National Trophy Action Heats Up - NBL Round Up, Week 3 - Hoopsfix.com

National Trophy Action Heats Up – NBL Round Up, Week 3

National Trophy play continued this weekend with Pool play almost complete. Here’s a recap of all the action, with games also in the Patrons Cup, National Cup, National Shield and D3 and D4 Men.

National Trophy

Team Newcastle vs Bradford Dragons
With Newcastle having already defeated Manchester, they went into the weekend knowing that a win against the Dragons would guarantee them the progression, but it was Bradford who cruised to an 88-51 victory at Sport Central in Pool A – which only has 3 teams following the withdrawal of Northumbria prior to the season.

The visitors jumped out to 6-0 lead and controlled the game from start to finish, leading by 13 at halftime, and 22 heading into the final period.

Ricky Fetske led five players into double figures for Bradford with 18, closely followed by Andreas Lycoudis with 17 points and 9 assists. Latvian, Richards Sulcs registered a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, whilst Allie Fullah had 12.

Newcastle were once again led by Tosan Evbuomwan with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, with Eric Stafford adding 11 points and 9 rebounds.

Box score.

Loughborough Riders vs Derby Trailblazers
Malcolm Smith had 34 points and 10 rebounds, and Matt Ward-Hibbert knocked down seven triples on his way to 30 points, as Derby defeated Loughborough 83-78 in Loughborough on Saturday.

Derby managed to hold off Loughborough, who finished the game with a 12-4 run to pull close, but it was too little too late, to the relief of Derby Head Coach Matt Shaw:

“It was pleasing to see how we come back from a terrible second quarter. The guys were able to find ways to respond to what Loughborough were doing and I thought we really stepped up defensively in the second half.

“Matt [Ward-Hibbert] shot the ball incredibly well, made some big plays at crucial times. In the second half particularly we managed to get Malcolm [Smith] the ball in the sort of spots where he needs it and he delivered for us.”

Lucien Christofis led Loughborough with 19 points, whilst Reis Pinnock had 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals to go with his 4 points.

Box score.

Nottingham McDonalds Hoods vs Leicester Warriors
Making their Division 1 home debut on Saturday night, the Nottingham Hoods took down Leicester Warriors with a 96-67 win.

Hoods jumped out to an 8-0 lead, extending it to 17-7 at the first quarter break, before dominating the third quarter as they poured in 36 points and outscored Leicester by 20 to hold a commanding lead which would see them victorious.

Nottingham finished 14-of-30 from three-point range, led by Kieran Wright’s 21 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep. Tintin Watts added 17, whilst Luke Mitchell finished with 9 assists and 6 rebounds despite going scoreless.

Hoods Coach Ryan Westley commented: “the guys had great execution and were assertive and aggressive whilst showing good composure when needed.”

Brian Orr led Leicester with 20.

Box score.

Thames Valley Cavaliers vs Essex Leopards
Thames Valley Cavaliers dispatched of Essex Leopards with a 114-105 victory on Saturday in Uxbridge.

Pouring in 40 points in the third quarter, Essex led by six heading into the final period, before Thames Valley turned the game; opening the fourth on a 7-0 run to take the lead and eventually the game.

New signing for Thames Valley, Elliott Defreitas, had 29 points, and Andre Baptiste 24 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, as the Cavaliers saw a balanced team effort with 6 players reaching double figures in the high scoring affair.

Luke Mascall-Wright’s 33 points and 11 assists would not be enough for the visitors, who also received 24 from Lee Hodges (formerly Greenan) and 19 from Sam Newman who has returned from university in Canada.

“The guys gave everything they had against Thames Valley and to walk away disappointed we didn’t win that game just shows how hungry the guys are to get the result they deserve,” Essex Head Coach Tom Baker commented.

“It was a positive performance and when you go and score 40 points in one quarter and over 100 points in a game you should really be walking out of their with a win.”

Box score.

Team Solent Kestrels vs Barking Abbey Crusaders
Team Solent Kestrels protected home court with a 95-60 victory over Barking Abbey on Saturday in Eastleigh.

Kestrels pulled away in the second quarter, then dominated the fourth for the final margin.

Jon Averkamp had 28 points and 8 rebounds, whilst Herm Senor finished with 11 points and 10 assists.

Ade Adebayo had 19 points to lead Barking Abbey, being the only player in double figures for the visitors.

Box score.

Bradford Dragons vs Manchester Magic
Bradford Dragons completed a 94-71 win over Manchester Magic on Sunday to make it a double-winning weekend.

Jermaine Laing and Emmanuel Drexler led Bradford with 23 and 22 points respectively, as the home side pulled away for good in the second half.

Dragons, Head Coach, Chris Mellor reflected, “It’s nice to start with two wins in the Trophy and we can forget about that ‘til January now. It’s still early days but I’m happy with how we are progressing, and we executed some of the things we’ve been working on at both ends in pre-season.”

Josh Houghton’s 30 points for Manchester would not be enough.

Leicester Warriors vs Derby Trailblazers
Leicester Warriors were unable to split their weekend’s games, as they suffered an 80-88 loss to Derby.

Malcolm Smith continued to show his calibre with 25 points despite foul trouble, and Tre-Shawn Wilford and Matt Ward-Hibbert adding 18 points a-piece.

Pake Chingombe led the Warriors with 19 and was supported by Brian Orr and Martyn Gayle who added 14 and 12, respectively.

“With Oli [Stanley] not participating due to injury, having Malcolm in foul trouble for much of the second half made things a little tricky for us, but I thought we did well to cope,” Derby Head Coach Matt Shaw said.

“He did a great job to play on despite having four fouls throughout the remainder of the third and the whole of the fourth quarters.

“Our press was effective and we did a good job mixing the defensive up and stopping them getting
into rhythm, so all in all, it was a great weekend for us.

Loughborough Riders vs Nottingham McDonald’s Hoods
Loughborough Riders picked up a 90-63 win over Nottingham on Sunday in a must-win game following their narrow loss on Saturday.

Loughborough pulled away on either side of the halftime break, eventually outscoring Nottingham 48-26 in the second half. Niall Harris finished with 20 points off the bench, with Reis Pinnock adding 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.

Tintin Watts led Nottingham with 15 points.

“An interesting weekend for us and always is at this stage of the season as we figure out and learn about the team and the group,” Loughborough Head Coach Mark Jarram commented.

“Two very different performances but ultimately we responded well after addressing some things from Saturday into Sunday. That’s something we are proud about and something we have to continue. Another young team that have to get better throughout the season, every week!”

Box score.

Thames Valley Cavaliers vs Reading Rockets
Thames Valley Cavaliers were unable to make it 2 wins from 2 on the weekend, as Reading Rockets took a 68-83 win at Uxbridge College on Sunday.

The visitors led from start to finish after taking a double digit lead in the first period.

AJ Carr led the Rockets with 27 points, while captain Danny Carter chipped in 19. Abdoulaye Sylla had 15 to lead Thames Valley, with 12 12 points from Martelle McLemore.

Worthing Thunder vs Team Solent Kestrels
An impressive 35 points from former GB U20 Nick Lewis saw Worthing Thunder past Team Solent with an 89-78 win at Worthing Leisure Centre.

Jumping out to a 15-3 lead, Worthing held a commanding 19 point lead at halftime before holding off a second half comeback from the visitors.

Brendan Okoronkwo and Zaire Taylor finished with 11 points each, with the latter adding 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Herm Senor led Solent with 25 and Jon Averkamp added 17.

Patrons Cup

East London All Stars vs Derbyshire Arrows
East London All Stars secured a 91-75 win over Derbyshire Arrows to set up a winner takes all match up in Pool next weekend between Ipswich and East London.

Jonathan James and Aaron Badibo led All Stars with 20 points and 17, respectively, whilst Sheu Matewe had 23 to lead Derbyshire.

London Westside vs London United
London United pulled out a 65-96 win over London Westside to keep their slim hopes alive of progressing.

Modestas Krasuskas had 22 points to lead United, with Marius Talijunas adding 16. Westside were led by 17 points from Stefan Campbell.

National Cup

No less than 17 more fixtures were scheduled in the National Cup on Sunday. Bristol, Barking Abbey, University of Chester, Liverpool, Team Birmingham Elite and Swindon Shock all advanced with 20-0 wins after their opponents forfeited.

Team Solent Kestrels II advanced with a 78-51 win over Cardiff City behind 16 from Bryan, RCT Gladiators defeated Oxford Stealers 66-56 with 23 from Williams, Stoke on Trent Knights used 24 from Javell Small for an 83-55 win over Liverpool Stars, and Greenwich Titans got an 81-74 win over East London All Stars with 21 from Murphy.

Ipswich took down Richmond Knights 83-66 with Aleksa scoring 22, London Greenhouse Pioneers used 19 from Diaz to advance past Newcastle Eagles U23 76-61, City of Birmingham Rockets got past Southwark Pride 77-60 with 28 from Bradshaw, Jonathan Lashley had 18 to help Westminster Warriors rout WLV Albion 82-44, Derby Trailblazers II got a 79-68 win over Hemel Storm II with 20 from Ugo.

Luke Mascall-Wright had another big game with 30 points and Sam Newman 24 as the former Ipswich duo led Essex past Team Derby Spartans 111-99, Joseph Baugh had 20 to lead Derbyshire Arrows past Surrey Rams 91-59, Sanmi Fajana had 24 to lead Myerscough past Bristol UWE Flyers II 81-65, and finally, Kraskausas had a 30-piece to lead London United past Northants Thunder 88-66.

National Shield

Westminster Dragons got an 89-72 win over Canterbury Christ Church Saints behind 30 points from Maxwell. Humphrey had 26 points in the loss for Canterbury.

Division 3 Men

Calderdale Explorers 65-79 Charnwood College Riders
Birmingham Mets 97-104 Stoke on Trent Knights
Team Birmingham Elite 91-88 Team Derby Spartans
WLV Albion 53-71 Sheffield Sabres
Bristol UWE Flyers II 118-68 Oxford Brookes University
Swindon Shock 113-97 Cardiff Met Archers
Cardiff City 51-78 Team Solent Kestrels II

Division 4 Men

Charnwood College Riders II 74-75 Mansfield Giants
Warwickshire Hawks 69-83 Nottingham Trent Hoods
Gloucester Saxons 42-83 Bristol Hurricans
Surrey Rams 73-68 Huish Taunton Tigers

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