London, Wednesday 19 November - The London Lions pushed EuroCup Group B leaders JL Bourg to the final moments on Wednesday night but fell just short, losing 68-72 at the Copper Box Arena in a contest that demonstrated London can compete with anyone in the competition.

Joel Scott was outstanding for the Lions with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, going a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Kameron McGusty added 20 points whilst Tarik Phillip and Johnathan Williams each contributed 8 points in a battling performance.

For Bourg, Darius McGhee led the way with 14 points and 6 assists, whilst Both Gach and Kevin Kokila each scored 10 points.

"It was a hard fought game," said McGusty. "They're at the top of the group, I think we played hard, we fought, so did they, there were just a couple of things that didn't go our way. It's a game we can learn from and build from, I think we proved to ourselves we can play with, and beat anybody."

Head Coach Tautvydas Sabonis acknowledged the fine margins that decided the contest. "It went down to the wire, we didn't have enough composure to win this game. The team fought, they are top in the group, held them to the sixties with three minutes left in the game, we showed defensive intensity, but we slipped up, little details, couple of and-1s from McGhee and the big three from Mitchell really hurt us."

The second half was tense throughout. Scott briefly left the court with a knee concern early in the third quarter but returned to help London maintain their challenge. The teams traded leads before Bourg took a narrow 53-52 advantage into the fourth.

The visitors pushed ahead 57-52 three minutes into the final period, forcing a Lions timeout. London continued to battle but couldn't find the decisive plays down the stretch. A Vincent Mitchell three-pointer put Bourg up 63-58 with 3:29 remaining, and key and-1 conversions from McGhee proved the difference as the group leaders held on.

"We didn't start too good, had to fight back, down by six in the first quarter, only down by one at the half, but in my opinion were playing a terrible game but had to pick it up in the third and fourth," added Sabonis. "Some small details really hurt us."

The result sees London drop to 3-5 in EuroCup Group B, level with NINERS Chemnitz on the brink of a qualification spot. Bourg improve to 7-1, maintaining their position atop the group.

Despite the defeat, the Lions can take confidence from their ability to push the group leaders to the final minutes. With domestic form strong at 8-0 in Super League Basketball play, London will look to carry that fighting spirit into a double header weekend, where they face Bristol on the road on Friday night and then return home to the Copper Box on Sunday to play Newcastle Eagles.