Bradford Stun Solent at the Buzzer - NBL Round Up, Week 14 - Hoopsfix.com
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Bradford Stun Solent at the Buzzer – NBL Round Up, Week 14

By on December 18, 2018
Sulcs Bradford Celebrations

The NBL was not short of action this weekend, with a number of upsets, none bigger than Bradford handing Solent their first loss of the season.

Here’s a round up of everything that happened:

NBL Division 1

Bradford Dragons 86-83 Team Solent Kestrels
Bradford Dragons registered the upset of the weekend with an 86-83 win over Solent Kestrels on an improbable fall away buzzer beating three from Rihards Sulcs.

Bradford, despite being under manned with out big man Ricky Fetske, managed to keep the game close in a game that featured multiple lead changes.

From there, it was Sulcs who was the difference maker; he scored 8 points in the final 47 seconds, including a three with three seconds left to tie it up, before an offensive foul was called on Elliot Dadds to set up Sulcs’ buzzer beating heroics and hand Solent their first loss on the season.

Sulcs finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists to lead Bradford, with Andreas Lycoudis adding 18 for the side who only had 7 players.

Team Solent Kestrels were led by Nick Lewis 25 points, whilst Herm Senor II had 19 points in just 15 minutes after being marred by foul trouble and Travis Charles chipped in 17.

Solent Head Coach Matt Guymon commented:

“We missed a great opportunity to keep our undefeated streak alive this weekend against an undermanned Bradford team. We have moved away from our identity as a defensive minded team that gets stops and plays at a relentless pace in transition.

“We need to reflect on the last 2-3 weeks and refocus over the D1 break. Full credit to Bradford who were excellent at both ends of the floor. Sulcs was brilliant all game and his final three possession carried them over the line.”

Solent remain atop of the table at 10-1, whilst Bradford improved to 6-5 in sixth place.

Box score.

Hemel Storm 110-85 Manchester Magic
Hemel Storm took down Manchester Magic 110-85 in a bottom of the table clash in Hemel.

The home side used 30-13 second quarter blitz, tightening up defensively and getting out on the break to create separation and never looked back.

Long-serving Storm point guard Bode Adeluola led with 18 points and 9 assists, followed by 16 from big man Leome Francis in 20 minutes of play, and 14 points from sharp-shooting guard Jack Burnell as six players reached double digits.

“It was a must-win game for us,” said a delighted Hemel Head Coach Robert Youngblood. “And now we’re determined to come back after the Christmas break and begin to climb up the table and get into the Play-Offs.

“I thought the guys were really focused on Saturday and it turned into an excellent team performance.”

Richard Bell was unstoppable for Manchester with a 33 point, 9 rebound effort, as three other players reached 10 points. Magic are now 1-10 at the bottom of the table, with Hemel a spot above at 2-8.

Box score.

Worthing Thunder 89-91 Derby Trailblazers
Derby Trailblazers produced the second upset of the weekend with an 89-91 defeat of second-placed Worthing Thunder, withstanding a dramatic late fight back by the home side.

Having managed to extend their lead to 12 points with under three minutes remaining, Zaire Taylor and Brendan Okoronkwo sparked a Worthing comeback as Derby were forced into turnovers with nerves beginning to show.

However, a crucial Oli Stanley block on a potential game-tying shot from Taylor in the dying seconds preserved the lead, forcing Worthing to foul as Derby closed it at the line.

Malcolm Smith had 29 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, Matt Ward-Hibbert returned from injury with 20 points, Benson Arogbo had 15 and Oli Stanley went 7-for-7 for his 14 points.

“I was absolutely delighted with that performance,” admitted Derby’s Head Coach Matt Shaw. “It’s a huge win on the road for us, because this is always such a tough place to come to and win a
basketball game.

“Although it was pretty high scoring game, I actually thought we did a pretty good job defensively. We tried to limit their guys as much as possible and I thought we challenged their shots very well. We were also better on the glass than we’ve been in recent weeks.”

Alex Owumi led Worthing with 24 points, Zaire Taylor had 21 and 11 rebounds and Brendan Okoronkwo finished with 16.

Box score.

Thames Valley Cavaliers 97-80 Essex Leopards
Thames Valley Cavaliers ended Essex Leopards recent run of good form with a 97-80 victory at Uxbridge College on Saturday.

Leopards came from behind using a 21-8 run to take a two point lead into halftime, but Cavaliers responded with a 20-8 run of their own in the third quarter, capped by a Abdoulaye Sylla buzzer-beating three to lead 72-59 heading into the fourth, where they were able to secure victory.

Sylla led Thames Valley with a 27 point, 12 rebound effort, Elliott Defreitas added 25 points and 12 rebounds and Martelle McLemore added 18.

Asante Sandiford led Leopards with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Lee Hodges also added a double-double with 18 points and 13 boards. Luke Mascall-Wright finished with 14 points.

Box score.

Team Newcastle 70-74 Barking Abbey Crusaders
Barking Abbey built an early lead before coming from behind for a solid 70-74 road win over Team Newcastle.

BA finished the first half on a 9-3 run to take a nine point lead into the break, but Newcastle dominated the third, holding BA to just 10 points as they took control heading into the final period. Trailing by five with under 7 minutes left, BA fought back, as a quick four points from Robin Bedford and three pointer from Tautvydas Mieliauskas tied it up before a dunk from Nathaniel Powell put BA in front for good.

Powell led Barking Abbey, going 8-of-9 from the floor for his 19 points and 13 rebounds, Jonathan Brown added 17 points, and Chris Feeney had 13 before getting injured. Ade Adebayo added 10 points and 6 assists.

“It was a fantastic end to the year for us,” Barking Abbey Head Coach Lloyd Gardner commented.

“Always a difficult journey going to Newcastle, and a team that has played very well in the first half of the year. I thought we made improvements from previous weeks, and mentally showed good character, especially defensively.”

Ben Seipt had 17 points to lead Newcastle, Onyekachi Nzerem added 14 and David Hanson 13.

Box score.

Leicester Warriors 87-80 Nottingham McDonald’s Hoods
Leicester Warriors picked up their third win of the season with an 87-80 upset over Nottingham Hoods.

Warriors jumped on Hoods from the outset, leading by 14 at halftime and extending their lead to 22 in the third, as Nottingham had no answers.

Raphell Thomas-Edwards continues to provide a boost for the Warriors, finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, as Martyn Gayle added 21.

Nottingham were led by 22 points and 17 rebounds from Cole Welle, and 13 from Kieran Wright.

Nottingham Head Coach Ryan Westley was left frustrated after the game:

“We weren’t good enough on the day. We couldn’t match Leicester’s intensity and they swept us away at vital times. I’ve got to take responsibility myself as coach and re-evaluate how we can move forward over Christmas.”

Box score.

Reading Rockets 101-86 Loughborough Riders
Reading Rockets opened their double-header weekend with a 101-86 win over Loughborough Riders.

Reading jumped out to an 8-0 lead in a sign of things to come, before using a 14-0 run in the second quarter to take a commanding lead which would be extended to as many as 21 in the second half.

Danny Carter and Trae Pemberton led Reading with 25 each, as the former added 7 rebounds and 5 assists, with AJ Carr adding 18 and GB U16 Sam Grant finishing with 10.

“Coming into the game, we knew this would be a tough one,” commented Reading Head Coach Alan Keane. “Loughborough have beaten some really good teams this year so we knew this was going to be a tough one. We knew we had an advantage inside with our bigs and that also opened the perimeter for our shooters.”

Niall Harris had 22 points to lead Loughborough, Reis Pinnock added 14 points and 9 rebounds, whilst Kyle Jimenez had 13.

Reading Rockets 90-101 Essex Leopards
Essex almost led from start to finish in a 90-101 victory over Reading on Sunday, as both teams split their double-header weekends.


Leopards finished the half on a 10-0 run to gain a cushion, as Reading managed to stay within striking distance until the final period.

Lee Hodges led Essex with 24 points and 16 rebounds, Sam Newman added 24 of his own, along with 7 assists, and Luke Mascall-Wright added 22.

“We went into the weekend with the intention of taking two victories and cementing a place out of the bottom two,” Hodges commented.

“After a disappointing performance on Saturday it was key the we re-grouped and played well on Sunday. I think we did a great job of putting Saturday behind us and getting the job done away to a tough team in Reading.

“We have shown once again we can hang with anyone in Division One when we play as a team and with energy. We now go into the Christmas break of the back of a win which is important for momentum after the break.”

Top scorers for Rockets were Trae Pemberton with 25, AJ Carr with 22, and Danny Carter with 15, 11 of which came in the final period.

Box score.

NBL Division 2

Westminster Warriors 107-85 London United
Westminster Warriors poured in 38 points in the third quarter to take a 107-85 win over London United, improving to 7-2 in second place.

Justin Hitchman went 12-of-18 for 32 points, whilst Juan Manning had 22. London United had five players in double digits, led by Tomas Butrimas’ 22 points, but they fell to 4-4.

Box score.

Ipswich 77-95 London Greenhouse Pioneers
London Greenhouse Pioneers climbed to 7-2 in third place with a 77-95 win over Ipswich, who fell to 3-6 on the season.

Khyle-Andres Diaz’s 26 points led Greenhouse, with Mariano Lussenhoff adding 18 and Theo Deleligne 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Eivydas Aleksa led Ipswich with 18, and Ethan Price had 16 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Box score.

Sussex Bears 68-64 Derbyshire Arrows
Sussex Bears came from behind, holding Derbyshire to just 7 points in the fourth, for a 68-64 win.

Cordaris Townes had 29 to lead Sussex, Luke Moore had 11 and Jasper Chiwuzle chipped in 10. Joseph Baugh had 25 points to lead Derbyshire, as Matt Wilson had 12 and Naphtali Nembhard finished with 9.

Box score.

East London All Stars 99-94 London Westside
London Westside’s late fightback fell short, as East London All Stars registered a 99-94 victory to improve to 4-5 in seventh place.

Jonathan James had 30 points to lead East London, with Aaron Badibo going 7-of-7 for his 21 points. Levi Edwards had 30 to lead Westside, but they dropped to 2-7.

Box score.

NBL Division 3

Team Derby Spartans 90-86 Team Birmingham Elite
Sheffield Sabres 78-62 WLV Albion
University of Chester 85-77 Derby Trailblazers II
Stoke on Trent Knights 98-64 Birmingham Mets
Charnwood College Riders 94-75 Calderdale Explorers
Oxford Brookes University 98-107 Bristol UWE FLyers II
Team Solent Kestrels II 117-62 Cardiff City
Sheffield Hallam Sharks ??-?? Team Sunderland

NBL Division 4

Nottingham Trent Hoods 88-65 Warwickshire Hawks
University of Nottingham 84-70 City of Birmingham Rockets
Mansfield Giants 94-59 Charnwood College Riders II
Liverpool Stars 94-83 Stockport Falcons
Huish Taunton Tigers 102-61 Surrey Rams
Bristol Hurricanes 102-51 Gloucester Saxons
Charnwood College Riders II 73-91 Northants Thunder
Anglia Ruskin University 79-71 London United II

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