Beaten in the play-offs a year ago, Lyons were fired up from the start and with Celtics not at full strength, Lyons opened an early advantage following good baskets by Kamil Szczerbiak, Marc Robson-Skeete and Jordan Neill.
Celtics fought hard and tried to keep the pressure on the Lyons, with Alex de Rue getting steals from poor Lyons passes and making some tough shots to stay in the game.
Lyons’ biggest asset was their size and it turned out to be crucial as they gained extra possessions with every rebound and Cam Stables was the leading scorer on the rebounds with eight
Even with Bardia Bonakdar and Bob Gouzinis making some great shots for Celtics, it was not enough to prevent a Lyons win.
Warriors suffered another narrow defeat in Division II, 33-31 by Team Nightmare.
It proved to be a well-balanced face-off between teams who both have speed and physicality to offer on court.
Nightmare’s Matt Hefford made trouble for the Warriors, by using well-timed cuts and his height to put in a number of shots from right below the basket.
Warriors’ Rui Marques gave Nightmare similar grief at the other end, in the form of strong drives to the basket which Warriors struggled to repel.
There was never more than five points between the teams throughout and top scorer was Warriors’ Joe Harvey with 11.
