The Lions' season ended in disappointment as they suffered a heart-breaking 68-66 against Newcastle Eagle in the BBL Championship final on Sunday.
In a final that will go down as one of the best in the BBL's long history, the Lions were unable to build on a good start to the game as they clearly missed talisman Justin Robinson who had to sit out with an ankle injury sustained in the semi-final second leg victory against Plymouth Raiders.
Orlando Parker led Vince Macaulay's team with a 27 point, 12 rebound double-double while DeAndre Liggins added 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds. But they were the only two Lions in double figures as Dirk Williams saw his involvement cut short by foul trouble, finishing with seven points, three rebounds and a pair of assists in just under 20 minutes of action.
Eagles' Cortez Edwards collected the MVP award, finishing with 22 points, 13 boards, seven assists and four steals, while Rahmon Edwards had a 13 point, ten rebound double-double.
Parker was on fire as he hit ten of the Lions' points in a 13-2 start, Williams draining a triple, as the London side took control early in the game. Although Eagles fought back with a Louis Sayers' three helping them get back in the game, Parker made it an eight point game with six minutes gone. And despite emotions running high as the teams clashed at half-court, Kevin Ware kept the Lions ahead and Parker took his tally to 15 for the period as the Lions went into the first break with a 24-12 lead.
The lead swiftly evaporated early in the second period as Gordon opened the scoring at the foul line and Fletcher rounded off an 11-0 start to the quarter as the Eagles drew within a point after just two and half minutes. Josh Ward-Hibbert has provided a spark off the bench for the Lions on many occasions this season, and he ended the drought with a triple before Parker made it a six point game with 3:27 on the clock.
Scores from Chris Tawiah and DeAndre Liggins took the Lions' back out to ten, but it was the Eagles who finished the half stronger as Fletcher's triple cut the London lead to 35-30 going into the locker room.
Liggins hit a jump shot to open the second half before Edwards scored six straight points to set the tone for the third period, and there was little to choose between the two sides as they shared 40 points.
Jordan Spencer scored a mid-range effort and Parker's dunk made it a seven point game with six minutes gone before Liggins took the lead out to ten as he scored from the Land of Plenty. Parker gave his side a 12 point lead with 2:45 on the clock but the Eagles gave a glimpse of what was to come as an 8-1 run saw them make it 55-50 at the final break.
Edwards hit the first five points of the fourth period before Maxwell gave the Eagles their first lead since the early stages, only to see Parker level. Fahro Alihodzic put the Lions up by a point heading into the final five minutes but Fletcher and Maxwell both hit pairs of foul throws to give the Eagles a three point lead with four clicks on the clock. Liggins hit a triple to level things but Maxwell cut to the basket for a lay-up before Jules Dang-Akodo tied the score again with 94 seconds on the clock.
That proved to be the final time the Lions troubled the scorer as Edwards scored what proved to be the final points on the game at the foul line after a Liggins foul.
Liggins and Alihodzic both missed jump shots and the Lions were forced to send Fletcher to the line with 2.7 seconds on the clock. He missed both shots, but time ran out for London as Liggins' Hail Mary shot fell short.
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