Lions’ coach James admitted his side had a tough time scoring against Turkish side Bahçeşehir Koleji as they lost 76-61 in the FIBA Europe Cup on Wednesday.
A big crowd at the Copper Box saw London struggle during the first half, but there were plenty of positives for the new Lions’ play-caller:
“It was a rough night offensively for us, and we didn’t shoot particular well” said Vear. “We turned the ball over too much in the first half which led to 17 points off turnovers, that’s too much.
“But we were much better in second half, and we caused them some problems. We got it down to eight [points] and had a couple of shots to get it down to five. If one of them had gone in who knows what would have happened?”
On European debut as Lions’ coach. Vear remained positive about his side’s performance:
“Defensively we were much better in the second half but we ran out of gas as we chased the game. To be fair to their guys, they hit big shots down the stretch felt closer than that. The scoreboard says we lost by 15, but it think it was a lot closer than that. They’re a very good team, arguably the best team in our group and the positive is that we can take that from this game. We want a defensive identity and we definitely found that in the second half."
“It was great to see to many fans at the game. European nights are amazing at the Copper Box, the guys feed off the energy of the crowd. The European games are special not only for Lions but for British basketball.”
Guard Marquis Teague, who finished with 17 points, agreed with his coach: “We couldn’t make a shot in the first half and missed a lot of rebounds. But we were better in the second half and tried to make a run in the second half but we ran out of gas.”
With Avtodor Saratov versus Bakken Bears postponed due to Covid issues, Wednesday’s result put Bahçeşehir Koleji top of Europe Cup Group L. Lions travel to Plymouth Raiders for a BBL Championship game on Friday before Saratov visit the Copper Box on Tuesday evening, 7.30pm. Tickets available here
.jpg)