Basketball: Lakeside humble Strathmore Blades in Kisumu

Lakeside forwards Kennedy Okumu, Justus Okitoyi (center) and Marco share a light moment before a past KBF Premier League match.[Washington Onyango,Standard]

Lakeside Basketball Club on Sunday saw off Strathmore University Blades 58-53 in a hotly contested Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) Premier League match staged at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Sportsground in Kisumu.

Lameck Achola dropped 17 points and eight rebounds as Allan Kibira added 10 points and five rebounds in the win that will see the Kisumu-based side move out of the relegation zone for now.

Achola got the hosts to a perfect start after converting two layups at the paint and one free throw before going 7-0 up inside the opening two minutes when David Simeon jump shot forced Blades to call a time out.

Lakeside continued their dominance at the paint with Simeon adding four more points before Garang Ding got the visitors into the game with the match's first three-pointer.

Emmanuel Kiyaka (3) and Charles Anjeho (2) added to the Lakeside perfect start as the quarter ended 17-7 in favor of the hosts after Ding and Brandon Uche hit two late jump shots.

In the second quarter, the university students woke up to win 19-16 to trail 33-26 but it was in the third quarter that the Blades started to cut the Lakeside defense.

Strathmore dropped four back to back threes through shooting guard Bramwel Chevai who was hot beyond the arc with three successful attempts after forward Darril Omondi started the threes party.

However, Allan Kibira and Moses Musebe responded for Lakeside with threes of their own as they trailed 17-14 but led 47-43 with one quarter left.

In the last quarter, Timothy Ayieko and Chevai tough layups silenced the Kisumu fans as they tied the game at 47-47 with eight minutes left on the clock.

Lakeside needed a leader to lift them to victory after a good start and just as he started the game, Lameck Achola showed up again to close the game.

The slim forward dropped eight points to inspire the hosts to an 11-10 fourth-quarter win as Lakeside stopped the Blades 58-53.

The result means for the first time in the 2022 season, Lakeside have won two matches in arrow.

The Lake Victoria-based side on Saturday thrashed University of Nairobi (UoN) Terror 78-66 in a highly physical and tempered match on the same grounds.

In Eldoret, Eldonets Platinum bounced back to winning ways with a 73-61 win over UoN Terror. Platinum had on Saturday lost 48-60 to Strathmore Blades.

In Nairobi, David Kitongo dropped 20 points to inspire Ulinzi Warriors to a 67-51 win against Kenyatta University.

Elsewhere, Lady Bucks lost their second home match after going down 76-33 to Strathmore Swords. UoN Dynamites had defeated them 60-44 on Saturday.

Dynamites bagged their second win in Eldoret after a 42-36 win over Eldonets as Storms defeated Eagle Wings 53-46.