Surrey Scorchers maintained their perfect record in this year's BBL Trophy with a gutsy, comeback 65-63 win against the Plymouth City Patriots.
Despite leading for most of the night, Plymouth didn't score a field goal in the final 5 minutes of play as Saiquan Jamison and Padiet Wang lead the fightback for the visitors.
After an even opening to the match, Plymouth took the initiative mid-way through the first quarter. Suffocating defence from the hosts kept Surrey scoreless in the last 4 minutes. Surrey were forced to shoot threes and they couldn't find the range, as a 9-0 run propelled Plymouth to a commanding lead.
Jacob Wiley and Mason Faulkner did most of the damage, combining for 10 of Plymouth's 17 points in the opening exchanges.
As the second quarter got underway Surrey re-discovered their shooting touch, but they were trading buckets as Plymouth's dynamic duo continued to cause problems and kept their 8 point lead intact.
When Surrey's three pointers finally started to land, they were able to bring themselves within 2 points, but they could never draw level or take the lead. As the half drew to a close, former Scorcher Elvisi Dusha sank a long range three pointer to give his team a 7 point lead at the break.
After half time the two teams traded hoops until a 6-0 run saw Plymouth move into a commanding 10 point lead mid-way through the quarter. However Surrey did not let go of the rope and were able to respond as Jamison and Wang dragged the visitors back into the contest.
When Josh Steel was fouled on a lay up, he had the chance to make it a 1 point game. However he missed the free throw and Wiley made a lay up at the other end to give Plymouth a 4 point lead going into the fourth.
Wang made it a one-score game with a highlight dunk at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Plymouth responded by taking a 6 point lead. Wang and Jamison put points on the board and after the commercial timeout the Scorchers tied the game with 2:46 remaining.
It looked like their chance to take the lead had gone after a careless shot clock violation, but on their next possession Lawrence gave Surrey the lead at the third attempt following some excellent work on the offensive glass by Jamison, who would end the night with a team-high 13 rebounds.
It was a lead they never surrendered, despite some shakey free throw shooting down the stretch. Jamison missed a pair, but Plymouth couldn't capitalise and Wang grabbed a huge rebound off an Atwood miss.
Wang was quickly fouled, however he could only make 1 of 2 at the line, giving the excellent Wiley the chance to win the game at the buzzer for the hosts. His three-pointer wouldn't go down as the Scorchers escaped with a thrilling victory.
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