KESTRELS BEGIN TITLE DEFENCE WITH GRITTY ROAD WIN AT RICHMOND
Kestrels edged past a resolute Richmond Knights in their opening game of the season to begin the 2026/27 campaign the same way they rounded out the previous one… with a win.
18 points off the bench for new arrival Louis Weaver, alongside a strong double-double from Wayne Kitenge made all the difference on Saturday evening as the Kestrels came out on top.
Another fresh face in the Kestrels’ red and white trimmings, La’quarne Sayles (Lerkz) bid to make an early impression, netting eight points in the opening five minutes – six of which coming from behind the arc.
Despite the strong influence from the new guard, however, Richmond remained level at 10-10 after the fittingly named Lebron Roach nailed a two-pointer to tie things up.
Injuries to some key young players, like Javen Osei-Owusu, may hurt the Kestrels in the starting unit, but Matt Guymon looked to the bench to kick the offence into gear.
Both Weaver and Matthew Daines rewarded coach Matt for that decision by briefly extending the Kestrels’ lead out to five. Two last minute buckets in the quarter from the home side instantly cut that lead back down to a slender 21-20 to close the opening period.
That late push in the quarter from the Knights halted the Kestrels coming out of the break as they went scoreless for three and a half minutes, but what they lacked in offence they made up for pushing on the defensive end of the floor – fighting for defensive boards and steals to limit the bleeding.
After 25 points against Barking Abbey the previous week, Peter Asante was impressing once again for the Knights, making this matchup as difficult as he could with 23 points on the night.
However, a strong end to the half from Kitenge and Weaver gave the Kestrels a 42-34 lead at the half as they led by eight.
The starting five of Richmond began the 2nd half with a sense of vengeance as Jonathan Alegbe and Dwayne Orija cut that eight-point differential to just three.
Just as Richmond found a rhythm, the Kestrels pushed to re-extend the lead and with five left in the quarter, and daylight was found in the form of the first double digit lead of the game.
The clouds began creeping in towards the end of the quarter, almost mimicking the close of the opening quarter as Richmond brought it back to 64-60 heading into the final 10 minutes.
Young and some unproven in NBL D1 action, the new-look Kestrels were certainly going to be tried and tested as the final quarter began.
Asante continued to fight on offence, totalling eight points and eight assists, opening up his entire bag as the floor general of the Knights’ frontline.
Another Asante blow was felt in the armour of the Kestrels’ defence as the Richmond guard laced a three to put his side in front for the first time since the second quarter.
That was enough for the Knights to push forward, flipping the script as what had begun as a slender lead for the Kestrels at the start of the quarter had now become a six-point differential, in favour of Richmond at 73-67.
Weaver and Kitenge remained the impact players off that Kestrels bench, sharpening the offence to fire the visitors back in front with two-and-a-half-minute left on the clock.
The confidence from downtown as Weaver nailed two late threes could be felt all the way down to the ‘SO’ postcode to top off the first win of hopefully many in the 26/27 season.
Box Score - FIBA LiveStats
The Kestrels play in their first home game of the season back at the SSC this Saturday against a strong London Elite roster, tickets for that game are available here - Senior Men vs. London Elite - NBL Division 1 Men | Solent Kestrels
The Women follow suit on the Sunday in National Cup action in a local affair against Portsmouth Force, tickets for that matchup are available here - Senior Women vs. Portsmouth Force (National Cup) | Solent Kestrels
We want to hear YOU Kestrels Family at the SSC this weekend!!!
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