Around the NBL – Week 14

Tees Valley Mohawks/Karen Brown

Check out our latest round-up of the action from the NBL this past weekend from Division 1 down to the NBDL as the National Cup final is confirmed, while there are more twists in D1.

National Cup

Worthing Thunder booked a final showdown with defending champions Manchester Magic after recording an 83-86 win away at Loughborough Student Riders, to end the Division 2 side’s run. James Cambronne led Thunder to their first Cup final since 2008 with 27 points, while Tom Ward added 22 points as a 27-16 third quarter saw them break clear. Raheem May-Thompson finished with an impressive 35 points and 17 rebounds for Loughborough, but their late fightback fell just short.

Division One

Lancashire Spinners (6-4) ended the unbeaten league record of Derby Trailblazers (7-1) with a 96-92 victory in an entertaining game on Saturday. Mike Bernard led the way for the Spinners with 24 points, including some impressive work in the post. The Watts brothers combined for 53 points, but it was enough to keep the win streak alive as David Watts finished with 31 in the losing effort.

The defeat for Derby meant Manchester Magic (8-1) returned to the top of D1 after Ellis Cooper led his side to a 92-76 win at home to the in-form Hemel Storm (7-3). The reigning league MVP posted a huge stat-line of 29 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, while Alvaro Alarcon-Lizaur added 24 points from the bench. Bode Adeluola and Kenroy Wood had 19 points apiece for the visitors, but they missed out on the chance to take their own outright lead at the top.

Elsewhere, Tees Valley Mohawks (1-7) stunned Essex Leopards (5-5) with an 82-76 victory as they withheld a late fightback to claim their first win of the season with Romonn Nelson netting 23 points for the hosts. Team Northumbria (7-3) inflicted a second loss on the Leopards for the weekend after holding on for an 86-83 win on Sunday, despite the absence of captain Siman Stewart, who picked up an injury during the warm-up.

Westminster Warriors (1-9) came close to making it two league wins on the bounce, but suffered a 71-69 loss away at Leicester Warriors (3-6) as Leome Francis steered his side to the win with a 28-point haul. Prior to their Cup semi-final success, Worthing Thunder (3-6) snapped a four-game losing run in the league with an 84-80 home win against Bradford Dragons (2-8). The visitors were led by Nick Moore and Henri Bongo, who shared 46 points, as they battled back in the final quarter, but had left themselves with too much to do.

On Sunday, Reading Rockets (6-1) enjoyed a 65-55 victory over London Lituanica (6-2) to lift themselves back into the mix at the top. D’Montre Edwards top scored with 14 points, while new signing Ben Allison recorded 13 points and nine rebounds on debut and Antonio Robinson finished with a 7-10-6-5 stat-line in an all-round display. Lukas Volskis had a game-high 21 points in vain for Lituanica with Ausridas Petraitis adding 17 as they dropped their second league game in a row.

Division Two

Nottingham Hoods (7-1) returned to winning ways with a 57-82 win away at Eastside Eagles (0-8) as Spanish duo Miguel Lorenzo Leis and Alvaro Guerra-Urbistondo had 22 points apiece. Dean Prosenica ensured London Greenhouse Pioneers (7-1) remain level with the Hoods after a 24-point, 15-rebound display in their 74-83 victory away at Ipswich (6-3), who were paced by Josh Johnson’s 16 points.

Derbyshire Arrows (6-1) had a big win as they edged out East London All Stars (5-4) 103-102 in overtime as Joseph Baugh dropped 37 points, while Aaron Smith had 36 in a losing effort. Also, Liverpool (3-5) defeated London Westside (0-8) 81-62 behind 18 points from Chris Bigley, while Solent Kestrels (5-2) claimed a 51-93 success away at Worcester Wolves II (2-7) with Louie Kirkman posting 27 points along with 10 rebounds. Selby Hinds-Wills added 20 & 11, while Elliot Dadds flirted with a triple-double with eight points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Patrons Cup

In mid-week, East London All Stars defeated Eastside Eagles 79-61 in a re-arranged fixture to complete the pool stages of the Patrons Cup, and secure their place in the last four.

Semi-Finals Draw:
East London All Stars v Liverpool; Solent Kestrels v Loughborough Student Riders

Pool 1: East London All Stars 3-1, London Greenhouse Pioneers 2-2, Eastside Eagles 1-3; Pool 2: Loughborough Student Riders 4-0, Ipswich Basketball 1-3, Nottingham Hoods 1-3; Pool 3: Liverpool 4-0, Derbyshire Arrows 2-2, Worcester Wolves II 0-4; Pool 4: Solent Kestrels 4-0, Brixton Topcats 1-2, London Westside 0-3

Division Three

Team Newcastle University (9-0) keep racking up the wins in D3 North after recovering from a slow start to cruise past Mansfield Giants (5-5) with a 100-68 victory. Charlie Wallrapp led the way with 26 points, while Tayo Oyefusi added 19. Doncaster Danum Eagles (9-1) remain tight on their heels after breaking clear in the second half for a 93-72 win over third-placed Sefton Stars (7-5) with Matthew Martin top scoring for the hosts with 22 points.

Kieran Jones netted a game-high 37 points to lead Newcastle Under Lyme College Knights (6-4) to a 73-78 win away at Derby Trailblazers II (2-7), while Myerscough College (6-4) held off Leeds Force Academy (1-7) to win 80-74 as Kyle Elly scored 27 points. Also, Team Birmingham (2-5) saw off inner-city rivals Birmingham Mets (5-6) 72-47, and City of Sheffield Saints (4-6) benefited from a 20-0 forfeited win against Tees Valley Mohawks (2-8).

Thames Valley Cavaliers (9-0) are still unbeaten in D3 South after Martelle McLemore’s 25 points led them to a convincing 69-94 win on the road at Oxford Brookes University (6-5), who subsequently drop to fifth. Meanwhile, Middlesex LTBC (6-2) claimed a 75-62 win at home to Barking & Dagenham Thunder to remain in the mix.

Team Solent (7-3) are in third after beating Brentwood Fire 99-69, while Brunel Ducks (7-4) enjoyed a 101-83 success over Loughborough Student Riders II (5-4) as Korry Callum put up 29 points in the win. It was a double-losing weekend for Brentwood (4-6) as they had also fallen to an 81-82 loss against Plymouth Raiders II (5-3) the previous day. Also, Northants Thunder (2-9) claimed just their second win as they edged out London United (2-5) 101-103 in overtime.

National Shield

Semi-Final Draw: Newcastle Under Lyme College v Thames Valley Cavaliers; Team Newcastle University v Oxford Brookes University

NBDL

Blackburn College Spinners (7-2) went top of the North-West after defeating Liverpool II (1-8) 71-61, while Tameside (6-1) claimed a 64-70 win on the road at Kendal Warriors (1-7), despite 25 points from Gareth France.

In the South, Sussex Bears (5-0) made it five wins from five as they saw off Folkestone Saints 65-78. Kent Crusaders II (4-3) edged out Reading Rockets II (0-7) behind 23 points from Dan Akin as they racked up 37 in the opening quarter, while Woking Blackhawk Flyers (3-4) outlasted Southampton University (3-4) with a 92-93 road win in overtime.

Greenwich Titans (9-1) had a narrow escape in the South-East as they narrowly defeated Essex Blades (5-3) 59-60 on the road at the weekend. Southwark Pride (7-1) remain two wins behind as they claimed a 69-75 win away at Kings Lynn Fury (4-3), while London Thunder-Lewisham (4-5) beat West Herts Warriors (4-5) 55-64, and Dagenham Dragons (5-2) were awarded a 20-0 victory against Northants Taurus (1-9).

In the South-West, Oxford City (5-5) defeated Coventry Tornadoes (6-4) 76-61, while City of Birmingham (4-6) were 71-87 victors on the road over Oxford Stealers (3-6) and Birmingham Mets II (1-9) also won on their travels, beating TCAT Shropshire Warriors (4-6) 65-68 for their first season victory.

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix