Box Score: Essex Rebels 62 – 83 MK Breakers
The Milton Keynes Breakers defeated the Essex Rebels 62-83 in their opening NBL Division 1 League game behind 27 points and 19 rebounds from Adrian Scarborough.
It was a cagey start to the game as both teams struggled to find any rhythm in front of the sold-out Essex Sport Arena crowd. Adrian Scarborough converted a pair of dunks and a tip-in to score all 6 of the Breakers’ points in the opening five minutes, as they found themselves trailing 11-6.
Chris Tawiah then entered the game, converting a lay-up to open his scoring account for the evening. Nate Robinson rattled off a 8 quick points, including a pair of 3-pointers to give the Breakers their first lead of the night at 15-16 before Blayne Freckleton knocked down a 3-pointer of his own as the visitors took a slender 18-19 lead after 10 minutes of action.
The score would remain close in the second quarter, with the Breakers starting to gain momentum and threating to pull away at 28-32. Rebels shooting guard Connor Nelson however, had other ideas. He scored 6 of his 14 first half points to put the Rebels ahead 36-32 before Scarborough and Jaguar Jackson scored for the Breakers to level the scores at 36 heading into half-time.
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Coach Billy Beddow-Patel’s half-time talk seemed to do the trick as the Breakers came out of half-time with a with a new lease of life and an increased intensity of defense. KJ Johnson would start to find his flow, attacking the basket with ease to record 8 points in the quarter and propel the Breakers into a 53-61 lead at the end of 3.
The fourth quarter was all about the Breakers as they silenced the large home crowd, limiting the hosts to just 9 points in the quarter whilst pouring in 22 of their own to run out 62-83 winners and begin life in NBL Division 1 with a win.
Adrian Scarborough led the Breakers with 27 points and 19 rebounds. He was well supported by KJ Johnson (15), Nate Robinson (15) and Chris Tawiah (13) who all hit double figures.
Connor Nelson led the Rebels with 18 points, he was joined in double figures by Luke Busumbru (16) and Emmanuel Kanwei (11).
The Breakers are on the road again next Saturday with a trip to Bradford Dragons on the 12th of October (Tickets Here) before returning home on the 19th of October to host Newcastle Knights at Bletchley Leisure Centre, tickets available HERE.
