The UCU Canons leveled the quarter-finals series after thumping the Kampala Rockets 79-52 on Wednesday 10th.

The ending of game one was a painful one for the Canons as they missed 3 crucial free throws and were punished for that.

After that 1-point loss, they knew they had to win and straight from the jump, they went to work.

They scored 28 points in the first quarter including 4 3-point shots made.

Joel Kayiira was also causing problems in the paint. He had 10 points in the quarter 6 of them being second chance points.

For the Rockets, this is not the start they envisioned.

They made 3 consecutive turnovers on their first 3 possessions and finished with 10 in the quarter.

Despite all that, they managed to put up 16 points and put themselves in a position to fight in the second quarter.

In the second quarter, both teams struggled to convert from the field but the Canons were helped by the Rockets fouls.

UCU went to the free throw line 14 times and scored 9 of them.

On the flip side, the Rockets missed 4 of their 7 attempts and scored just 9 points in the quarter.

By halftime, the Canons led the game 45-25 and victory looked very likely for them.

Through the second half, the Rockets were chasing the game but a comeback seemed unlikely.

The Canons led by as many as 29 points and they even had the opportunity to give more guys on the bench an opportunity.

Everyone on the UCU team, except Amara Ariho, played more than 11 minutes and scored in this game.

The Rockets missed 15 of their 26 free throw attempts and this cost them heavily.

Coaches Reactions

UCU Canons’ Head Coach spoke about the difference between game one and game two.

“I think the difference is that we were prepared for tonight. I feel like we did not know how to act, so to speak, in game 1“

He also talked about the approach in game 2.

“After game 1, we got a feeling of what they were going to do to trouble us in game 2 and we matched their intensity.”

“Tonight was about surviving given that we were down. I don’t think we are a team bad enough to be swept and I’m glad we had the right mentality.”

In this game, Joel Kayiira had some early foul trouble and barely played in the second quarter.

However, Alier Pech, Lihumi Jimmy and Chiedozie stepped up huge in the paint. The Coach shared his thoughts on them

“Its always important when you have multiple options coming off the bench. I’m glad Jimmy, Alier, and Chiedozie had solid games”

Kampala Rockets Coach Najja Daniel shared his insights on thr game.

“We didn’t fight.  UCU wanted it more than us. They did everything better than us” he said.

Player Stats

UCU Canons

Joel Kayiira 16 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk

Flore Dushime 9 pts, 4 reb

Kampala Rockets

Puati Ozias 10 pts, 11 reb

Christian Ndibu 8 pts, 10 reb

Gideon Kasasa 9 pts

This is the first men’s game to go to game 3.

The two shall meet again on Sunday 14th at the Jaguars Den in Kira to determine who advances.