UEL 68 UCL 64

The University of East London men’s third team held on for a slender win against their rivals to maintain their hold on second place ahead of King’s College 2nds.

And the hard-fought encounter proved to the UEL students that no fixture can be taken lightly as the season approaches the business end.

The first quarter was edged by UEL, with both teams missing early chances, as they went to the break leading by a single point.

The tense nature of the game could already be felt at this early stage and there was little difference in the second quarter, with both sides matching one another for the duration.

UCL did an excellent job of limiting UEL’s chances, foiling numerous attacking sequences, and only one point separated the sides at half time, with the hosts leading 31-30.

UEL lost that advantage for the first time in the match at the start of the third quarter, which left them to chase the game for the majority of the time remaining.

It seemed to suit UCL, who kept countering efficiently, whilst also sinking most of their free-throws and the physicality of the visitors seemed to also help them win second balls off the backboard more often than not, frustrating the hosts.

UEL took the lead again after a time-out at the beginning of the fourth quarter, taking the score to 57-55, and really dug in over the course of the next few minutes, making more of their important shots and free-throws, whilst also battling with the strength of the UCL team.

As the tense final couple of minutes slowly ticked down, UEL showed their tactical nous by winning fouls and frustrating UCL with their controlled possession and the game ended with them enjoying a four-point cushion for a key victory heading into the important final few fixtures.