Rebels suffer defeat on the road against Newcastle

A trip to top-of-the-table Newcastle Knights ended in a 113-103 defeat for the Rebels in British Championship Basketball league action this weekend. 

The result sees the Rebels sitting in 9th place in the BCB league table, ahead of a return to the Essex Sport Arena at the end of the month. 

A whirlwind opening ten minutes saw the Rebels take an early lead, with a pair of three-pointers from Tom Child and another from Remy Udeh catching the hosts off-guard. Will Neighbour’s free throw for the home side made the score 27-29, with the Rebels holding the advantage going into the second quarter. 

Despite the Rebels’ bright start, the home side began to show their credentials as the league leaders. A 15-point scoring run saw the hosts overturn the deficit, with Jaron Thames proving to be difficult to contain for the Rebels as the guard racked up 14 points in the quarter. A pair of late three-pointers from Kyron Martin helped the Rebels stay in the game, with the score reading 61-49 going into half time.  

After the break, the Rebels came out with a point to prove. Consecutive dunks from Remy Udeh and Anthony Idiata-Mendez made the score 70-70, with a pair of three-pointers from Martin and Idiata-Mendez seeing the Rebels re-take the lead.  

Max Matthews responded with a three-pointer of his own for the hosts to wrestle the lead away from the Rebels, before an emphatic dunk from Jaron Thames gave the Knights the lead heading into the final quarter. 

A strong start to the fourth quarter saw the hosts restore their 16-point lead, with another dunk from Thames sealing the result. The Rebels continued to fight right until the end, with Kyron Martin chalking up another three-pointer in the last action of the match.  

The next action for the Rebels comes on Saturday, 31^st January in a return to the Essex Sport Arena against the Bristol Flyers. Be sure to join us for an afternoon of competitive BCB action! Tickets are available now on Fanbase.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Essex Rebels 

Miles Brown: 22 points | 4 rebounds | 8 assists 

Tom Child: 21 points | 5 rebounds | 10 assists 

Kyron Martin: 21 points | 6 rebounds

By Nicholas Melton