MK Breakers 95 – 55 Bristol Flyers
Looking to bounce back from last week’s disappointing display, MK Breakers Men’s team were back in action on Saturday evening, welcoming Bristol Flyers II to Bletchley Leisure Centre.
The home side were boosted this week by news that Blayne Freckleton, Luke Gregory and Kai Williams would all be back in action, their returns giving the team plenty of options off the bench.
When the game got underway, the opening quarter would see the two sides trade baskets with Breakers edging slightly ahead before seizing full control in the second. A layup from Mike New Jr sparked a big run as Freckleton, Jonas Dieterich and Dashawn Jackson all hit threes to extend the lead to 22 at half time.
But while it was easy to look at the scoring, it was defence and rebounding that truly made the difference as Breakers forced no fewer than 22 turnovers on the night. They also dominated on the boards, boasting a 49-29 advantage as no fewer than 11 different players grabbed rebounds.
With a healthy lead, there was an opportunity for MK5D Academy players Kalvin Oates and Gabriel Formeloza to get minutes, the former finding Mike New Jr for a buzzer-beating layup to end Q3 before knocking down two three-pointers in the final quarter.
Ultimately that would see Breakers run out 95-55 winners, much to the delight of Head Coach Ben Stanley. “A much better performance from us this week,” he said shortly after the final buzzer sounded. “It’s not so much about the score, it’s about the performance. We moved the ball better and did much better on the glass which had been our major issues recently.
“After a hard week, we had to reevaluate and really look at ourselves. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction for us moving forwards.”
They will have the chance to find out when they take on Worthing Thunder next Sunday. Tip off is at 17:00 and tickets are available here.