Five D1M games played out on Saturday, including Hemel continuing their unbeaten run at the expense of Worthing Thunder whilst Newcastle claimed the first of their two encounters against Bradford Dragons.
Three of the four NBL National Cup semi-finalists were confirmed, with Derby, Newcastle and Hemel all now one game away from booking their spot in next month's showpiece in Manchester.
Four D1M sides also had crack at top flight opposition in the SLB Cup, but despite some highly-competitive basketball, Essex, Derby, Nottingham and Reading all came up short to end their journey at the first hurdle.
We take a look back at all the weekend's action below, with links to live stats at the bottom of the page.
Newcastle piled further problems onto struggling Bradford on Saturday, extending their winless run with a 90-73 defeat.
The damage was done early in this one as the hosts claimed the opening period 34-16, stretching their advantage past the 20-point mark in the second quarter to lead from tip to buzzer.
Newcastle won the rebounding battle 51-44 and the assist numbers 26-14, also outshooting their opponents 46%-37% for a solid day at the office.
Logan Rooney (27pts, 5reb, 4ast) produced one of his best performances of the season for the Knights, with Hafeez Abdul (23pts, 9reb) also chipping in a solid effort.
Bradford, who were without standout Kofi Josephs, were instead led by veteran Rihards Sulcs (22pts, 6reb) and guard Justin Williams (18pts, 5reb).
Newcastle head into 2025 on a high, with their schedule now done ahead of the mid-season break. Bradford have one more crack at getting themselves into the win column before the calendar turns over, they travel to Bristol Hurricanes next Saturday.
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Loughborough Riders (7-3) needed a period of OT to edge past Thames Valley Cavaliers (5-5), eventually coming out on top 105-99.
The game was a thriller with multiple second half lead changes and neither side getting ahead by more than seven points, meaning it was no surprise that an extra five minutes was needed to split the pair.
Michael Joiner's 22-point, 11-rebound double-double would help to push the Riders over the line, with Justin Hedley (32pts) and Edward Onyia (19pts, 8reb) both shining off the Loughborough bench.
Essex Rebels (6-4) continued their good form, knocking off Bristol Hurricanes (5-5) 102-86 thanks to a stunning performance from Connor Nelson.
The Essex sharpshooter netted a game-high 34 points that included going 7/9 from beyond the arc, cancelling out 31 points from Bristol forward Vilmantas Dilys.
City of Birmingham Rockets (5-6) fell below .500 for the season as they lost out to a resurgent Milton Keynes Breakers (4-4), with a 90-71 final score.
The visitors led by six entering the final ten minutes but claimed the fourth quarter 31-18 to win at a canter behind 29 points and nine assists from American guard KJ Johnson.
Finally, Hemel Storm (10-0) made it a perfect ten as they beat Worthing Thunder (2-8) 111-93 in a high-scoring contest.
Hemel's Sam Newman (15pts, 17ast) put together a passing masterclass for his double-double, with the offensive nature of the contest also allowing Matt Ellis (22pts, 8reb) and Veron Eze (19pts, 7reb) to go to work.
Worthing's Elijah Maynard (31pts, 8reb) would also get in on the action, but it wouldn't be enough to stop Thunder from falling to their eighth loss of the season.
Three of this season's NBL National Cup semi-finalists have now been confirmed, with Newcastle Knights, Derby Trailblazers and Hemel Storm all enjoying wins yesterday.
Hemel saw off defending champs Milton Keynes Breakers 73-70 to end their hopes of a repeat success.
Matt Ellis (22pts, 7reb) was the pick of the scorers for Storm as they advanced, with Nate Robinson and KJ Johnson both dropping 16 points in defeat for the Breakers.
Newcastle Knights got the better of Bradford Dragons for the second time in two days, following up their D1M win with a 103-89 success yesterday.
Thirty points from Hafeez Abdul and 25 more from Corey Johnson powered the hosts into the next round, though Bradford's Justin Williams (35pts, 9ast) would close with a game-high scoring output.
That just left Derby Trailblazers to ease past City of Birmingham Rockets, winning 97-73 behind 26 points from Jonas Dieterich.
Sam Toluwase and Zack Powell (18pts apiece) both tried to keep CoB's hopes alive, but it wasn't to be against the 2022/23 finalists as they marched into the next round.
None of D1M's four SLB participants managed to win in the opening round of the SLB Cup, leaving Hemel as the sole NBL side left in the competition as they wait to play Manchester next weekend.
Essex Rebels were downed 84-70 by Bristol Flyers on Friday night despite 18 points from Luke Busumbru, and Nottingham Hoods suffered a similar fate against Cheshire Phoenix the following day, 108-67.
Derby Trailblazers ran Surrey 89ers close, 93-88, in a game that could have gone either way. The reigning D1M regular-season champs led 78-77 with 4:26 remaining but a late 11-4 run tipped the contest in favour of the SLB side.
89ers centre Dame Adelekun shot a perfect 11/11 for 27 points, adding 13 boards in one of the performances of the round as Derby's Chris Harris and Malcolm Smith scored 23 points each.
That just left Reading Rockets to take on B.Braun Sheffield Sharks yesterday but the D1M high-fliers couldn't buck the trend, falling to an 84-72 defeat.
Mitch Clarke (19pts), Lewis Champion and Justin Hopkins (14pts each) all played well for the Rockets, but it wouldn't be enough against the SLB leaders.
7:30pm - Essex Rebels 70-84 Bristol Flyers - LIVE STATS
2pm - Newcastle Knights 90-73 Bradford Dragons - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
6:30pm - Thames Valley Cavaliers 99-105 Loughborough Riders (After 1OT) - LIVE STATS
6:30pm - Essex Rebels 102-86 Bristol Hurricanes - LIVE STATS
7:30pm - City of Birmingham Rockets 71-90 Milton Keynes Breakers - LIVE STATS
7:30pm - Worthing Thunder 93-111 Hemel Storm - LIVE STATS
7:30pm - Derby Trailblazers 88-93 Surrey 89ers - LIVE STATS
7:30pm - Nottingham Hoods 67-108 Cheshire Phoenix - LIVE STATS
2pm - Newcastle Knights 103-89 Bradford Dragons - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
4:30pm - Derby Trailblazers 97-73 City of Birmingham Rockets - LIVE STATS
5pm - Milton Keynes Breakers 70-73 Hemel Storm - LIVE STATS
4:00pm - Reading Rockets 72-84 B.Braun Sheffield Sharks - LIVE STATS
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Main image credit - Newcastle Knights
