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Edinburgh Rocks run of consecutive defeats extended to eight last night
at Meadowbank, thanks to a 82-95 reverse to Milton Keynes Lions.The result served only to confirm the Scots' elimination from the uni-ball
Trophy but offered a mixed bag of impressions for stand-in coach Iain
MacLean to evaluate.A dreadful start, in which Edinburgh utterly failed to withstand their
guests shooting, gave way to a spirited comeback during which a few
seeds of progression were surely planted. But a home victory was never
on the cards - by the time the Scots discovered a semblance of form, they
were already 29 points down leading to a result which put the visitors through to the last eight of the competition.The damage was self-inflicted during the first 12 minutes of the match
as Milton Keynes built on their initial 8-0 lead. A series of missed shots kept the hosts scoreless for an extended spell and the Lions capitalised to compile a 19-0 burst.Ahead 35-9 early in the second quarter, and with their veteran player-coach Nigel Lloyd pulling the strings, the contest looked over but, to the Rocks credit, they never threw in the towel.
A 6-0 run midway through the period trimmed the deficit back to 20 and
as both Ted Berry and Jo-Jo Chambers began to find their range, the home squad threatened to make a game of it. They went into the interval 48-36 behind and came within ten on a put-back from Chris Webber start after the re-start.Edinburgh though could not reduce the Lions' advantage into single digits. Lloyd fed Jason Siemon for a quick lay-up to stop the rot and followed up with his third three-pointer of the evening.
The group leaders wasted no time in pushing their lead out to 73-58 at the close of the third quarter and then consecutive long-range strikes from Lloyd hauled his side ahead by 23. A 12-2 retort from the home team restored a measure of respectability but with MacLean fouling out six minutes from the finish, he had time to sit and contemplate further amendments ahead of the Rocks' two-week break.
"We have got to be better on the defensive glass but that takes people to put their body in there. Right now I don't see anyone prepared to do that," advised MacLean whose side were led by 23 points from Chambers.
Siemon ran up a game-high 26 points for the Lions who travel to Newcastle on Sunday.
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