Brixton Topcats 67, Eastside Eagles 51

Brixton Topcats beat London rivals Eastside Eagles 67-51 in an EBL Division 2 match at Brixton Rec on Sunday. Home court advantage helped the Topcats to what was eventually a comfortable victory, with a bumper Ruffhouse crowd cheering on the Brixton team.

This was the final match as part of a four game Brixton Super Sunday. The Local League Women were first on court, followed by the U18 Men. The Lady Topcats were third on court, losing narrowly to Sevenoaks Suns 49-46.

The men’s team brought Brixton Super Sunday to an end against a pacy Eastside team with plenty of flair. The downfall for the visitors was their short bench. The Eagles made the short journey from East London with only seven players dressed for the game.

Some rapid rotations from the visitors early on set the pattern for the ball game. The Topcats were happy to keep it calm and draw upon their full bench of talent. The Topcats took a 16-9 lead into the first buzzer.

A tight pressing game then followed in the second quarter for the Topcats. It became clear that Coach Baker was keen to tire out the Eagles, playing a full court press wherever possible.

Topcats point guard AJ Uithaler was in complete control of the game, commanding the Ruffhouse court and calling all the shots. The Topcats were clinical under the basket. Eagles meanwhile showed their naivety with a series of timed out plays being abandoned.

The home team moved the ball around the Rec court at tremendous pace. A big three pointer for the Topcats just before the half time buzzer set up a 37-25 ball game.

The message was clear for the Topcats after the restart: more of the same. Somehow this didn’t quite go to plan. Eastside dominated the third quarter, making the most of their chances under the basket. Soon it was a four point ball game, with Topcats having a narrow 46-42 lead at the start of the final quarter.

This was a time for cool heads for the home team. Sadly AJ Uithaler was ejected out of the game for the Topcats, after a slight misunderstanding with his Eagles point guard counterpart. Having completely dominated the play with AJ, it was time for the other players to finish off the ball game.

The game soon calmed down and the Topcats were sinking two pointers with ease. A crowd-pleasing slam dunk just before the full time buzzer led to a 67-51 Ruffhouse home court win for the Topcats.