After back-to-back defeats in the SLB, the London Lions righted the ship in a convincing display at the Copper Box, defeating the Surrey 89ers 87-72.

After a frustrating week dropping games to both Manchester Basketball and the Sheffield Sharks, the Lions sought to recover against the Surrey 89ers.

Surrey came out ready, with Tyrin Lawrence torching every defender London put in front of him. The man they call T-Law had 20 points in the first half, and London seemed to have no answer for him.

Enter Chaundee Brown Jr. The former Michigan man played with the ferocity of a Wolverine, putting the clamps on Lawrence to the degree that the Surrey guard scored only one point in the second half before fouling out.

The degree to which Brown Jr. instantly erased Surrey’s top threat was equally alarming and impressive. Lawrence struggled to even get his hands on the ball, such was CB’s defensive dominance. To top it off, Brown Jr. led the Lions with 17 points, his strong drives to the hoop proving too much for the 89ers to handle.

London turned in an impressive team performance

This was no one-man show, though, with several Lions chipping in. First and foremost, Kam McGusty is back like he never left. Letting the game come to him, the former Miami Hurricane scored 13 points in only 15 minutes, showing little sign of rust but plenty of the smooth game that made him first-team All-ACC.

In the backcourt, another returnee from injury, Tarik Phillip, scored 16 points and looked like he was loving life back out on the hardwood.

Fellow point guard Shavar Reynolds Jr. had a solid stat line with 10 points, seven assists, and only one turnover. His ball-pounding style still seems at odds with the Lions’ best spells, though, as London are at their best when the ball is pinging around and finding open shooters.

The final piece of the point guard troika, Mo Soluade, had another decent showing in what has been a productive couple of weeks. Turnover issues aside, the GB international is hitting his threes, picking up full court, and hitting the open man quickly. Box score numbers may not show it, but London plays some of their best ball when Soluade is on the floor. His recent increase in playing time indicates Coach Sabonis feels the same way.

The frontcourt didn’t play quite as well, with Joel Scott still showing some (understandable!) rust and Deane Williams and Ethan Price both having quiet nights.

Ovie Soko made the most of his 14 minutes, with El Capitan contributing five points, eight boards, and one monster block and accompanying staredown on Tyrin Lawrence. Aaryn Rai had some nice moments on his way to a double-digit outing.

Ronald Polite and Kino Lilly hit an array of tough shots to try to keep Surrey close, but in the end, the 89ers didn’t have the firepower to keep pace.

This game was a good return to form for London, who host the Newcastle Eagles this Sunday at the Copper Box. With the star players (knock on wood) hopefully nearing full strength, the Lions are still the team to beat in the Super League Basketball (SLB) Championship.