And in WNBL2, Bromsgrove Bears and Milton Keynes Breakers continue to fight it out in Pool I, while London All Stars are racing away in Pool II.
Leicester Warriors (16-3) continue to reign supreme at the summit of NBL2 North as they brushed aside Teesside Lions (4-12) 73-66 thanks to a sublime first quarter.
The Warriors’ defence was suffocating and the offence was clicking, as they led 17-5 after the first period, which they extended to 56-36 after the third. A strong final 10 minutes from Teesside made the score respectable, but it wasn’t enough.
Malik Legania impressed with 23 points for the Warriors who keep second placed Bristol Academy Flyers II at bay for now as we enter the latter stages of the league campaign.
Emmanuel Kabengele had 15 points for the Lions who continue to linger near the bottom the North.
Bristol Flyers (16-2) though stayed in touch at the top, beating neighbours Bristol Basketball United (4-14) 87-69, thanks to the duo of David Thomas and Nassim Ladjimi.
The pair both scored 15 points to lead Bristol to their third straight win as they led by 19 after the first quarter and never looked back.
Encon Derbyshire Arrows (14-5) kept their post-season aspirations strong by beating Liverpool (3-15) 100-93 in a fast-paced, high-scoring clash.
Hamza Ibrahim led all scorers with 27 points, supported by Diogo Soares’ 16.
St Helens Saints (13-3) had a mixed weekend in their double-header as they looked to make ground on the teams at the top of the North.
They stumbled against Manchester Magic, going down 95-86 before bouncing back to topple Bristol Basketball United 99-71 thanks to a 34-point outburst from Ben Tew.
Earlier on Friday night, Cardiff Met Archers (8-10) ruled the roost in the Welsh capital as Dan Flaherty poured in 29 points to down Cardiff City (1-14) 89-74.
Team Solent Kestrels (15-2) regrouped from last week’s loss to league-leaders London Stars with a 105-72 win over London Elite (10-6).
Russell Gariepy led Solent with 18 points as they shot 50% from the field and drained 13 three-pointers in front of 400 fans inside the Solent Sports Complex.
Jaguar Jackson led all scorers in vain with 21 points for London who are starting to slip down the table.
They still trail London Stars (16-3) as they downed Richmond Knights (10-10) 94-81 for their fourth win in a row.
At the bottom of the South standings, Endeavour Ipswich Basketball (2-16) secured just their second win of the season 87-78 on the road to Cobham Scorchers (6-13), who suffer a major contrast in affairs over the last two weeks.
Charlie Smythe led Ipswich with 24 points as they look to finish the season strong, but for Cobham, it’s a big loss seeing as they beat joint leaders Barking Abbey last week.
Ipswich’s win helped them as they closed the gap on Essex Rebels II, who didn’t play this weekend and Westminster Warriors (4-15), as they lost 84-74 on the road to NASSA (13-6).
Milton Keynes Breakers and Bromsgrove Bears are scrapping it out for Pool I supremacy as both teams collected wins this weekend.
The Breakers won away at City of Birmingham Rockets as Paige Vyse had a team-high 14 points in a 56-49 success. Michelle Turner led all scorers for Birmingham with 20.
Their victory was matched by the Bears, who got the better of Cardiff Met Archers, grounding out a 65-58 win.
In Pool II, Oaklands College Wolves II head to third, taking advantage of London All Stars and Hemel Storm not playing this weekend. The Wolves grabbed a valuable 60-52 road win over the East London Phoenix.
Cardiff City 74-89 Cardiff Met Archers - LIVE STATS
Bristol Basketball United (BBU) 69-87 Bristol Academy Flyers II - LIVE STATS
St Helens Saints 86-95 Manchester Magic
Encon Derbyshire Arrows 100-93 Liverpool
Teesside Lions 66-73 Leicester Warriors
NASSA 84-74 Westminster Warriors - LIVE STATS
London Stars 94-81 Richmond Knights
Cobham Scorchers 78-87 Endeavour Ipswich Basketball - LIVE STATS
Team Solent Kestrels 105-72 London Elite - LIVE STATS
East London Phoenix 52-60 Oaklands College Wolves II
Team Solent Kestrels 74-39 London Thunder
City of Birmingham Rockets 49-56 Milton Keynes Breakers
Cardiff Met Archers 58-65 Bromsgrove Bears
Surrey 89ers TBC-TBC Bath Basketball
Oxford Hoops 80-68 Plymouth Raiders
Tees Valley Mohawks 78-60 West Yorkshire Hawks
Kent Crusaders TBC-TBC Islington Panthers
Birmingham City University 91-67 Oaklands Wolves
University of Hertfordshire Storm 75-83 Charnwood Riders
Stockport Falcons 82-107 Sheffield Elite Basketball Academy
Crawley Storm 108-82 Brighton Bears
Portsmouth Force 109-70 Cardiff Met Archers II
Greenhouse Sports 57-103 East London Phoenix
St Helens Saints 99-71 Bristol Basketball United
Charnwood Riders 78-69 Nottingham University Wildcats (AOT)
Stevenage Royals Women 59-67 Endeavour Ipswich Basketball
London United 102-68 London Lions Foundation
Northamptonshire Titans 72-80 Warwickshire Hawks
Plymouth Raiders 69-64 Oxford Hoops
Cheshire Wire 52-92 Tameside Vikings
Essex Charge 83-88 CoLA Southwark Pride
Derby Trailblazers II 98-93 Cambridge Cats (AOT)
Bath Basketball 80-87 Crawley Storm
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Main image credit - Josh Nesden
Words by John Hobbs
