TSK moved to 4-0 in NBL Division 2 league play and kept their perfect record through October, with a hard fought 83-75 victory on the road at Richmond Knights, on Saturday evening. Kestrels used a late run to pull away from the hosts after back and forth evening of action that saw control of the game swing multiple times.
Isa Brandon continued his fine scoring form as he posted 25 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks, whilst Sean Mulhern had his best outing of the season so far with 14 points and Will Taylor added 13 points and 10 boards off the bench.
Kestrels, who were without their influential captain Elliot Dadds, wasted no time in establishing a lead early as Isa Brandon and Matt Hughes scored in the opening minutes. That would continue for much of the first period and would be capped off by a Will Taylor 3 pointer to give TSK a 27-18 lead after one.
The second quarter saw Richmond trim the deficit but Kestrels relied on some pin point jump shooting from beyond the arc to keep the score board ticking over. The visitors connected on 4 triples in a row to ensure the Knights run would not be enough to pull within touching distance. Sean Mulhern, the hottest of the Kestrel guards from distance, would double up from range and that saw Kestrels take a 46-40 advantage into the half time interval.
It quickly became a back and forth affair in the 3rd quarter as the home side set about cutting the gap and for long spells of the quarter the lead would be just a possession or two's difference. Mulhern continued to knock down triples and Isa Brandon did his work from the foul line, after the Richmond defence were unable to prevent him from finding his way to the hoop. Knights edged ahead by one but that was short lived as Will Taylor converted a pair of foul shots to leave the score at 66-65 Kestrels, at the end of the 3rd.
TSK were able to tighten up the defensive pressure and prevent Richmond from completing a comeback, a number of successful trips to the foul line buffered the gap for TSK also. Knights would hang around to keep things close down the stretch but a Matt Hughes corner three would prove to be the dagger as Kestrels went on the win 83-75.
Kestrels Head Coach Matt Guymon was pleased his side came away with a well earned win, "Richmond is always a challenging match up for us, especially away from home and this game was no different. We were able to build a lead on a number of occasions, but credit to Richmond who never let us pull away. I was proud of our guys ability to get to the foul line and the composure in the final moments. We look forward now to continue to build on our league form."
It's a return to the SSC this weekend for TSK as they face Cardiff Met Archers at 6pm (Tickets on Sale Now) which is part of a D1 Women/D2 Men double header, with the women's team playing host to Barking Abbey from 3.30pm.
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