05-10-10
CIA crowned champions
In front of a jubilant home crowd CIA were crowned champions of the LMBL Division 1 after an epic battle against a physical Euston Power team that came right down to the wire. Player/Coach Tony Brown led by example, recording a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds and adding a game-high 6 assists.
The first quarter looked like an NBA game as both teams shot upwards of 80% from the field. CIA went on the attack from the beginning, pushing the ball down the floor and feeding the ball inside. Euston answered on every occasion seemingly unable to miss despite good shot defence from CIA. Daniel Montague and Darryl Lewis combined for 8 points in the quarter and Tony Brown hit a buzzer beating three-pointer but Euston led at the end of the quarter by a single point, 18-17.
In the second quarter CIA stepped up on the defensive end and slowly increased the gap at the offensive end. Tony Brown hit 13 of CIA’s 22 points in the quarter while Shooting Guard Nik Lawry added 3 of his own and controlled the pace. By the half-time interval CIA stretched the lead to 8, closing out the half 38-30.
Despite the lead CIA were visibly frustrated at the unbalanced foul count and their foul troubles only continued in the third quarter. As expected, Euston played a physical game and CIA were forced to go big. Darryl Lewis and Chi Lewis-Parry both contributed on the inside, Lewis pulling down 5 of his 6 rebounds in the quarter. As Euston stepped up their intensity on defence Daniel Montague tracked down a stolen ball and provided the highlight, pinning a Euston layup to the backboard and altering a second shot opportunity to keep the pressure on Euston going into the final minutes. A step-back later in the quarter capped an 6-2 run for CIA as they extended the gap to 9 points, 53-44.
The stage was set for a battle in the final quarter. A win wouldn’t be enough to secure a league crown for Euston; they would need to win by at least 4 points to be in with a chance and a loss would send them into third position and out of the promotion zone. Point Guard Luke Bowler would be forced to sit much of the final quarter after picking up his fourth foul as referee Aaron Senior called an intentional foul that would result in 2 free throws for the visitors. Shortly afterwards the tension continued to mount as Chi Lewis-Parry picked up a technical foul. A passionate crowd put the pressure on Euston as they went to the charity stripe only able to hit 2 of their 4 shots.
Two late 3-pointers from Euston narrowed the game to just 3 points but strong moves from Chi Lewis-Parry and a monstrous block from Forward Michale Brown inspired a late surge. Gene Brown hit a big three from downtown and added one from the line to ice the game, 70-65.
CIA are officially League Champions 2009/10 and will return to the Premier Division next season.
CIA will hold an awards evening in June at their home court, Westcroft Leisure Centre in Carshalton. Stay tuned for more information. CIA Basketball would like to thank everyone involved in making this season a success and we look forward to more of the same in 2010/11.
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