JOHNSON IS MAGIC AS UNITED FLOP

LONDON UNITED 81 GUILDFORD HEAT 88
London United lost for the second game in a row on Saturday, despite a spirited comeback in the final period against British Basketball League leaders Guildford Heat at the Hackney Space Centre, writes Ronan Murphy.

Although 76-68 down five minutes into the fourth quarter, United rallied to give the Heat a real scare, briefly clawing the score back to a three point deficit of 81-84 before the Heat finished off the game with a four point burst.

United sensed the opportunity for a famous reversal after the Heat’s influential point guard Brian Dux had to be permanently subbed out from the game following his fifth foul. Dux was responsible for setting a fast, fluent tempo to his side’s offensive play, and his exit came just as it seemed that the Heat were going to kill off the game with ease.

LU star forward Tarick Johnson (above) received the BBL player of the month award for his performances in February. He continued his red-hot streak of form against Guildford, once again top scoring in the match for the seventh match running with 27 points for United.

United edged the first half 46-44. Their physical approach led to a lot of free throws for the opposition but Guildford wasted too many of them to make United pay for their indiscipline. United’s Marlin Capers was outstanding in the first two periods, with a spectacular three pointer the highlight of his fifteen points. Unfortunately he could not maintain this high standard into the second half, which left Johnson isolated in his bid to turn around what quickly became a mountainous deficit.

The game was essentially decided in the third period, when a visibly fired up Heat came out and blitzed United out of the game with some thrilling all-round play. The superb Dux was at the heart of an attacking surge, which saw the Heat shatter United with a 12-2 burst. While Guildford racked up the points, United were left feeding on scraps until their late rally.

Daniel Gilbert was a clinical offensive force for the Heat. He scored 25 points, including five three pointers from six attempts. At the other end United were frustrated by Heat captain Mike Martin, who was a colossal presence in defence. He snatched twelve rebounds, the highest on either team by some distance.

United Head Coach Tony Garbelotto was positive in defeat. “We’re unhappy to lose, but we were playing a very strong team who are bang in form at the moment,” he said. “We’ve just bought a few new faces into the team and they’ll take a bit of time to settle in, but we’re still confident that we can make the play-offs.”

Teams
London United – Marcus Knight, Steve Ogunjimi, Tarick Johnson, Junior Williams, Marlin Capers, Bryant Feggins, Farid Haif, LaTaryl Williams (above).

Guildford Heat – Dean Williams, Brian Dux, Dan Wardrope, Jon May, Mike Martin, Roderick Wellington, David Mallon, Daniel Gilbert, Kabir Abu.

BBL CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE

P W L Pts

1 Guildford 27 22 5 44
2 Sheffield 28 22 6 44
3 Newcastle 28 19 9 38
4 Milton Keynes 28 15 13 30
= Scottish Rocks 28 15 13 30
= Plymouth 28 15 13 30
7 Leicester 27 10 17 20
8 London United 28 10 18 20
9 Chester 27 8 19 16
10 Worcester 31 4 27 8