Having suffered losses in their two previous British Championship Basketball outings, MK Breakers Men welcomed the Yorkshire Dragons to Bletchley Leisure Centre on Saturday night, seeking a return to winning ways looking to bounce back with a win over the Trailblazers in their latest British Championship Basketball outing.
They did so against a Dragons side that had only recently ended their own run of bad results, losing eight of nine games through January and February before winning four of their last five before this encounter.
A tense opening saw the first two minutes pass without a single point being scored, Dashawn Jackson ending that as he hit a pull-up jumper to put Breakers ahead. Corey Johnson quickly responded with a three for the visitors, and that set the tone for the rest of the game.
Behind the shooting of Johnson, Jordan Jefferson and Nick Lewis, Dragons established a strong lead and that trio would ultimately combine to net 12 three-pointers between them, helping Paul Cantwell’s men to shoot almost 40% from beyond the arc.
That, combined with Breakers losing the battle on the boards and having a poor shooting performance themselves would prove simply too much for the home team. Dragons opened up a 28-point lead midway through the fourth quarter but, despite the off-night, there would be one positive to take away.
Having won the first meeting between these two teams by 20 points back in January, it was vital that Breakers kept the gap closer than that on Saturday in order to clinch the head-to-head advantage.
With just over a minute to play, it would be Jonas Dieterich – the hero of last month’s win over COB Rockets – who ensured they did so. Hitting a vital three, he then tipped in a rebound to keep the margin to just 13 points, the buzzer sounding on a 92-79 loss that means Breakers remain fourth in the league table.
Next week sees Breakers away at Bristol Hurricanes, returning to Bletchley Leisure Centre on April 4 for their last home league game of the season. Tip off for that encounter with Nottingham Hoods is at 17:00 and tickets are available here.