Surrey Scorchers survived and up-and-down shooting performance to secure a vital 89-85 win against the Manchester Giants on Saturday.
In a night where they ran hot and cold from the field, the hosts made enough three-pointers to edge out their visitors, despite not scoring from the field in the final six-minutes of play.
It's a win that puts real daylight between the Scorchers and the Giants as they look to reach the BBL play-offs for the first time since 2018.
Suitably the game was opened with the teams exhanging three-pointers. Nick Stampley opened the scoring, before Padiet Wang responded to level matters. It was a back-and-forth opening to the game, as both teams shot the ball extremeley well. At the commercial timeout the teams were shooting a combined 5/7 from the three-point line.
As the opening quarter went on the three-point shooting dried up for the hosts, but Saiquan Jamison was doing good work on the offensive glass, earning second chance opportunities to open up a five-point lead for his team.
Manchester refused to go away and in a high-scoring opening to the game, they continued to make buckets as Austin Lawton did some good work inside to keep his team in touch. It was just a 3-point game as the first quarter came to a close.
It seemed the scoring would continue when Abdul Mohamed nailed a three-pointer to begin the second, but it was a false dawn. Both teams cooled off, with points at a premium. Stampley continued to put points on the board, as it remained a close game.
A 6-0 run for the visitors saw them open up a four-point advantage, as Surrey were really struggling from the field. A poor turnover at half-court allowed Wang an unopposed run to the basket to bring the hosts back into it.
With neither team able to take control, it remained a close game. A Cam Gooden three, with the shot clock expiring, nudged the Scorchers into the lead. However Nick Lewis scored a lay-up right before half time to give the Giants a one-point lead at the break.
After the break the Scorchers continued to struggle, as they missed numerous layups and committed several turnovers which allowed the visitors to start the third quarter with a 6-0 run and build a seven-point lead.
Head Coach Lloyd Gardner called a timeout and tried to shake his players into life. It took almost five minutes for the Scorchers to register their first points of the half, as Elliot Bailey knocked down a corner three. Josh Steel and Andrew Lawrence followed suit and pulled the hosts level.
Once Surrey found their shooting stroke they were able to re-take the lead. Quin Cooper, scoreless in the first half, got his first points as he sank three free-throws after being fouled behind the line. This would be the catalyst for another productive performance for him off the bench. His team would lead by three heading into the fourth quarter.
Lawrence and Cooper hit three times from behind the arc at the start of the fourth, as the Scorchers went up by nine-points. In keeping with the theme of the game, the Giants answered back. Stampley and Lewis continued to cause problems and kept the visitors in touch as the game entered the closing stages.
With the game on the line Surrey went cold from the field again, relying on free throws to see them over the line. Gooden, fouled on three-point attempt, made all of his free throws to put his team back up by eight. Lewis, who would finish as the game's leading scorer with 25, hit from deep to answer back again for the Giants.
Stampley made it a one-score game in the final seconds, as the Giants made their opponents earn the victory at the line. Mohamed, Cooper and Lawrence all held their nerve and the Scorchers held on to claim a crucial victory.
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