Two close games for a busy Essex Rebels D1 team

The team knew that they needed to dig deep and increase the defensive pressure. The second half was a different story. Essex came out firing to start and the defence was a driver for this. 

Going late into the fourth the Rebels found them selves down by 20 however, with the late charge, Essex went on a huge 22 – 2 run. 

Bradford were under pressure and Essex had the momentum. The rebels had a look at the end to tie it up but with a couple of fumbled plays Essex were unable to convert. The game finished 80 – 78.

Essex were led by Jake Eynons game high 26 points.

Sunday saw the Rebels host Reading rockets at the Essex Sport Arena. 

Essex knew the rockets were in form and needed to get into them early. The game started out even with both sides making shots and executing in the half court. 

Going into half time Reading geeked out a 5 point lead. 

Rebels rallied together and stepped up their defensive efforts again and managed to win the 3rd quarter by 3 and chop down on the rockets lead. 

Going into the 4th quarter, Essex built up some good momentum and were looking to drive on. Early on in the 4th some questionable calls didn’t go Essex’s way and the game began to swing in favour of Reading. A last ditch effort by the Rebels saw the game slide away with Reading winning 82- 71. 

Captain Tom Child lead Essex with 22 points shooting 6 3’s in the game. 

Head Coach Ross Norfolk was proud of the teams efforts, “This was always going to be a tough weekend. We showed that we fight to the very end. We need to increase our defensive efforts from the get go and the end of games will be a different story”.

Next week Essex host Thames Valley Cavaliers on Saturday at the Essex Sport Arena and then travel to them on the Sunday in a weekend double header.