Twelve of the league's 13 teams were all in league action this weekend with wins for Hemel, Essex, Derby and others, whilst Thames Valley and Newcastle University both punched their ticket to the National Cup quarter-finals.
We take a look back at all of the weekend's action below, with links to live stats and live streams at the bottom of the page.
The top-four battle between Essex and Loughborough went the way of the Rebels, with an 85-75 final score.
After strong performances in recent weeks from the likes of Luke Busumbru, Connor Nelson and Elias Poorman, it was instead the turn of guard Victor Olarerin to step to the fore, dropping a game-high 32 points for the hosts as they claimed their eighth win of the season.
In what was a relatively even contest through the early going, both teams continued to trade buckets throughout but it was the current leaders who began to slowly pull away, leading by five after one, eight at the half and 15 midway through the third.
Loughborough would reduce the deficit to just four points with 1:27 remaining, but that was as close as the teams would come before Essex pulled out of sight.
Nelson supported Olarerin with 17 points that included 5/9 from beyond the arc, Poorman had eight points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Victor Ndoukou (15pts, 7reb), Harrison Gamble (14pts), Justin Hedley and Milo Gordon (11ps each) all played well for the visitors, but none were able to match Olarerin's level of output in a close game.
The win keeps Essex at the top of the table as they head into their final game of 2023 at home to London Elite, Loughborough are now in a four-way tie on 12 points with Reading, Hemel and Nottingham Hoods,
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Victor Olarerin named fan-voted player and top performer of the game in the matchup against Loughborough Riders yesterday đź‘€@NBLengland #WeAreRebels pic.twitter.com/V6I0r7WOhf
— Essex Rebels Basketball (@EssexRebels) December 10, 2023
Newcastle University (5-2) started what would be a successful weekend with a home win over much-fancied Reading Rockets (6-2), 103-95.
Reigning Player of the Week Logan Rooney did his prospects of a repeat award no harm at all with a 28 point, six assist, five rebound showing, with teammate Matthew Allman splashing six triples on the way to 20 points.
Derby Trailblazers (7-2) kept pace with Essex at the top as they beat Bradford Dragons (3-7) 96-80.
Twenty two points from Corey Johnson and a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double from Rob Marsden helped the Trailblazers get the job done, seeing off a game-high 23 points from Jordan Whelan and a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double from Zion Tordoff.
Nottingham Hoods (5-4) moved into top-four reckoning with a 100-88 road win against London Elite (2-7).
Landon Taliaferro was Nottingham's standout with an impressive 26-point, 10-rebound, six-assist outing and Diogo Soares added a further 21 points.
Thames Valley Cavaliers' (2-8) late rally fell just short against Worthing Thunder (3-5), with an 80-79 final score.
TVC entered the final frame trailing 62-53 but rallied hard, though it wouldn't be enough in the battle between two struggling teams.
Hemel Storm (6-3) added to City of Birmingham Rockets' (4-4) recent misery with a 92-60 victory, inflicting CoB's fourth loss in their last five games.
A 20-8 second quarter allowed Hemel to build a sizable advantage, with Brayden Inger nailing an impressive 7/9 threes on his way to 26 points. Sam Newman came to the party with a 12-point, 13-assist double-double for the hosts.
The quarter-final field is now completed after two final round of 16 games yesterday.
Newcastle University continued their strong season by ending Bradford Dragons' run, winning 78-71, before Thames Valley Cavaliers put their D1M form to one side to handle D3 side Barnet Bulldogs 116-100.
Both Newcastle and Thames Valley join Derby, Reading, Essex, Barking, Milton Keynes and Worthing in the next round, with the following games to be played on 17 December:
Barnets cup dreams come to an end in Thames Valley#NB2324 pic.twitter.com/mOJNTLwSZw
— NBL (@NBLengland) December 10, 2023
2pm - Newcastle University 103-95 Reading Rockets - LIVE STATS
6:15pm - Bradford Dragons 80-96 Derby Trailblazers - LIVE STATS
6:30pm - London Elite 88-100 Nottingham Hoods - LIVE STATS
6:30pm - Thames Valley Cavaliers 79-80 Worthing Thunder - LIVE STATS
6:30pm - Essex Rebels 85-75 Loughborough Riders - LIVE STATS
7pm - Hemel Storm 92-60 City of Birmingham Rockets - LIVE STATS
3pm - Newcastle University 78-71 Bradford Dragons
3pm - Thames Valley Cavaliers 116-100 Barnet Bulldogs
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Main image credit - Kay Lu
