Kestrels stayed perfect through the month of January on Saturday evening, winning their 4 game in a row since the return from the Christmas break. TSK controlled proceedings from start to finish against Essex Rebels II to hand them a 99-57 defeat at the Solent Sports Complex.
TSK had another balanced scoring spread with 6 players in double figures, Greg Durand had 19 points to lead the way whilst Matt Hughes and Russ Gariepy added 15 a piece.
Kestrels wasted no time in getting ahead early as they built a 10-3 lead inside the opening 4 minutes of play, capped off by an Isa Brandon fast break triple. Essex would stay within reach at 16-10 as they kept the scoreboard ticking and it was a 6 point game at 20-14 with just 2 minutes left in the quarter. However a 13-0 run to close the period including a flurry of Matt Hughes points ballooned the home sides advantage, 33-14 after one.
The sides traded scores to open the second quarter but that did nothing to dent the Kestrels 20 point lead. A 16-0 run, where TSK held the Rebels scoreless for almost 6 minutes of play, effectively ended this match up as a contest, with the hosts now 53-21 to the good. Itchen trio of Jaidan Dawes, Joe Lloyd and Malcolm Sung would round off an impressive 2nd quarter with scores of their own, 61-23 Kestrels at the half time break.
A 10-2 run capped off by a Russ Gariepy triple, gave Kestrels a 46 point advantage and forced Essex into an early second half timeout. The Rebels responded out of the timeout, however Matt Hughes and Greg Durand ensured the deficit would grow to 50+. Durand scored 7 straight points to close the 3rd period and his side would take an 88-36 lead into the final quarter.
Rebels used a 10-3 scoring run to start the 4th quarter but Kestrels would weather the early run and a score on the following possessions would settle them down. The final 5 minutes saw the pace of the game slow drastically with neither team in much of an offensive flow, Essex did trim the arrears but it was the home side who took a 99-57 victory.
Kestrels now face a pair of tough road trips, firstly, to NASSA this coming Saturday, as they look to avenge a loss to the East Londoners from earlier in the season, before heading to London Stars next weekend (8th). In the mean time you can secure your tickets for the return back to the SSC on Saturday 15th February 2025, where Kestrels will take on London Elite (6pm).
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