London Lions Men II will look to strengthen their bid for a place in the NBL Division One play-offs when they travel to Colchester to face Essex Rebels on Saturday afternoon.
Last week's four point win over strugglers Oaklands Wolves lifted Pierce Maslam's team up to joint sixth in the table with an 8-6 record, and they face another relegation-threatened side on Saturday as Rebels sit second-from-bottom in the table with one win from 13 games.
The sides met in the pre-season L Lynch Trophy group stages with Rebels shading a tight game 91-87 but Lions gained revenge when Essex came to Barking Abbey for a league game as Bradley Kabouza hit 20 points in a 76-69 victory.
It's been a tough season for the University of Essex side, with their only win coming against fellow strugglers Leicester Warriors. Former Essex Leopards' guard Rory Winter and Tom Child lead their scoring, averaging 15.1 and 11.1 points per game respectively. Child also dishes out 4.2 assists per game while Winter adds 2.2apg. Winter's brother Ben leads the Rebels with 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals, adding 10.2 assists. The signing of big for Barking Abbey seven footer Lee Hodges should help the Rebels who appear to be in a four-way battle with Oaklands, Warriors and Loughborough to avoid the drop.
Lions head into the second half of the Division One season with Elijah Maynard's 18.9 points per game leading their scoring, with the American adding 5.6 rebound and 1.7 steals. Kabouza leads them in rebounding with 6.3 boards per game to go with his 17.2 points 2.6 assists, while Jase Harrison chips in with 16.1 points, along with a team-high 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals.
Lions Women II are without a game but Barking Abbey men's Division Three side face a double header as they host Brent Bulls on Saturday before travelling to Brixton Rec on Sunday to face London Topcats. The young Lions are fifth in the seven-team London section, while the UEL Lions - who are without a game this week - top the table with a 7-1 record after last week's 89-69 win at Brent, and look a good bet for the title.
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