Rebels Slay the Dragons and Weather the Storm on a Thrilling Weekend of Basketball
Essex first hosted Bradford Dragons on Saturday at the Essex Sport Arena. The Rebels were going into this game 0 – 3 whilst Bradford have had a good start to the season with a 4 – 1 record.
The game started with a buzz around the arena, both sides were trading baskets and it had a sense that this one could be a high scoring game. Rebels edged the first quarter by 3.
In the 2nd, we saw Essex step up the pressure on the defensive end which allowed them to flow into their style of offence. The momentum swung towards Essex and finished the half strong with a lead of 12 points.
Bradford we able to rally and came out firing after halftime but the Rebels took a stand and with stood the pressure from the Dragons.
Going into the final Stanza, Essex executed their offence and remained solid defensively, which led to their first win in Division 1, led by Sam Newman’s 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
A quick turn around for the Rebels saw them take on the established Hemel Storm on Sunday.
Rebels needed to use the momentum generated from the Saturday win and bring this into the game against the in form Storm.
Essex took an early lead, but Hemel quickly bounced back to create a thrilling encounter.
Ethan Price showed why he is one of the top British prospects as he poured in 31 points for the rebels with a number of highlight on show.
After a game of back to back baskets and high level plays, Essex saw them selves up with 1:10 remaining. Essex didn’t need to add to their advantage, just needed to execute their defensive strategy.
Lee Hodges went to the line late on but with a late miss on his free throw meant Hemel’s Levi Noel was able to grab the bound and advance the ball to create one last hope for Hemel. Despite the chance Hemel were unable to convert which left Essex to enjoy a well earned victory 97 – 94, and to cap off a fantastic weekend of basketball for the Rebels.
