)
Having gone five games without a win, the university side needed something to hang on, and it came in the form of a 68-53 win Wednesday at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium.
UCU Canons started their game against JKL Dolphins in tenth place in the National Basketball League and needed a result to restore some confidence in the team.
Having gone five games without a win, the university side needed something to hang on, and it came in the form of a 68-53 win Wednesday at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium.
The Canons were coming off a forfeiture that handed Dmark Power maximum points without breaking a sweat. The Canons lost last Friday’s clash after showing up in a clashing kit with that of their opponent and ended up dropping down the table.
And the losing trend looked sure to continue after JKL shot the ball well to race to an 18-12 lead after the first quarter.
UCU bigs Joel Kayiira and Rogers Dauna were struggling to clean the glass and allowed the Dolphins second-chance points.
)
But things changed in the second quarter as the Canons, without star centre Peter Sifuma and head coach Nicholas Natuhereza, found some offence through guard Jimmy Otim and Jerry Kayanga to come back and take the lead.
By taking the frame 21-12, UCU led by three (33-30) going into the halftime break and never looked back.
They limited JKL to a mere three points in the third frame, scored 14 and established a 14-point difference going into the last ten minutes of the game.
JKL players and the bench spent most of the second half complaining to the referees over what they termed as poor officiating but did not help themselves, turning the ball over 23 times and being punished by a Canons side in dire need of a victory.
Team captain Ibanda Lwabaga led the Canons with a game-high 19 points, while Jerry Kayanga had a four-for-seven rhythm from downtown on his way to 14 points.
Jimmy Otim contributed 13 points as the Mukono-based completed the double over Henry Malinga’s side.
Meanwhile, JKL had Denis Tom Omara (14), Chuma Fadhil (12) and Bienfait Lola (10) scoring in double figures but could not get a third-straight win.
The Dolphins shot a dismal three-for-33 from three-point range and had Ahmed Kassa miss all his nine attempts from distance.
With the victory, the Canons have now moved up to sixth place and have three games to play in the regular season.
National Basketball League
Wednesday results
Miracle Eaglets 60-78 JKL Lady Dolphins
JKL Dolphins 53-68 UCU Canons
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)