West Brom Basketball Club centre Kwame Bataille put an exclamation point on his recent return to action with a 37-point performance during their 88-73 win at MLC.
Bataille missed a number of games over the Christmas period, returning for the record win over Redditch two weeks ago – but put in one of his best performances of the season as West Brom continued their assault on the top spots.
His performance was helped no end by Redditch, who despite suffering a horrendous win-less season managed to pull off a huge shock, claiming their first win of the campaign over league leaders Shropshire Warriors – allowing the Black Country side to gain ground in the standings. Check out the league table here.
West Brom came out of the blocks fairly slowly, relying on tough shots to keep them in the game as MLC began in typical physical fashion.
With both teams trading baskets, it wasn’t until a late second quarter surge that MLC managed to find some breathing room – opening up a seven point lead at the half.
West Brom soon hit their stride behind Bataille’s impressive offensive performance, fighting back to level proceedings as both teams headed into the final quarter.
It was here that Tim Rudge’s side would show their dominance, quickly gaining a slim advantage before maintaining their cool to ensure that they secured the win in surprisingly comfortable fashion.
“It was a fun and interesting game.” Bataille said.
“We all played our part to get the win. MLC are an aggressive team, but I always felt we had a little bit more talent than them – and it showed eventually.
“We just stuck to our game plan and eventually we took over the game. They started to show a bit of fatigue and we just kept on pushing.
“I did well, but I could always do better. I’m never satisfied with how I play because I always think there’s improvements I can make.”
West Brom now sit within touching distance of the top spot, with just six games remaining this campaign.
With that in mind, the first-year centre is sure that West Brom can sustain their push to finish top of the standings, with games against the leaders and those around them still to come – starting against Lordswood on Sunday.
“I’m very confident that we can stay in those spots at the top of the table and win the title.” he said.
“We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing which is playing as a team – that’s the big thing for us.”
“The last time we played Lordswood we somehow beat ourselves. We had too many turnovers and missed opportunities.
“We let one of their players heat up, and after that it’s always going to be a challenge.
“I think if we go out and just play our game, whilst keeping our mistakes to a minimum we should be able to get a result.”
West Brom Basketball Club host Lordswood on Sunday at West Brom Leisure Centre, with tip-off at 6.00pm.
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