NBL1 recap: Week 20 (26/27 February 2022) - live streams, stats and more

Another ten games are in the books from this weekend as D1M creeps ever-closer to the post season.

There were some great contests for fans to enjoy, highlighted by the relegation clash between Leicester and Essex that saw a stunning 32 point comeback from the Rebels!

There's a recap of all the action below, and each result is also clickable if you wish to view the live stats.

Essex Rebels (3-18) 86-80 Leicester Warriors (3-18)

Essex Rebels secured a huge win in their battle for D1M survival as they beat rivals Leicester Warriors 86-80 yesterday.

This game was firmly in blowout territory at half-time, with the visitors leading 59-31 thanks in part to the efforts of American Van Turner (31pts).

Essex came out and stunned their opponents after the break, winning the third period 26-14 and the fourth 29-7, with their 55-21 second half setting up one of the comebacks of the the season.

Forward Lee Hodges enjoyed 14 points and eight boards, as Jake Eynon (15pts), Ben Winter (13pts, 5reb, 4ast) and Josh Moore (12pts, 10reb) all contributed well.

The victory seals the head-to-head tiebreaker for Essex against the Warriors, should the two teams be level on points come the end of the season. With five games to go and both teams on six points as things stand, that could be huge.

Elsewhere this weekend

Saturday got underway with a routine 106-61 victory for Team Solent Kestrels (18-2) against London Lions II (9-11). Kemel Archer had a massive 21 rebounds to go with 11 points for the Kestrels, as London now slip out of the playoff spots.

Team Newcastle University (11-8) sealed a valuable 91-88 win against Worthing Thunder (15-6) in their quest for a higher playoff seeding, with former Player of the Week Ronald Blain (22pts, 13reb, 4ast) the standout for TNU.

Worthing's Zaire Taylor used the game to become the 14th player to pass 2,000 D1M points, though he couldn't mark the occasion with a win.

Leicester may have ended their weekend with defeat against Essex, but they claimed a stunning 87-75 W over Bradford Dragons (8-13) on Saturday thanks to a 35 points explosion from guard Delaney Powell.

Essex couldn't match the Warriors on Saturday though, they lost 86-68 to Loughborough Riders (6-14) as Evan Walshe (29pts, 11reb, 7ast) was in top form for the visitors.

Fellow strugglers Oaklands Wolves (2-17) couldn't get anything from the visit of  Derby Trailblazers (13-7) as coach Shaw's side went back to the Midlands with both points following a 105-75 win. Blake Bowman was the standout in that one, putting up a 27-point, 11-rebound double-double for DTB.

Reading Rockets (11-10) and Thames Valley Cavaliers (15-5) split their back-to-back series this weekend, with the Rockets claiming an 87-71 home win on Saturday before TVC enjoyed some revenge on Sunday, coming out on top 102-97.

Thames Valley's Hakeem Sylla dropped a huge 28-point, 13-rebound double-double in Sunday's outing, whilst Meshack Lufile (21pts, 14reb) led the Rockets on Saturday.

Hemel Storm (13-7) had a mixed weekend, losing 89-79 to Nottingham Hoods (14-5) on Saturday before besting Bradford 91-72 on Sunday.

Morakinyo Williams was the standout for Nottingham, using a 22-point, 10-rebound effort to get his team over the line. Storm's Taylor Johnson closed his weekend with a bang, he had 33 points and nine boards against the Dragons.

This weekend's results:

Saturday 26 February

4pm - London Lions II 61-106 Team Solent Kestrels - LIVE STATS

5pm - Team Newcastle University 91-88 Worthing Thunder - LIVE STATS

5:30pm - Leicester Warriors 87-75 Bradford Dragons - LIVE STATS

5:45pm - Oaklands Wolves 75-105 Derby Trailblazers - LIVE STATS

6:15pm - Reading Rockets 87-71 Thames Valley Cavaliers - LIVE STATS

7pm - Essex Rebels 68-86 Loughborough Riders - LIVE STATS

7pm - Hemel Storm 79-98 Nottingham Hoods - LIVE STATS

Sunday 27 February

3pm - Essex Rebels 86-80 Leicester Warriors - LIVE STATS

3:30pm - Thames Valley Cavaliers 102-97 Reading Rockets - LIVE STATS

5pm - Hemel Storm 91-72 Bradford Dragons - LIVE STATS

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Main image credit - Nick Winter