UEL Men’s Basketball First Team stretched their unbeaten record to 3-0 with a win over a resilient Southampton Solent squad, 59-43 at SportsDock.
Both UEL and Solent entered the match as the only two undefeated teams in the Premier South League with only points difference separating them.
Positive Start
The first highlight of the match came from club captain Dzaflo Larkai, as he converted an and-one (fouled during shot) after a nifty move around the basket.
Posting up would be the game plan for the home team for most of the game as Larkai, Brandon Peel and Kyle Gouveia all got baskets for UEL early on.
UEL were just as dominant on the defensive side as they were on the offensive side, as they held Solent to only eight points in the first quarter, leading 19-8.
Going Strong
Going into the second quarter, UEL began to score in a variety of ways. First a contested three-pointer from Justin Black, before a fast-break dunk from Abraham Ekperuoh off a Solent turnover, this lead to the first timeout of the quarter.
After the timeout, the home team did a poor job of ending on a high note, with several turnovers and complacency creeping in. UEL would only lead at half time by five points, 26-21.
Turning On The Style
Entering the second half, UEL decided to go back to what was successful in the first half, as Larkai demanded the ball in the post and scored at will. The strong end to the second quarter looked like it had helped Solent, as they were able to run their offence efficiently which lead to easy looks around the basket.
After a brief timeout, UEL got back into their groove and scored six unanswered points as they led 44-34 after three quarters.
As they entered the fourth quarter, Solent did a solid job of getting the home side out of their offensive sets which led to UEL taking some rushed shots near the end of the shot clock.
But that didn’t last long as UEL got back into their defensive mindset, allowing only four points for the away side in the first eight minutes of the quarter.
Max Denham and Oluseyi Oyelowo were able to play the last closing minutes for UEL as they pulled away from Solent for a 59-43 victory.
“A Big Win”
Speaking after the game Brandon Peel spoke of what the win meant for the team: “It was a big win for us, especially over a tough team who hadn’t lost, just like us” he said.
Next up for UEL is the University of Essex on Halloween, once again at SportsDock in an attempt to maintain their 100% record.
