The London Lions were able to win again in the British Basketball League, beating the Newcastle Eagles 99-86.
London Lions made it 11-in-a-row in the British Basketball League after they beat the Newcastle Eagles again.
Starting Five
Newcastle Eagles starting five: Rickey McGill, Devin
Whitfield, Jordan Johnson, Malcolm Delpeche, Will Neighbour
London Lions starting five: Gabe Olaseni, Sam Dekker, Tarik Phillip, Matt Morgan, Donte Grantham
First Half
In the return fixture of arguably the best game of the early
British Basketball League season, the Newcastle Eagles were ready to overcome the
collapse they had the last time they played the London Lions.
The first quarter showed both teams’ shot-making abilities, with over 50 points scored in the first quarter alone. While Devin Whitfield for the Eagles started out hot with eight points in the first quarter, the London Lions were scoring from all fronts.
In a well-rounded first quarter for London, the Lions were
able to score 30 points off 22 shots, good for 59% efficiency from the field. Gabe
Olaseni and Conor Morgan combined for 11 of those 30 points, but the rest of
the Lions were scoring very efficiently.
Even though the Eagles were showing off their offence, their defence wasn’t showing as much, with the Lions taking a 30-22 lead by the end of the first quarter.
While the Lions kept up the pace of their devastating
offence, the Eagles were not able to and saw themselves slipping away from the
game quickly.
The Lions kept the pace, however, with Conor Morgan keeping
up his scoring, leading the Lions with 12 points by the end of the first half.
All the praise was going to Gabe Olaseni, though, with the big man putting up 10 points, five rebounds, and a remarkable seven assists by the end of the half.
London were spreading the offence with an incredible 21 assists by the end of the quarter and were up 60-35 against the Eagles.
😬 Conor Morgan can do it ALL, can’t he!? The @LondonLions on the road have their foot on the gas.
📺 WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/iFjpBY53LZ#UNBEATABLE #BritishBasketballLeague pic.twitter.com/PcVKz3Trsa
— British Basketball League (@britishbasketm) October 27, 2023
Second Half
The Eagles weren’t ready to turn over for the Lions and were
still trying their best to get back into this contest.
Jordan Johnson and Whitfield started showing off their
offence, combining for 36 points by the end of the third quarter. It, however,
wasn’t looking like it would be enough to keep up with London.
The Lions continued to spread their offence around, adding
another eight assists to make 28 by the end of the quarter. Conor Morgan was on
the board for 17 points, while Olaseni was getting closer to a triple-double.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Lions were still up, this
time by 84-63.
Newcastle were able to get the score to a more respectable look, however, it could be argued that the Lions took the foot off the pedal in the fourth quarter.
With Olaseni, Dekker, and Phillip only registering less than
18 minutes each, the Lions bench played out the rest of the game, only able to
score 15 points in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles still showed their scoring prowess, with McGill adding 15 points, but it wasn’t enough to catch the Lions.
London were able to make it 11 in a row in the British Basketball League, beating the Newcastle Eagles 99-86.
Player of the Game
Tonight’s Player of the Game was Gabe Olaseni of the London Lions. The big man put up 13 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists, barely missing out on the season’s first triple-double.
| Team | Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| London Lions | Gabe Olaseni | 13 | 10 | 9 |
| London Lions | Conor Morgan | 17 | 5 | 4 |
| Newcastle Eagles | Devin Whitfield | 16 | 5 | 1 |
| Newcastle Eagles | Jordan Johnson | 20 | 5 | 5 |
With the new season here, you can still get your British Basketball fix by following the League on social media or heading to our YouTube channel to relive all of the best moments from the current season.
