What has head coach Neal Hopkins learnt about his team over the last two weeks?
“We continue to dig deep,” he said ahead of Kent’s visit on Saturday in the penultimate regular season home game. “Especially coming off the back a defeat to Derby, the guys showed they know within themselves that they have the spirit to get the job done.”
The Spinners (22-12, 13-10) were coming off a season-worst 33.3 percent shooting from the floor, which included just four makes on 24 attempts from beyond the arc.
But they got back to what had made them a consistent threat all year: scoring inside the paint. Lancashire outscored Worthing 42-30 en route to a narrow 72-70 win and connected on 27-of-56 attempts within the 3-point line.
That same grit will be required to dispel a Kent Crusaders (5-26, 2-20) team, whose last win came on Feb. 14, and is fighting for its Division One status with four games remaining.
To do so, the Crusaders are going to have to find a way to slow down an offence that hung 115 points against them to start November, which saw Kent trailing 61-29 at halftime.
Kyle Carey set a team-high 35 points on 14-of-20 shooting and the team shot a season best 57.5 percent from the floor and forced 30 Kent turnovers for 41 points – five players finished in double figures in the victory.
“That game took my confidence to another level and made me want to compete like that on a weekly basis,” said forward Carey.
The 18-year-old is one of five averaging double-figures scoring and at least four rebounds in league play.
And on the heels of a forced forfeit for being unable to rearrange its postponed game at Manchester Magic, Lancashire understands how crucial the final stretch is to improving its playoff position.
Carey finished, “Our backs are against the wall, and although we don’t want to be in this position, we have all the physical toughness to make the best out of our situation.”
Allen Gunn
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