The big games keep coming for Lions' NBL Division One teams with the men hosting Worthing Thunder on Saturday afternoon and the women travelling to Worcester Wolves at the same time.
Thunder will arrive at Barking Abbey sitting second in the table with a 14-4 record, but have seen their title charge falter in recent weeks with losses against Solent Kestrels and Derby Trailblazers. and realistically need to win their final eight games to stand any chance of denying Kestrels a record fourth straight league title.
Thunder are owned by former Lion Zaire Taylor - who still plays for the team and is averaging 12.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.8 steals - and will be making their second visit of the season to East London having defeated Lions 90-70 in a pre-season L Lynch Trophy group stage game. The league game between the teams on the south coast proved to be a lot closer as Lions won the first period and were eventually edged out 94-85 despite 24 Jase Harrison points.
Former Essex Leopard Hafeez Absul was averaging almost 30 points a game midway through 2019/20 before he departed for a brief spell in Italy. He returned to Division One last season, making little impact with spells at Hemel and Thames Valley but has regained his form to lead Thunder with 19 points and 7.2 boards. American Jarred Dixon averages 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists, while Howard Crawford - who played for Lions back in their Milton Keynes days almost a decade ago - leads Thunder with 7.9 boards, adding 12.9 rebounds.
It's a vital game for Lions as they look to keep up their push for a play-off spot, going into the game in eighth place with eight wins from 17 games. American guard Elijah Harrison joined Lions early in the league season and is leading them in scoring with 18.3 points per game in a team high 31.4 minutes. Now in his second season with the team, Harrison continues to be a key player for a London side packed full of Barking Abbey Academy players, and he brings 16.2 points together with team high 3.5 assists and 2.1 steals in just over 30 minutes. Bradley Kaboza plays his college ball at Lions' partner, University of East London, and he matches Harrison's 16.2 points as well as leading the team in boards (5.5rpg) and free-throw shooting (82.1%) as well as dishing out 2.3 assists per game. His UEL team-mate Brandon Tchouya adds 10.7 points, 1.8 steals, 5.5 rebounds and two assists per game.
Meanwhile it's crunch time for David Lavinier's women's team as they travel to Worcester Wolves looking for a win to help their fight against relegation.
Lions have won only one of their 14 league games and face a tenth placed Wolves team who have a 4-8 record. Lions let a one point half-time lead slip when the sides met at Barking Abbey in November as a poor third period saw them lose a heart-breaker 57-56. The consolation of such a defeat is that a two point win in the midlands would give Lavinier's team the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Fatmata Janneh top scored with 31 points in that loss against Wolves, and she is leading the race for the league's leading scorer with 21.7 points per game, adding 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.4 assists per game. Saturday's match-up at University of Worcester will see her face her nearest challenger for the scoring title as Wolves' Chandre N Chandre Nunez is average 20.2 points, adding a team-high 5.7 rebounds.
While Janneh frequently grabs the headlines, she has received good support from Ruchae Walton since she recently returned from injury to average 13.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Nicholle Lavinier also chips in with 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds while another player who missed the start of the season Wura Ijelu has brought 7.7 point, 6.7 rebounds and five assists in her three games since returning to the side.
Admission is free for the men's Division One action, which tips-off at 4pm, but there is also a 2pm game as the Barking Abbey Lions face London Thunder with the young home side needing a win to keep their Division Three play-off hopes alive.
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