Box Score: MK Breakers 95 – 68 Bradford Dragons
The Milton Keynes Breakers booked their spot in the KitKing Trophy semifinals with a convincing 95-68 victory over Bradford Dragons on Saturday evening.
With the return of Chris Tawiah and a spot in the KitKing Trophy semifinals up for grabs, the excitement was building at Bletchley Leisure Centre. The Breakers would get off to a fast start, taking an early 10-3 lead capped by a Nate Robinson 3-pointer.
Bradford would respond with a 13-4 run of their own, with Kofi Joseph’s transition lay-up forcing Coach Billy Beddow-Patel into a timeout with his team trailing 14-18. Chris Tawiah was inserted into the line-up after the timeout for his first action of the season. He had an immediate impact with 6 points in just over a minute to help the Breakers take a 22-20 lead after the opening quarter.
A now trademark Adrian Scarborough dunk would open the scoring for the Breakers in the second period as the team continued to trade baskets in a nip and tuck battle. KJ Johnson’s lay-up put the Breakers up 37-33 forcing Dragons Coach Chris Mellor into a timeout. Out of the timeout the Breakers would lift their defensive intensity, going on a 10-2 run to close the half, including 6 points from Troy McIndoe. Half time, Breakers 47 – 35 Dragons.
The decisive run of the game would come at the beginning of the second half, the Breakers flew out of the gates with a 13-5 start, including a Nate Robinson dunk that brought the boisterous home crowd to their feet. With the Breakers leading 60-40, they would go on to maintain a comfortable advantage for the reminder of the half to close the game out 95-68 and secure a spot in the KitKing Trophy semifinals.
KJ Johnson and Nate Robinson led the scoring for the Breakers with 20 points apiece. Johnson also added 7 assists. Adrian Scarborough recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, going a perfect 7/7 from the field. Chris Tawiah added 12 points and 6 rebounds on his return.
Jevon Laidler led the Dragons with 16 points. He was joined in double figures by Micah Savery-Richards (12) and Andreas Lycoudis (10).
Elsewhere in the KitKing Trophy, Derby Trailblazers, Hemel Storm and Reading Rockets also secured quarterfinal victories to book their tickets to the semis. A live draw will take place this week to determine the semi-final matchups, with the games expected to take place in later November/early December, followed by the final in March.
The team begin league play this Saturday with a trip to Colchester to take on the Essex Rebels at the Essex Sports Arena. Essex have already sold close to 1000 tickets, so we need as many Breakers fans as possible to make the trip and get behind the team. Tickets are available from the Essex Rebels Box Office HERE.
