TEAM Solent Kestrels took top spot in Group 1 of the L Lynch Trophy on Saturday evening with a convincing 103-53 win over Barking Abbey London Lions II.

Cole Gentry led the way once again with 24 points, guaranteeing his side home court advantage in the quarter-final stages of the competition, writes Jack O'Keeffe.

Kestrels got up 7-2 early behind five quick Orlan Jackman points, however Lions were quick to impose themselves on the game and edged in front at 10-11 after converting on strong drives to the basket. Max Richardson came off the bench to push his side back in front with four straight points and it was TSK up 19-16, after a closely contested first quarter.

Lions pulled themselves back to within a point, two minutes into the period, but that would be short-lived as a 10-2 Kestrels run pushed the lead to 33-24. Post timeout TSK would string together a number of stops, holding Barking scoreless for just under five minutes, whilst pouring it on offensively and pushing the score out to 50-24.

The sides traded a pair of scores to close the half, leaving the hosts 54-29 to the good at the break.

It was TSK who struck first in the second half with a 12-2 run behind eight Jackman points, forcing an early Coach Vear timeout.

His side would respond immediately through Brandon Tchouya who got to hoop for two, however both sides' scoring dried up over the next three minutes. Elliott Sentance and Elias Poorman came off the bench for the home side to break the drought and Kestrels took a 79-39 advantage into the final 10 minutes.

An 11-0 run for TSK pushed the gap to 51 to open the fourth, as Luke Busumbru raised the SSC roof with a dunk, before he found his way to the hoop on the following possession. Lions showed plenty of fight as they continued to find ways to score through Zamoku Weluche and ex-Itchen Academy guard Rhys Sundimalt, but ultimately the hosts' lead meant there was no way back, TSK winning 103-53.

Kestrels head coach Matt Guymon was pleased with his side's performance, saying: "After a slow start to the game for us offensively, we were able to spark a run in the second quarter which blew the game open and also saw us play at a much faster tempo.

"Credit to London Lions who showed great resilience, especially after such a tough game the night before and the travel issues they faced getting to our venue.

"We now switch our focus to a week of practice and opening up league play next Saturday with an exciting match up against Reading.”

TSK were led by Gentry’s 24 points, six assists and four rebounds, whilst Jackman added 18 points, six rebounds and six assists and Kemel Archer chipped in an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double.

BA’s Bradley Kaboza and Weluche had 12 points to lead their side with Tchouya chipping in 10.