Men too strong for UWE rivals

UEL men’s basketball first team stormed to a convincing 81-46 victory over the University of West England at SportsDock on Wednesday.

UEL went into the match sitting third in the table, after a 122-92 victory over Bath last week, while UWE were fifth after a narrow 89-82 defeat to Southampton Solent.

And straight from tip-off, UEL showed their intent after creating two chances almost immediately which saw the ball come back of the rim of the basket.

For a while the match was deadlocked with the score standing at 12-12, but after UWE missed a free throw opportunity the hosts capitalised and started to create some daylight between the two sides.

A stand-out figure for UEL was Tim Shodipo, who was very influential from the start.

Shodipo’s scoring ability and driving runs into the key were crucial in helping UEL get their noses in front and after Alex Scotland-Williams scored a great rebound the first quarter concluded with UEL leading 20-12.

UEL began the second quarter the better side, with Shodipo grabbing two three-pointers and a good lay-up to extend the lead to 28-15.

However, UWE’s Austin Hill converted a couple of superb three-point shots himself to prevent the visitors falling further behind.

UWE clawed back a couple of points courtesy of Jordan Daniels from free throws, before UEL’s Scott Pizor and Myles Laurent Smart scored to make it 36-24 at the midway point.

UEL’s Shodipo and UWE’s Hill were very impressive throughout the first half, with the home side working hard for their 12-point lead.

They extended their lead in the third quarter as Matthew Ponce won possession before driving at the basket to score, before Jonathan Foulds added to the tally of three pointers to make it 41-24.

Shodipo and Laurent Smith added further baskets, but UWE did not lie down and converted two more three-pointers themselves.

The hosts improved their chances further late in the third quarter when Pizor, Kevin Mayo and Junior Natty baskets took them into a 56-37 lead.

And UEL maintained that momentum in the final quarter to storm into a big lead, as Shodipo and Foulds added to their impressive tallies for the day, while Seun Olaofe got in on the act as the score moved to 77-43.

UWE won three free throws and scored them all to grab some consolation points but seconds before the finish, UEL’s Filippo Ampomah scored a fantastic rebound to take his side past the 80-point mark, and give them a resounding victory.

Next up for UEL is a trip to Oxford next Wednesday.