Six games took place across Friday night and Saturday before the NBL National Cup was claimed by Milton Keynes Breakers on Sunday, making for a great weekend of basketball.
Leaders Essex came through a tough task in Worthing, and bottom side Barking are winless no more after beating City of Birmingham.
We take a look at all of the weekend's action below, with links to live stats and live streams at the bottom of the page.
Bradford rode a virtuoso performance from Ronald Blain to beat Thames Valley in a high-scoring thriller, with a 109-104 final score.
Blain's return to the NBL earned a serious exclamation mark as he dropped a stunning 41 points in the win, adding 14 rebounds for a 52 efficiency outing.
Bradford entered the final quarter up by seven but were made to fight hard to fend off a spirited Thames Valley fightback.
Blain dropped 16 of his points in that final frame to help his side claim a fifth win of the season, helping his side maintain a grip on the playoff places.
The American's strong outing cancelled out 30 points from TVC's Bode Adeluola and a 28 point, 15 rebound double-double from Igor Stokic.
Justin Williams (27pts) and Jordan Whelan (11pts) were the only other Dragons to make it to double digits on the scoreboard.
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How the D1M league action went down 🎯 pic.twitter.com/OlVDBvZXjh
— NBL (@NBLengland) January 21, 2024
Derby Trailblazers (10-2) claimed a Friday night win over Nottingham Hoods (7-7), winning 119-81 thanks in part to a near triple-double from Sam Masten (19pts, 10ast, 8reb).
Essex Rebels (11-1) found a way to get past Worthing Thunder (4-8) but were made to work for it, with an 88-84 final.
Elias Poorman, Luke Busumbru (both 15pts) and Victor Olarerin (14) shared the load on offence for the leaders as Hafeez Abdul's 31 points would be in vain for Thunder.
Newcastle University (8-3) made short work of London Elite (2-11), winning 89-79 despite trailing by three heading into the fourth quarter.
Newcastle's Justin Hopkins (24pts, 8reb, 5at) led all scorers for the hosts, with guard Afrasyab Khalil (17pts, 8ast) leading the way for Elite.
Twenty eight points and nine boards from Hakeem Sylla were enough to see Hemel Storm (9-3) past Loughborough Riders (8-5), 105-72.
Hemel held the Riders to just 33 first half points on the way to a commanding victory, Brayden Inger (15pts, 10reb) and Sam Newman (12pts, 11ast) both added double-doubles for the hosts.
Bottom side Barking Abbey (1-12) are winless no more after they knocked off City of Birmingham Rockets (4-8) 82-78.
Juan Manning splashed four triples on the way to a team-high 16 points as Sam Akano added 14 more.
The Rockets are in free fall as they made it seven losses in a row, and their bright start to the season will now seem like a distant memory.
📊 | Our stat leaders in our game against @lborobasketball. @hakeemsyla, @Swalve23, @saam_newman & @BraydenInger 👏 #ItsStormSeason⛈️ pic.twitter.com/wJhKGXGt4T
— Hemel Storm (@hemelstorm) January 20, 2024
Derby Trailblazers 119-81 Nottingham Hoods - LIVE STATS
Newcastle University 89-79 London Elite - LIVE STATS
Hemel Storm 105-72 Loughborough Riders - LIVE STATS
Thames Valley Cavaliers 104-109 Bradford Dragons - LIVE STATS
Worthing Thunder 84-88 Essex Rebels - LIVE STATS
City of Birmingham Rockets 78-82 Barking Abbey - LIVE STATS
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Main image credit - Tagevision
