Having ended 2025 with three consecutive wins, MK Breakers Men’s team were looking to carry that form into the New Year as they travelled to Hemel Hempstead Leisure Centre for a meeting with Hemel Storm.
The hosts had lost each of their previous two games, and the break for Christmas saw both teams make a nervous start to the game. A flurry of turnovers and missed free throws meant it was scoreless for almost two minutes before Xavier Wilson finally netted the first two points of the contest.
But it would be Storm who settled quickest, jumping out to an 11-8 lead midway through the opening quarter. That seemed to spark Breakers into life, Jordan Spencer stealing the ball and feeding Dashawn Jackson for a dunk & then hitting a three himself before Jackson tipped in a rebound to recapture the lead.
From there they never looked back, and as the second quarter began it would be Blayne Freckleton who came off the bench to fully seize control, the veteran guard hitting three consecutive three-pointers to force Storm to call a timeout.
A well-balanced team performance saw Breakers ultimately win by an 86-68 scoreline, with five players hitting double figures on the night. Xavier Wilson led the way with 18 points, but it would be Jackson who took home Player of the Game honours with 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“I was really impressed with our rebounding, especially on the offensive end,” said Breakers Head Coach Ben Stanley. “Our ability to withstand Hemel’s runs made a real difference too. Every time they punched, we hit back and that quality will help us down the road.
“Holding them to under 70 points shows how hard we worked defensively. Maintaining that is going to be important in our upcoming games.”
“I know there’s still so much more to come from this group if we keep doing that, especially in front of our supporters who were great tonight. But it’s great to end the year having turned in some good performances and be on a winning run going into the Christmas break.”
Breakers are on the road again next week, travelling north to take on Yorkshire Dragons before returning to Bletchley Leisure Centre on January 17 to take on Loughborough Riders. Tickets for that clash are available here.