A fourth period comeback wasn't enough to prevent London Lions II slipping to a 90-83 loss at Essex Rebels in NBL Division One, on Saturday.
With the game looking over early in the fourth period, the young Lions reeled off 19 straight points before running out of time as the hosts gained a key win in their fight against relegation.
Jase Harrison led the way for the visitors, hitting five three-pointers in his his 20 point haul, adding five rebounds and three assists. Zach Weluche added 17 points and eight rebounds while Elijah Maynard had 15 points and five boards. Jakke Eynon's 24 points led a balanced Rebels offence that saw five players in double figures, with the hosts shooting 52 percent both inside and outside the three-point line.
The result sees Lions drop down to eighth spot in the Division One table, although there is a gap opening up between the top nine and the bottom five as teams look for a place in the eight-team play-offs.
Lions had started well as triples from Harrison and Stephen Asante saw them rush into an 8-0 lead. and they led for the whole first period as Brandon Tchouya sent them into the first break with a 25-20 advantage. Maynard hit a triple to open Lions' second period scoring and they were still ahead by two points midway through the frame and back-to-back Harrison treys helped them to a 44-39 lead with 2:22 on the clock before Eynon's three-pointer launched a 9-0 close to the half, with Ben Winter sending the hosts into the locker room leading 48-44.
Harrison hit a trey to keep London in the game, only for Eynon to make it a ten point game with four minutes gong. Weluche's dunk and free-throw ensured Lions remained in touch but despite five quick points from Maynard, it was Rebels who took a 76-64 lead into the final break.
The game looked over as five Ray Akpofure points in a 10-0 run saw Rebels open a 22-point lead with three fourth period minutes gone and it was still a 19-point game head into the final five minutes. But a pair of Harrison triples galvanised the visitors, and a triple followed by a jump shot from Maynard saw the lead cut to 86-83 with 72 seconds on the clock.
But with Lions forced to foul to stop the clock, Eynon hit three-from-four at the charity stripe and Joel Moore split a pair to wrap up Rebels second league win of the campaign.
There was better news for Lions' Division Three team as they used a strong third period to defeat visitors Brent Bulls 83-79 at Barking Abbey. Thirty-three points from Buchanan helped a Lions side who had trailed by six at the break take the victory and move up to fourth in the London section table.
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