ETHAN ROUND SECURES DRAMATIC VICTORY FOR KESTRELS
- Team Solent Kestrels
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Saturday evening saw perhaps the most entertaining Kestrels match up of the season so far as they snatched a late victory from Cobham Cobras, 67-64. In what was a relatively low scoring game, both sides had the lead through out but it was an Ethan Round triple with 0.9 seconds left that decided the game. The victory moves Kestrels to 5-1 for the season.
It was a 7-0 start for the visitors as Kestrels struggled to get going in the first few minutes, however Ethan Round and Luke Busumbru upped the tempo in transition to create a pair of fast breaks scores and Kestrels pulled within 2 at 7-9. The sides would go and forth in a low scoring first quarter, until Andre Arissol scored 4 straight to tie the game up at 13, but it was the Cobras who finished the quarter better taking a 13-17 advantage.
Cobham found themselves back up 6 in the early stages of the 2nd quarter at 17-23, forcing Coach Guymon into his first timeout of the game. Kestrels responded in style with a 12-0 run as Arissol made a pair of triples either side of a Wayne Kitenge score inside, to force Cobras in a timeout of their own, 29-23 Solent. It was a slow close to the half as neither team did anything to seize further control but Cobham were able to pull within 1, 31-30.
Kestrels got up 4 at 38-34 but that would be short lived, as John Stewart responded for Cobham. However that did spark Kestrels into life, as Luke Busumbru soared for a baseline jam before Round connected on a 3 to force the visitors into a timeout, 45-36 Kestrels. The hosts pushed the gap to 12 through Arissol and despite some back and forth to finish the quarter, a Dawid Cimochowski finish ensured Solent maintained a 10 point lead with 10 minutes to play.
It looked as though the home team had done enough to seize control after they got up 13 points, however a 6 minute scoreless run for the Kestrels allowed Cobham a life line. They chipped away at the lead and eventually edged in front 59-60 with 2:14 remaining. Tom Blower tied things up at 62 a piece, before Cimochowski tipped in an Arissol miss, to give Kestrels a 64-62 lead with 43 seconds to play. Stewart scored out of the timeout for Cobham to give Kestrels the final possession with 22 seconds to play, 64-64. Out of a Kestrels timeout, Arissol ran the clock down before a broken play led to Ethan Round stepping up and hitting a huge three pointer with 0.9 seconds left, much to the delight of the Kestrels Family at the SSC. Cobras attempted a last ditch heave but came up unsuccessful, Kestrels 67-64 ball game.
Andre Arissol had 23 points and 4 rebounds to lead Solent whilst Ethan Round had 16 points and 5 rebounds and Luke Busumbru added 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Kestrels have a huge double header weekend coming up as they welcome top of the league Barnet Bulldogs to the SSC on Saturday evening, before playing host to London Lions II on Sunday in the National Cup quarterfinals. Tickets for both of those games are available here;
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