Having lost two in a row, MK Breakers Men returned to Bletchley Leisure Centre on Saturday evening looking to return to winning ways in a British Championship Basketball encounter with Derby Trailblazers.
The visitors had notched a win over Nottingham Hoods the previous week, and arrived with an impressive looking roster, headlined by former SLB stars Evan Walshe, Connor Washington and Rodney Glasgow Jr.
But it was clear from the outset that Breakers were determined to put their defeats to Hemel Storm firmly behind them. Captain Jordan Spencer would grab two points and three rebounds inside the opening two minutes, sparking a 6-0 lead that put his team firmly in control.
Blazers would fight back but, as both teams began to rotate, it would be the depth at Head Coach Nigel Lloyd’s disposal that would prove decisive. George Pearl came off the bench, quickly stuffing the stats sheet with a three-pointer, a layup, an assist and an offensive rebound.
Spencer then hit Tom Rice for the first BCB points of his career, ensuring Breakers ended the first quarter with a narrow lead. Nick Woodard would take over in the second, dropping 10 of his eventual 20 points in that period, extending the half time lead to nine points as he did so.
After the break it would again be the Breakers bench that delivered. Pearl hit Woodard for a neat finish before Mike New Jr stepped up to claim Player of the Game honours as he scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
His veteran leadership also helped the home side ramp up the defensive pressure, stringing consecutive stops together to eventually seal a thoroughly deserved 82-67 victory that delighted the Bletchley crowd.
“This was a good win for us,” Head Coach Nigel Lloyd said afterwards. “We know what Derby are capable of, we know their big players can trouble anyone, but we were ready for that and executed our game plan.
“It was a win we needed too after a couple of tough outings. We still need to do a better job taking care of the basketball and valuing every possession, but we can take lots of positives away from tonight that we can build on in the weeks ahead.”
Indeed, Breakers are back in action next Saturday when they take on Bristol Flyers II at the SGS Arena in a game that tips off at 18:30.