Another big night from Dirk Williams saw Lions power their way into the BBL Trophy semi-finals with a dominant performance to beat Manchester Giants 90-79, on Sunday.
Williams hit six of his nine three-point attempts adding six rebounds and four assists as he finished with a game-high 28 points as London continued their defence of the competition they won last season.
Isaiah Reese continued his great season with 20 points, nine assists, five steals and four rebounds while Julian Washburn and Lorenzo Cugini added 11 points apiece for a Lions side who were still without Jordan Williams and Justin Robinson due to injury.
Giants were led by 20 points from Tyrik Armstrong and 18 from Francois Lewis
Reese opened the scoring off Williams’ assist before Cugini drained from downtown to give the visitors a led they would never lose.
Jump shots from Williams and Washburn saw the lead grown to 12-3 forcing a timeout from Giants’ Lloyd Gardner after just three minutes but with Reese also scoring from the Land of Plenty, Lions went into the first break with a comfortable 28-14 lead.
The threes continued to rain down on the hosts as Reese and Williams extended the lead to 34-16 early in the second period, and Williams hit back-to-back shots from outside the arc to send Lions into the locker room with a 514-29 lead.
Giants scored the first two baskets of the second half but, almost inevitably Williams replied from downtown and Kylor Kelley’s trademark dunk kept the lead above 20 with four minutes gone. Another Kelley dunk and Reese’s triple saw Lions remain in the control and Jordan Spencer’s lay-up say the visitors reach the final break with a 73-54 lead.
After Giants had again scored the first baskets to open the fourth period, Chris Tawiah’s and-one off Reese’s assist got Lions moving Williams also converted an old fashioned three point play before Reese’s spin move saw Lions 81-64 up with six minutes to play.
Manchester had one run left in them with Armstrong hitting a trey before Lewis made it an eight-point game with three minutes left.
A shot clock violation saw Giants regain possession but Kelley blocked Armstrong’s shot and Williams effectively ended the game as a contest when he sunk his final triple of the night as Lions progressed to the final four.
