The top five teams all won this past weekend in a business as usual week for D1M. As Solent remain undefeated and the chasing pack try to keep up, let's take a look at the all games from week 7.
Reading made it six wins on the bounce as they beat Leicester 82-67 on Sunday afternoon.
After a tight first half that ended 41-41, the Rockets found their groove after the break to slowly pull away to a double digit victory. Nick Richards was once again the star as he enjoyed a 32 point, six rebound, three assist and four steal outing, as AJ Carr chipped in 15 points and eight boards.
For the Warriors, T.J Henderson once again excelled, scoring a team high 24 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. But apart from Roderick Howell (15 points), no other Leicester player made it to double digits.
Derby Trailblazers were limited to 66 points as league leaders Solent extended their unbeaten start to the season. Whilst the Trailblazers may have kept the hosts under 100 points, they couldn't get their own offence going as they fell to an 87-66 loss. Travis Charles scored a game high 23 points for the Kestrels..
Thames Valley also grabbed a victory, defeating the still winless Essex & Herts Leopards 108-97. In a high scoring contest, Martelle McLemore dropped 31 points to go with 10 boards and Abdoulaye Sylla dominated the glass, pulling down 23 rebounds to go with an impressive 27 points. Hafeez Abdul (33 points, four rebounds) and Chuck Duru (18 points, 14 rebounds) both impressed for the Leopards despite the final result.
Hemel Storm overcame a tough challenge from the travelling Loughborough Riders to win 96-74 on Saturday night. Hemel forward Greg Poleon (27 points, 9 rebounds) and Loughborough's Rasheed Worrell (33 points, 13 rebounds) had a great tussle in that one before the Storm came out on top.
Elsewhere, six different scorers all made it into double digits for Worthing as they beat Nottingham Hoods 111-74. Zaire Taylor was the pick of the bunch with 21 points to go with six rebounds.
Westminster Warriors secured their 3rd win of the season with a 90-61 victory over Liverpool. The visitors started slowly, losing the opening quarter 28-9 before chasing the game the rest of the way. Warriors' captain Jon Johnson enjoyed a productive evening with 15 points and six rebounds.
A 93-69 victory provided Bradford Dragons with their 2nd win of the season as they defeated Barking Abbey. The Dragons shot 52% from the floor as Jermayne Laing (7 of 8) scored 15 points and David Walsh (13 points), Rihards Sulcs (17 points) and Ricky Fetske (14 points) all made it to double digits. Theo Hughes top scored for Barking with 26.
Alan Keane, Reading Rockets head coach: “The win against Leicester was a really important one for us as they are a really hard unit to break down with some very good talent. Our performance in the second half was a lot better and I am really pleased with the progression the players are showing in their behaviours and tactics.”
Tom Baker, Essex & Herts Leopards head coach: "Credit to Cavs, they punished mistakes we made and made us chase the game in the last few moments. For us we have to know we are heading in the right direction, we are a different team now than we were at the beginning of the season and I am confident that if we keep up these positive performances and stay focused on our game plan, we will come good."
5:30pm - Westminster Warriors 90 - 61 Liverpool - LIVE STATS
6:00pm - Thames Valley Cavaliers 108 - 97 Essex & Herts Leopards - LIVE STATS
6:00pm - Team Solent Kestrels 87 - 66 Derby Trailblazers - LIVE STATS
6:15pm - Bradford Dragons 93 - 69 Barking Abbey - LIVE STATS
7:00pm - Hemel Storm 98 - 74 Loughborough Riders - LIVE STATS
5:00pm - Nottingham Hoods 74 - 111 Worthing Thunder - LIVE STATS
5:00pm - Reading Rockets 82 - 67 Leicester Warriors - LIVE STATS
There's another seven games in D1M next week with every game taking place next Saturday.
There's a 1st plays joint 2nd affair as Reading travel down to Solent, and Hemel will look to take advantage of one of those sides losing as they host Worthing.
Essex go looking for their first win of the season at Derby, Westminster entertain Loughborough and Barking host Thames Valley.
Elsewhere, 12th place Nottingham Hoods will face fellow strugglers Bradford in the Midlands, and Liverpool take on Leicester Warriors.
Main image credit - Shaun Colley
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