The Manchester Giants and their head coach Brain Semonian headed down to the country’s capital this afternoon as they went head to head against the league leaders the London Lions in this installment of British Basketball League action. 

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Manchester are heading into this game on a high after a convincing win against the Bristol Flyers at the National Basketball Performance Centre 103-80. Meanwhile, London are off the back of a win in a top of the table clash against the Cheshire Phoenix. 

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One of the most exciting British prospects will be looking to continue his hot run of form this afternoon as Evan Walshe has scored 44 points across 2 games and even set his career high of 22 points. The young British guard will be looking to add to his hot streak.

Manchester started hot out of the gate, Jalen Harris and William Lee both hit from midrange for a quick 4 point lead. Lee added to the tally with a three ball to take the giants to 7 whilst Lions Matt Morgan hit back. Jamell Anderson and Legend Robertin opened up their account from the perimeter and in the paint respectively. Lions went on a 8-0 run to claw back the game to a 1 point lead before Austin Lawton extended to 3. Evan Walshe checked in and began contributing almost instantly as he crashed the paint and invited the pressure of the Lions defence before kicking it out to Mason Bourcier who hit a mean step back for 2. A quick additional 4 points for Walshe in the final minute of action as well as a hard block from William Lee saw the Giants up by 4. 

London picked up their 9th team foul 30 seconds into the 2nd quarter which saw Lawton sink one of his two. Evan Walshe and Legend Robertin hit the pick and roll and Walshe managed to find Robertin underneath the rim for an easy 2 handed flush. Manchester’s lead began to fade as they struggled to find an answer for the quick release of Conner Morgan from 3 as he hit a pair from the perimeter to bring the Manchester lead to 1. Both teams would head into halftime at 42-43 in favour of Manchester.  

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Second half: 

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Jalen Harris opens the scoring for Manchester with a miss range 2 that beats the shot clock. Connor Morgan is equal to it with a 2 ball of his own. Both teams struggled to sink shots with London missing a pair of dunks which Jalen Harris made them pay for with a second midrange jumper. Nicholas Lewis and Legend Robertin combined for the lob as Robertin soared above the Lions Jordan Taylor to slam it down back on Taylor’s head. Giants kept a tight defensive structure in the opening 5 minutes as they held the lions to 3 points in 5 minutes. Giants seemingly hungrier than London in this one as they stretched their lead out to a double digit lead as Manchester led the Lions by as many as 13 through the guard trio of: Nicholas Lewis, Evan Walshe and Mason Bouricer. London did catch Manchester napping in the final seconds as Sandy got his own rebound to make it a 10 point game. 

Sharma started strong in the final quarter as he too got his own rebound to finish at the rim. Jamell Anderson restored order as he hit his defender with a jab step and later hit a three over his defender. Evan Walshe took it strong to the basket after kicking it out to Jamell Anderson, who kicked it back out to Walshe, against Josh Sharma and finished a tough layup. A kaboza three followed up with a trip to the charity stripe from Matt Morgan made the game a 6 point ball game as the Lions began to gain on the Giants. Manchester rallied though and Nicholas Lewis stole the ball from Connor Morgan before finishing at the rim to force a timeout for London. A close finish in the final few seconds as London continually attempted to trap Manchester and make them struggle to get the ball in play. As Jamell Anderson missed a pair of free throws, Matt Morgan made a pair to make it a 1 point game with 5.6 seconds left. The ball is inbounded to Evan Walshe who gets fouled, sent to the line and strung both huge free throws with 3.4 seconds left. London inbounded to Jordan Taylor who hit a moving three which sent it to overtime. 

Overtime: 

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Both teams traded baskets in the opening minute of overtime until Olaseni caught Lawton for a foul and went to the line for a traditional 3 point play which he missed. Jamell Anderson gave Manchester hope as he hit a corner ball three before a turnover the next possession gave London a 3 point lead. Morgan put the game on ice and hit a 3 ball to make it a 6 point lead. 

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Stats: 

Evan Walshe: 22 Points, 53%FG, 85%FT.

Nicholas Lewis: 14 Points, 6 Rebounds, 7 Assists.

Jamell Anderson 14 Points, 4 Rebounds, 3 Steals.

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The Manchester Giants are back at home Saturday December 23rd as they host the Leicester Riders. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5:00pm at the National Basketball Performance Centre 

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All the highlights from this afternoon's trip to the Copperbox Arena will be available to view below: