Surrey Scorchers began 2019 with an emphatic 93-91 win against London City Royals.
New Year’s Day 2018 was the game that fan’s say turned the corner for Surrey Scorchers last season, and it certainly looked to be a pinnacle point for the Scorchers as the team brought in the new year with their best win to date.
London City Royals were greeted at Surrey Sports Park by a sell-out crowd. With ex-Scorchers Will Neighbour and Elvisi Dusha in tow, the scene was set for what was to be an epic battle.
Quincy Taylor proved to be unstoppable as he racked up an impressive 25 points in the first half alone, proceeding to finish the game on a career-high 42 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.
The first quarter was a tale of back and fourth between the two teams, as Royals led for the majority of the period. But, following a long bomb from Caylin Raftopoulos and a flurry of points from Taylor, Scorchers ended the first quarter 5-points ahead as a spark of belief was ignited within the Sports Park arena.
Q1 | @_TaylorMade25 is taking the game to Royals as Scorchers work their way to a 5-point lead!#OneGoal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/oQgxddDlOv
— Surrey Scorchers (@surreyscorchers) January 1, 2019
It became clear in the second quarter that Taylor was on fire as he never failed to miss the basket, but Royals weren’t ready to give up too quickly as Matthew Brian-Amaning and Ryan Richards fought it out under the basket. Scorchers returned to the dressing room up by two at half-time cheered on by a standing ovation.
Q2 | QT is on fire… 🔥 @_TaylorMade25#OneGoal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RsTrOIKzgf
— Surrey Scorchers (@surreyscorchers) January 1, 2019
As the Surrey side returned to court, the Royals still couldn’t stop Taylor on his way to the basket, as he found himself on a new career-high score with most of the second half to go.
Q3 | With most of the second half left to go, @_TaylorMade25 makes his career-high…!#OneGoal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/emLmOV5FOO
— Surrey Scorchers (@surreyscorchers) January 1, 2019
The final 10-minutes was to be a nail-biter for the packed-out crowd, as Scorchers suffered a 4-minute scoring drought giving the Royals a chance to bring the game level. With only 2 seconds remaining in the game and at 91-91, Ryan Richards earns the much needed foul from Neighbour to take Scorchers into the lead.
Q4 | Richards heads to the free throw line with 2 seconds remaining….#OneGoal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YxdHdFyCXr
— Surrey Scorchers (@surreyscorchers) January 1, 2019
Q4 | Do you hear that crowd???#OneGoal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/OSHl0l3hm5
— Surrey Scorchers (@surreyscorchers) January 1, 2019
Scorchers managed to hold off a final charge from Brian-Amaning in the final seconds to earn them their third win of the season and the first BBL win of 2019.
Speaking to captain Tayo Ogedengbe after the game he said: “We’ve been through it this season, these guys that you saw on the court today have been through everything.
“It’s a new year and that’s how we decided to look at today’s game. As you can see, we played with heart and gave it all we got, and the score showed that.”
The club now looks ahead to this weekend, as they face Manchester Giants on Sunday (6thJan) in a vital game that will decide who will take the head-to-head. Make sure you get your tickets to support the Scorchers from 2 pm at Surrey Sports Park.
One Team. #OneGoal
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