London, September 20, 2026 — London Lions made it two wins from two in the SLB Championship, holding off Newcastle Eagles 84-76 at NCC Hackney on Sunday afternoon.
The Lions were pushed throughout by a Newcastle side that led for much of the first half, but London found another gear after the interval and closed out a tight contest late in the fourth quarter.
Devante Jones led London with 16 points and four assists, while Thomas Kennedy added 14 points and seven rebounds. Keenan Evans finished with 13 points and three assists, with Deane Williams contributing 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Landrius Horton added ten points.
Newcastle's aggressive defence made life difficult early, but London used its pressure to create three straight steals and open a 6-0 lead. The Eagles settled, with Mitch Clark and Tavis Smith helping Newcastle take control of the quarter. London trailed 24-16 after ten minutes.
The Lions responded in the second, with Williams producing two big blocks and Ethan Price's three putting London ahead 32-31. Newcastle regained the lead, but Horton made two free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 40-37 at half-time.
Newcastle came out of the break in a zone and quickly stretched its advantage to nine points at 48-39. London gradually worked its way back through improved ball movement, with Horton hitting consecutive threes before Kennedy converted a full-court pass from Williams to put the Lions ahead 52-51.
Evans then knocked down a step-back three to give London the lead again, and the Lions carried a 59-56 advantage into the fourth.
Newcastle immediately levelled the game with a three before Smith drove the length of the floor to put the Eagles back in front 61-59. London answered through Maxwell Lewis and Jones, who scored inside before finding Mo Soluade for a corner three to put the Lions ahead 65-63.
Jones continued to make an impact down the stretch, finishing inside to extend London's lead to 67-63 with 6:26 remaining. Newcastle stayed within one possession, but London repeatedly found answers. A Jones three from the corner pushed the lead to 76-70 with 3:08 remaining, before Evans took a charge to help preserve the advantage.
With Newcastle applying full-court pressure, Jones found Kennedy with a pocket pass for a slam, putting London up 78-70 with just over two minutes remaining. Kennedy added another reverse finish as the Lions broke the press, while London closed the game from the free-throw line to secure the 84-76 victory.
After the game, Head Coach Tautvydas Sabonis acknowledged Newcastle's performance while calling for a stronger start from his team.
“Newcastle played a great game. We got to play better, we have to be better, we can't play the last 15 minutes and show up and move the ball and play defence and finally set the tone late in the game, we got to set it early.”
Kennedy, who finished with seven rebounds, highlighted the importance of controlling the glass.
“It controls the game for sure, as an impact that I can have, and obviously to have Coach Sabonis and his pedigree from his family being a big man, he's always motivating me to be on the glass, and if I can continue to do that for the year it's just going to help us control pace and rhythm on the defensive end.”
The result moves London to 2-0 in the SLB Championship. The Lions return to NCC Hackney on Wednesday, September 23, hosting Cheshire Phoenix at 7:00pm.
