City Oilers overcame a 16-point deficit to edge Rezlife Saints 75-72 in the National Basketball League on Sunday.
The Saints started the game hot, scoring 14 unanswered points with the experienced trio of Chris Omanye, Michael Otieno and Francis Kasinde leading the charge in a quarter the Lubowa-based side led 24-11.
Oilers fought back with a high-scoring second quarter, chipping away at Rezlife’s lead through Fayed Bbaale, MosesMaker and Edgar Munaba, eventually settling at a 5-point (42-37) deficit at the halftime break.
The Oilers eventually caught up midway through the third quarter thanks to Benjamin Kawumi who scored the team’s opening 9 points of the quarter. At the other end, Omanye, Otieno and Kasinde continued attacking the stripe but it was Oilers that had a one-point (56-55) lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The final period was a seesaw with four ties but the Saints turned over the ball five times in the final 90 seconds of the game which handed the advantage to Oilers.
Maker scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead Oilers. Bbaale added 16 while Kawumi contributed 12 points, all coming from behind the arc.
Meanwhile, Omanye netted a game-high 24 points in a losing effort for the Saints, Kasinde contributed 17 while Otieno scored 12. Desire Akeno pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
