.jpeg)
A disastrous fourth period saw Lions go down 100-92 against Glasgow Rocks at the Copper Box on Friday evening.
James Vear’s side had been in control for the first three quarters but were outscored 35-15 in the final frame as the Scottish side came from behind to take the win.
Isaiah Reese returned to action after injury and led the Lions with 20 points, adding four assists and as many rebounds in 22 minutes. All five Lions’ starters finished in double figures, with Lorenzo Cugini finishing with 14 points, while Jordan Williams also returned to the starting line-up after injury to add 13 points. Kylor Kelley missed a double-double by a rebound, finishing with 12 points and three blocks while Dirk Williams had a quiet night offensively with 11 points.
Jordan Johnson led the Rocks with a massive 37 points, going six-from-12 from downtown as Rocks kept their play-off hopes alive with a seventh league victory.
Kelley got Lions off to a good start with a dunk off Reese’s assist, and a pair of Reese triples along with scores from downtown by Justin Robinson, Dirk Williams and Ryan Martin saw the home side take a comfortable 31-22 lead into the first break.
Brandon Kaboza drove to the basket for a lay-up to open the second period scoring for London, but a low-scoring quarter saw little between the teams as Reese and Dirk Williams added to Lions’ three point tally as they took a 47-37 advantage into the locker at half-time.
Kelley and Cugini took that lead out to 13 early in the third period before an incident between Jordan Harris and Reese saw the former ejected and the latter receive a technical foul. That seemed to spark the visitors into life as the shaved the lead down to five points before Cugini continued his hot spell with a long two and a three pointer to take his tally to 11 for the period and make it a double-digit game again with four minutes remaining.
Kelley’s and-one saw the lead grow to 14, and Robinson converted two three-point plays before two Kaboza triples saw the hosts lead 77-65 at the final break.
That was as good as it got for Lions as Rocks opened the fourth period with a 7-0 run. Jordan Williams kept London ahead with a pair of baskets but six straight Johnson points saw Rocks grab their first lead since the early stages, 83-81 with 6:48 on the clock.
Cugini scored the Land of Plenty to restore Lions’ lead but that was the last time the hosts were ahead as Rocks went on another 7-0 run. Although Jordan Williams and Reese kept their team in touch Fraser Malcolm hit a dagger three to make it a ten point game with two minutes on the clock and the visitors held on for the win.
