Road Loss for Rebels at Derby
A 117-80 defeat at the Clarence Wiggins Sports Centre brought an end to the Rebels’ four-game win streak in the British Championship Basketball.
The visitors got off the mark early in the first quarter, with an emphatic dunk from Remy Udeh making the score 10-19. A three-pointer from Captain Tom Child strengthened the Rebels’ lead, before Connor Washington and Sean Mo Walker added three-pointers of their own to level the score at 24-24. Jai Pathmarajah and Robert Marsden both converted a bucket apiece from the free throw line, giving the home side a 26-24 lead going into the second quarter.
After a positive start for the Rebels, the second quarter saw the Trailblazers begin to pull away. Connor Washington continued his habit of scoring three-pointers for the home side, as he added another three to his tally for the afternoon. Tom Child showed his own ability from range with another three-pointer of his own, which made the score 60-42.
Halftime came at the perfect time for the Rebels, who would have hoped to overcome the deficit in the third quarter. The Trailblazers had other plans, as they turned up the heat after the break with a 13-point scoring run which put them 30 points ahead. The Rebels kept fighting, with Tom Child adding another two three-point efforts, but went into the fourth quarter with the score 86-58.
Despite the Rebels’ best efforts in the final quarter, the deficit was too big to overcome. A two-point lay-up from Jai Pathmarajah saw the Trailblazers cross the 100-point threshold, and a looping three-pointer from Casey Burr saw the home side extend their lead to 42 points. Michael Amako’s late efforts saw the Rebels finish the game 117-80. Victory for the Trailblazers sees them move up to eighth in the table, two points and two places away from the Rebels in sixth.
After the game, Head Coach Joe Hart said:
“It’s a tough defeat on the road to an experienced Derby team. We started really well but dropped off for the last three quarters. It’s also really difficult to win games when you lose the rebounding battle by thirty points. We’ve got the weekend off to re-group now before we’ve got a tough road trip to Newcastle in two weeks’ time.”
TOP PERFORMERS
Essex Rebels
- Tom Child: 22 points | 4 rebounds | 9 assists
- Miles Brown: 14 points | 5 steals | 1 assist
- Remy Udeh: 5 points | 3 rebounds | 2 assists
Derby Trailblazers
- Jai Pathmarajah: 35 points | 4 rebounds | 8 assists
- Casey Burr 16 points | 4 rebounds | 5 assists
- Connor Washington 15 points | 4 rebounds | 5 assists
The Essex Rebels are back at home on the 31 January as they face the Bristol Flyers II at 6:30pm at the Essex Sport Arena.
By Nicholas Melton
