour. 27-18 to the Raiders.
The Lions saving grace has come in the shape of DeAndre Liggins, the former NBA player brought in the summer is having a great start to the season especially in the cup leading in points, defensive rebounds, steals and 3 Points made, it’s too early but if this can be translated into the league, we could see an MVP season in the making.
The beginning of the second quarter saw the Lions flip a switch in the shooting department making 66.7% from field goals and 54.5% from behind the arch and it was all down to the former NBA forward Liggins. Liggins’s third straight three-pointer of the quarter cut the deficit to two points with Shane Walker adding to that to give the Lions their first lead of the night.
It was the Kevin Ware show in the second quarter. With Ware making difficult shots and making them from behind the line, the Lions managed to equal their total of 18 points in less than five minutes of the second quarter and this was down to more stops and fewer turnovers, with only two turnovers in the quarter, down from six in the first quarter. The Lions were starting to find their rhythm, Hamilton kept the Raiders in it with his scoring as the second quarter finished 51-49.
2nd half (Q3&Q4)
It looked like the occasion got to the visitors with the Lions capitalising off early turnovers with every shot looking like it was money. New acquisition Orlando Parker got in the action dropping the first points of the half. The highlight of the quarter came from a pick and roll followed by a dunk by Chris Tawiah.
We were seeing the finest shooting display from Lions in the longest time, making 72.2% of their field goals. This was far from a “tepid performance” scoring six out of eight three-pointers the Lions were making 75% of their shots from behind the arch.
The Raiders struggled to get to grips with what was happening with poor shooting and not being able to contain Dirk Williams’s shooting streak. The Lions stretched the lead to 17 points, 85-68 with this being the Raiders’ lowest-scoring quarter with only 19 points.
The fourth quarter was a different story, the Lions took their foot off the pedal and kept giving the Raiders an inch of life in the game, this inch would become a mile and the Raiders looked to make a comeback. If it was not evident the intensity the Raiders brought in the last quarter, Prince Ibeh dunking over Ware to cut down the lead.
Hamilton showed why he is an MVP caliber player, willed his team along as the deficit was cut down to 12. This was disastrous from the Lions who saw their 20-point lead cut to only three in the closing stages.
Although, the turnovers were minimal the shooting is what hurt the Lions only making 36.8% of their shots compared to the raider’s 52.9%. The Americans helped see the Lions out with Williams hitting a big open three from the corner with Ware adding to the score with an open lay-up, final score 101-95.
The Lions thus handed the Raiders their first loss of the season in what was a tense but delightful nail-biting game of basketball. It was a huge night for the Americans with impeccable shooting they were the key factor when a star like Justin Robinson had a quiet night with only seven points and three assists. This was a performance that coach Macaulay had been crying out for. This was a game that lived up to expectations as either one could be lifting the trophy at the end of the season.
