After a second crushing home defeat of the season at the hands of the Bristol Flyers, the Surrey 89ers responded with a strong road win against the Caledonia Gladiators.

Two teams desperate for a win met at the aptly named Amphitheatre in East Kilbride on Sunday afternoon. The Gladiators were buoyed by a strong defeat of the Niners earlier in the season.

As the game began, it seemed history was about to repeat itself for Surrey. The first five offensive possessions threw up multiple turnovers, and not one field goal attempt. Defensively, easy points were picked up by Kevin Allen, repeating his dominance from the earlier meeting. Gladiators jumped out to a 6-0 lead.

Coach Lloyd Gardner was forced into an early change of personnel, and this change saw Kino Lilly Jr. found open in the corner to knock down a routine 3-pointer, opening the Niners’ account. That shot seemed to spark the team into life, leading to a much-improved and dominant end to the quarter, resulting in a 24-18 lead for the visitors.

The second period began as the first had ended, with Surrey playing really tough defence to force turnovers and missed shots from the Gladiators. All the while dominance on the offensive end led by that man Lily Jr, and the ever impressive Isiah Small.

Particularly pleasing in this period was seeing an almost all British line-up on the court for Surrey. Once again, underlining the philosophy of the club to promote homegrown talent. This being highlighted by Niners pathway product Timmy Nwanko slamming home a highlight reel dunk, to the delight of all of his teammates.

The Niners are leading impressively at the half – 53-30.

A professional 3rd Quarter stretched the lead further, enabling coach Gardner to use all of his bench, giving good minutes to all. During the 3rd quarter, Nedas Cholevinskas shot home a now customary 3-pointer to ensure every member of the Niners roster was on the scoresheet.

The 4th quarter was somewhat of a procession for the Visitors, and despite Caledonia finally finding the mark from 3 point range, a comfortable 93-76 victory was secured. A real team victory, with telling contributions from every player.

After the disappointment of the Bristol defeat, it shows just how much character and heart the team has to bounce back so impressively.

After a stop-start beginning to the season, a run of weekly fixtures prior to the international break will hopefully enable the Niners to get some consistency and rhythm into their game. Seeing Owen Koonce suited up suggests he may not be far away from re-joining the rotation.

Another long away trip awaits this Friday evening, as the Niners travel to Newcastle for a match-up with the Eagles. Coach Marc Steutel and his Eagles will be desperate for a win to kick-start their season.  The Niners, well, they will be looking to maintain a 100% record on the road.