A poor first period proved fatal for Lions Men II as they went down 107-97 at Nottingham Hoods on Saturday.
The home side scored the first six points and blew into an early ten-point lead, and despite Elijah Maynard’s triple Lions went into the first break trailing 28-15.
Four Bradley Kaboza points in a 6-0 run to close out the second period saw Hoods’ lead trimmed to 46-41 going into the locker room, and a good start to the second half saw Maynard’s triple cut the margin to a single point. But that proved to be as close as Lions came as Nottingham reeled off nine unanswered points and Kaboza’s late jump shot could only cut the deficit to 74-62 at the final break.
Kaboza’s jump shot made it a ten-point game after ten seconds of the fourth period but the hosts lead ballooned to 23 points with four minutes remaining before a late run from London gave the scoreline some respectability.
Maynard led a Lions team still missing the influential Jase Harrison, finishing with 35 points, six rebounds and four steals. Kaboza also had a big night, finishing with 28 points, including 10-from-13 at the foul line, and five boards, while Brandon Tchouya finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
The result saw Lions drop out the Division One play-off zone and they face a tough test on Saturday when they host champions-elect Solent Kestrels.
In the battle of the Lions in Division Three, Barking Abbey caused a major shock with a 77-64 home win against University of East London. Joe Buchanan's 21 points led the way for the young Barking side as a 24-11 second period dented UEL's bid for the London section title.
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