Surrey Scorchers hit the road to the capital for a clash against the undefeated London Lions for some Friday night BBL Cup action.
Although being the second time these two teams have matched up this season it was unfamiliar territory for both.
Previously Lions played with their division 1 squad due to covid protocols taking a narrow win by 1 point.
The scorchers now with a stronger squad as Americans Stanley Davis Jr and Lamar Hamrick join the squad. Andrew Lawrence made his first Scorchers official BBL appearance as he returns from injury on limited minutes.
As the ball went up London took control of the game from early. A time out from Coach Creon and adjustments made as Andrew Lawrence and Lamar Hamrick came onto the floor with composure and settled the offense finishing the quarter 29 – 15 to London.
It didn’t get any easier in the 2nd quarter as shots were dropping for the London side as they got out on the fast break and capitalised on Scorchers errors.
BBL all-star Dirk Williams doing most of the damage for the Lions with 14 point at the half.
Lamar Hamrick showing what he can bring to the Scorchers playing off the ball and finishing at the hoop as he headed to the locker room with 11 points on the board off the bench.
Although a 52 – 29 deficit to start the third quarter the Scorchers picked up the defence and found rhythm on offense.
Pushing the ball in transition and finding better shots on offense allowed the team to claw back to a 9 point game.
A questionable call to end the third quarter allowed Lions to score on the buzzer and Andrew Lawrence picking up a technical foul.
Down by 13 going into the 4th quarter meant Scorchers would chip away at the deficit. A hot start to the 4th for Lamar Hamrick wasn’t enough as Lions Washburn answered Scorchers comeback with back to back 3 pointers closing out the game.
With 3 and a half minutes to go the margin was too large for the Scorchers ending the night with a 88 – 73 defeat.
Coach Creon’s side will look to regroup this week as they return home to Surrey Sports Park to take on Leicester Riders Saturday 16th October.
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