Kentish Express Ashford & District
Lions secure home comfort in play-offs
Basketball
The North School Lions secured home court advantage for the opening round of the Academy Basketball League (ABL) play-offs as they defeated King Henry School 93-85.
The Erith hosts raced to a 10-0 lead, but the Lions trusted in their defence to get key stops which allowed them back into the game.
Lions captain Harvey KempGreen combined with Conal Parnell for 18 points which saw the Lions claw themselves to within three (28-25) at the end of the first quarter.
The pace remained high in the second quarter and the Lions defence showed their teeth as they held King Henry to just 15 points.
Roshan Thakali was instrumental in orchestrating the Lions offence; his court vision and passing creating multiple scoring opportunities for his team-mates. Kemp-Green and Parnell continued to carry the scoring load, combining for a further 15 points which saw the Lions wrestle the lead from the home team as they took a 48-43 advantage into half-time.
The third quarter saw the two teams trading baskets for the opening seven minutes as King Henry stayed within three points, however the Lions broke the game open with a 12-0 run fuelled by resolute team defence and three threepoint baskets from KempGreen that saw them take a 71-56 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Lions showed their scoring depth and versatility in the fourth quarter as
Thakali combined with Luis Beaumont, Oakley Rigby and Diogo Araujo-Simoes to score the team’s first 12 points and maintain their 15 point lead (83-68). King Henry made a final push but the Lions looked to a familiar face to bring them home; Kemp-Green scoring five late points to secure the victory.
Kemp-Green said: “It took all of us together to get the win and knowing that we’ve secured home court advantage for the opening round of the play-offs makes it even better.”
The Lions captain led all scorers with 33 points to go with six rebounds, five assists, four steals and he got strong back up from Parnell
(26 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists) and Thakali (14 points, seven rebounds, nine assists). Next up for the Lions is a topof-the-table clash with Holy Trinity School, Crawley, in the final week of the ABL regular season, with both teams looking to boost their seeding as they head into the play-offs.