UEL jumped out to an early lead of 11-4 with ball movement and good shooting from Will. Brandon also contributed a quick 6 points from good screens set by Jordan and Richard. UEL looked to be in sync early with no turnovers and quality play on both ends of the floor. Essex came out with a dribble handoff and pick and roll style offense which confused UEL on a few early possessions. As each team got a feel of the other both teams traded baskets as the quarter ended with UEL narrowly ahead 21-13.
Second quarter opened with a flurry of steals led by George who helped UEL pick up their defensive intensity. This full court pressure was implemented to combat Essex pick and roll offense and to get the ball out of their PG hands to disrupt the offense. Henry also found his offense in the second period as he was able to score 6 points on good drives to the basket. WIth good rebounding by Richard, UEL was able to get out on the break to score easy points in transition and take a commanding 45-26 lead into halftime.
Essex bounced back in the third quarter with Kaye scoring in the paint consistently and controlling the glass. UEL did not play together or run many plays in the third quarter which led to many turnovers and easy run outs for Essex. The PG of Essex picked apart a defence who failed to communicate on multiple occasions leaving guys wide open in the paint for easy points. Half-time served as a change in momentum in the game as Essex outscored UEL 18-11 in the quarter.
Coach Chris rallied the team to close the game strong and started the 4th quarter with more full court pressure to get the energy back in the legs of UEL to have a better quarter than the 3rd. James and Dougie each hit a 3 in the opening minutes to stretch the lead for UEL. Strong rebounding and good help from side defence allowed UEL to fast break as they did in the first half to open up the game more. Jordan found Dougie on a beautiful back cut pass to seal the deal and UEL went on to close the game and win by 25, with the final score of 81-56.
Leading scorer in the game was BJ McGill with 21 points and Essex was led by S. Kaye with 16.