Dixon steps off plane on debut and helps Arrows to narrows victory

Linbraze Arrows 85 London Westside 80

The Linbraze Arrows returned to action in 2016 with a heart – stopping victory over London Westside by 85 – 80. After a sluggish opening which saw the Arrows trail 30 – 17 at the end of the first the Arrows eventually overhauled Westside down the straight behind 24 points for Callum Mccallum, 20 points for the debutant Chris Dixon and 16 from Joseph Baugh.

The Arrows performed better in the second quarter as they attacked the basket with greater urgency behind some clever moves from Chris Dixon and the inside play of McCallum and Denis. Rory Wheatcroft and Andreas Lycoudis showed great promise with rebounds and two clever finishes respectively as the half closed with the Arrows now trailing by only 43 – 44.

The teams were locked together for much of the second half. In the third quarter Joseph Baugh began to show his offensive skills while Andre Rankine began to show his experience at both ends of the court. However it took a clever steal and athletic finish by Dixon in the final seconds to see the teams locked at 64 – 64.

The fourth quarter was always going to be a tight and tense affair with Westside taking the early initiative but Joseph Baugh’s “3 point play” levelled the scores again. James Kelly made a vital steal with Westside looking certain to score, turning this instead into a McCallum basket which gave the Arrows a five point lead inside the last minute. There was still some nerves but Chris Dixon capped a long day for him personally with the free throws that ensured victory at 85 – 80.

Scorers; Mc Callum 24, Dixon 20, Baugh 16, Kelly 9, Lycoudis 4

The victory keeps the Arrows in second place in the division with an 8 – 3 record and importantly unbeaten at Killamarsh Sports Centre for the season. This is important as they play the next 3 games at home starting with Worcester on the 17th

January at 5pm.