Lions start campaign with impressive victory

The North School Lions claimed a hard-fought 58-51 victory at old foe Cranbrook School in the opening game of their Kent League campaign. Lions started in dominant fashion as point guard Tom Chambers and small forward Luis Beaumont attacked the hoop with force to give them an early 6-0 lead.

Cranbrook responded with strong inside play but back-toback triples from Beaumont and rookie shooting guard Appointed Adigun gave the Lions a 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Breakout stars Kacper Pedich and Ollie Heath gave strong minutes in the second quarter. Pedich posted six points and five rebounds, and Heath tallied four assists in the period.

Cranbrook did, however, hit a crucial three-pointer to end the quarter but it was the visitors who went into half-time with a 29-19 advantage.

The Lions extended their lead to 15 in the third quarter as Chambers continued to be unstoppable in transition but Cranbrook showed their resilience as they forced three quick turnovers to bring the deficit back to single figures as the Lions led 45-36.

The teams traded baskets at the start of the fourth but Cranbrook refused to go down without a fight and a furious 13-6 run saw them cut the lead to just two points at 51-49 and forced the Lions into a timeout with three minutes left. A refocused team set their attention to the defensive end and they put together a superb string of stops to hold their opponents to only one basket in the final minutes of play. At the other end, the Lions were able to get the ball into the hands of their talisman Chambers, who put the game away, scoring seven more points.

Chambers was named as the MVP after an emphatic display that saw him lead all scorers with 33 points, which went along with seven rebounds and three steals.

He said: “We went into the game knowing it was going to be tough, but we fought to the end and we fought together. “It’s a much-needed win and a true glimpse of Lions’ basketball at its fullest.”

Head coach Andrew Sunderland added: “From all of our battles in the past, we knew that Cranbrook would be well-coached and gritty. “We managed to push the lead out in the third but full credit to them. They never gave up and made it really tough for us down the stretch.

“Tom was superb - he was fearless and he really stepped up from a leadership perspective. No doubt about it, this is a big win for us.”

The North School will face Skinners School on Friday (tomorrow).

Iain Bremer drives to the basket during the win over Cranbrook School