Bulldogs bounce back with one-sided victory over London Stars

Barnet’s third-quarter onslaught took the game out of the Stars’ reach, with the Bulldogs scoring 18 points in just over three mintues to begin the second half.

Will Farquharson

Job done. After a hugely disappointing defeat against London Elite in the league last time out, nothing less than a victory would do over the winless London Stars. The Bulldogs answered the call, coming out as 31-point victors on Saturday. 

Despite the sub-par showing in Willesden, coach Soheil Ordouei opted for the same starting five that began the defeat on Halloween. The Bulldogs shared the offensive responsibility around early on, with their opening five buckets of the game all coming from different scorers. 

The bench, however, struggled to make the same impact upon entering. With Barnet leading the contest 13-7, Ordouei opted to replace his entire starting five – but to little avail. Following four minutes without a field goal, captain Chuck Duru connected from range to take the lid of the basket. The Bulldogs led by three points heading into the second, but it felt they had plenty more to give as a collective.

The starters returned to begin the second quarter, but the momentum had now shifted. 18-year-old Thorian Wulff nailed a deep three to give the winless London Stars a three-point lead with seven minutes remaining in the half. 

With the pressure beginning to mount on the hosts, Vinnie Monaghan provided his side with a much needed shot in the arm. After gathering the rebound following a miscued Levi Ehiorobo free throw, the Australian threw the ball down in transition, assisted by a pinpoint Drey Brown pass. 

Brown then turned scorer, driving to the cup and earning a trip to the line for an and-1 opportunity. The Bulldogs were still far from their best, but the pendulum had swung in their favour with the Stars now struggling to get anything going on offence. 

Little by little, the lead grew for the hosts; and with it, the energy in the building. Barnet ended the quarter on a 22-5 run and quickly found themselves in control of the contest. Tobi Ojuri’s buzzer-beating layup extended the Bulldogs lead to 16 points at the interval. 

Not resting on their laurels, Barnet flew out the blocks to begin the second half. A well-timed Christian Gamble block allowed Brown to provide for Ehiorobo, who slammed the ball home with a right-handed jam. 

It was Ehiorobo again to next bring the crowd off their feet. Gamble received the ball in the half-court with one defender to beat, delicately lobbing the ball to the ex-Loughborough Rider for the alley-oop flush. The visitors were seriously wilting now; another turnover followed, and with it, another Ehiorobo deuce. Timeout Stars. 

The barrage continued as Gamble and Brown drained threes on successive possessions. A scintillating showing to begin the third quarter, with the challenge now being to replicate this consistently over the weeks to come.  

Despite the game being decided, London Stars, to their credit, kept intensity levels high and ended the quarter on a 16-3 run. Domas Martinkus knocked down a pair of smooth jumpers to leave the score at 68-49 entering the final frame. 

With the game wrapped up, the fourth quarter allowed for Lemar Clarke and Cyrus Cato to receive some extended minutes. Clarke began the period firing, nailing a 3-pointer after some smart ball movement from Gamble and Cato. 

A late Sable Cooper three put the icing on an accomplished 91-60 Bulldogs win. Tougher tests are to come, however, with anticipation building for the quarter-final cup tie against last year’s league winners, Solent Kestrels, at the end of the month.

This Saturday, the Bulldogs take the journey down south to face Sussex Storm, while London Stars host Barking Abbey.