The London Lions maintained their perfect start to the Super League Basketball season on Friday night, edging Newcastle Eagles 77-82 at the Vertu Arena to move to 4-0.
In a rematch of last season's playoff semi-finals - where Newcastle eliminated the Lions - London got their revenge, and bounced back from a tough EuroCup defeat against Besiktas GAIN Istanbul on Tuesday night.
"Very good start," Lions Head Coach Tautvydas Sabonis said after the game:
"Understanding the importance of what we want to do, slow with rotations then they came back, but happy how we executed the end of the game. We've got to control the game a bit better, the game got a bit chaotic for multiple reasons but we learned to suffer and finish off with a win."
Early season standout Joel Scott finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds, whilst Kameron McGusty added 14 points, Amin Adamu 11, and Deane Williams 10 in a balanced offensive display.
Maceo Jack contributed 17 for Newcastle but it was Ray'sean Taylor who stole the show with a game-high 32 points.
Lions pounced early, racing to a 10-0 lead in the opening two minutes, shooting 4-of-5 from the field. Joel Scott capped the run with a three-pointer that forced Eagles head coach Marc Steutel into an early timeout.
Newcastle, led by Taylor, battled back throughout. The Eagles shot an impressive 18-of-19 from the free-throw line in the first half to stay in contention, seizing their first lead when Maceo Jack's three-pointer made it 27-26 early in the second quarter.
Head coach Tautvydas Sabonis called timeout, and London responded with a crucial 7-0 run to regain control at 33-27. The Lions took a 44-41 lead into halftime on the back of a scorching 68% shooting from the field.
The third quarter remained tight, with the teams trading baskets throughout. London maintained a slender advantage, and held off every Eagles rally, as they brought it back to two points once again in the fourth quarter only for London to stand firm down the stretch.
The victory marks sweet redemption against the team that ended their playoff hopes last season. London now sit as the only undefeated team in the Super League Basketball standings.
Attention shifts swiftly back to EuroCup, where the Lions host Dolomiti Energia Trento at the Copper Box Arena on Thursday night, still searching for their first continental win after opening defeats to Buducnost and Besiktas.
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