Strathmore Blades forced a tie in their five-game series against Equity Bank after a 56-46 win over the Bankers yesterday at the Kasarani gymnasium. Blades who were thirsty for a win won the first quarter 14-8 before dropping the second a narrow 11-12 taking a five-point lead to the locker room at halftime.
Strathmore regrouped for the second half nailing the first six points of the third quarter to end the quarter at 16-10 and take an eleven-point lead over Equity who failed to replicate their game one form over the students.
The fourth quarter was a nervous affair with Equity threatening Blades’ lead with 37.3 seconds to play when they cut their lead to seven points and had possession. Strathmore’s defensive grip and their powerful forwards duo of Hugh Ayara and Oscar Muge bailed them out on defensive rebounds.
Statistically, Strathmore had 20 turnovers during the entire game that rewarded Equity 15 points while Equity also had 20 turnovers rewarding Blades 10 points. Equity shot 1 for 14 arc shots equivalent to 7.1% while Blades replied with 2 for 13 from outside the perimeter an equivalent of 15.4%.
Both teams struggled on the line with Blades drilling 9 for 19 free throws while Equity had 8 for 17 from the line an equivalent of 47.1% slightly lower than Blades by 0.03%. Strathmore was the better side on the board grabbing 43 rebounds compared to Equity’s 35 in the entire game.
On the score sheet, Blades’ Peter Shilton was the highest scorer with 23 points while Equity’s George Omenda drilled in 13 points.