London Lions kept the pressure on their rivals at the top of the table with victory on the road against DBL Sharks Sheffield, at Ponds Forge on Friday night.
Despite playing without BBL MVP Justin Robinson the Lions took to the floor with Ladarius Tabb, Jordan Spencer, Paul Guede, Brandon Peel and Kervin Bristol.
The home side were the ones who scored the first four points of the game, before Spencer settled things down and the visitors went ahead 15-14.
The Lions put together a decisive 9-0 run mid-way through the second quarter to give themselves breathing space and the hosts were unable to regain the game’s momentum after the visitors outburst.
Andre Lockhart and Tabb kept the scoreboard moving in the third quarter as the Lions then led by as many as 17 points.
And despite fouling and sending the Sharks to the line several times unnecessarily the lead stayed in the 10-14 range deep into the fourth quarter.
In the final period there was an unfortunate injury to young Sheffield guard Sedale Hanson-Young, who appeared to dislocate his shoulder and was taken to hospital, with the Lions wishing him a speedy recovery.
The game petered out after that, despite Sharks hitting three shots from behind the arc as Lions took the foot off the gas.
Lions boss Vince Macaulay was pleased with the win if not the performance, saying “Anytime you win in this league you have to be happy, especially winning in Sheffield, however I wasn’t happy with our defensive intensity and how we started.
“We needed to make some adjustments which we did, but we have to continue to get better and improve in a lot of areas.
“I thought Spencer and Lockhart played well, Tabb did what he does and I was delighted to give more and more game time to Paul Guede as he gets back into full speed.”
Lions scorers; Tabb 21, Spencer 19, Lockhart 16, Peel 12, Ikhinmwin 8, Larkai 2, Okoro2, Bristol 0, James 0, Ekperuoh 0, Roberts.
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