Box Score: MK Breakers 99-98 Bristol Hurricanes
KJ Johnson’s buzzer-beater capped off an incredible night at Bletchley Leisure Centre as MK Breakers came out on top 99-98 over Bristol Hurricanes.
It was Johnson who led the scoring for the Breakers with 25 points, with Nate Robinson following closely behind on 20 points. Jordan Spencer went for 15, with Adrian Scarborough and Chris Tawiah scoring 14 and 13 points respectively.
The win puts MK Breakers back into third position in the table, but with just two points separating third and fifth place, the Breakers have more work to do to secure a home play-off game.
Chris Tawiah opened the night for the Breakers with Adrian Scarborough adding his first points shortly after. Nate Robinson looked to gain some early confidence as he netted his first three points, but Dan Edozie would do the same down the other end of the court to keep the Hurricanes within two points of the lead.
The scores were level after Dilys hit from beyond the arc, the lead swung the way of the Hurricanes shortly after, but KJ Johnson’s three-point effort drew the Breakers back level. The same man would give the Breakers the lead from the line, however, a four-point lead was established by the visitors with Dilys hitting another three.
That gap was extended to six points following Edozie’s hookshot, before Tawiah hit two from the lines to bring the Breakers back to within four points. The two sides would exchange buckets leading to the Hurricanes leading by seven with five seconds left in the quarter. The final points, however, were yet to come as Blayne Freckleton sunk a deep three to ensure the Breakers only trailed by four at the end of the first, 23-27.
It was Bristol who came out quicker following the break as they pushed out their lead to nine points before Nate Robinson’s three point pulled the Breakers back to within six. Dilys, however, followed up with three points of his own to extend his side’s lead. Another successful three-point effort from Dusha following a Tawiah lay-up gave the Hurricanes a double digit lead, which they extended to 13 points following three pointers from Williams and Dilys.
The story of the game continued, although the Breakers were able to eat into the lead, the Hurricanes would hit back with three points, this time Dusha converting following KJ Johnson’s two free throws. Nate Robinson hit his third three pointer of the evening, but Edozie would strike back almost immediately. KJ Johnson’s driving layup would prove to be the final points of the half as the Breakers would trail 59-48 heading into the half.
Fan Information: KitKing Trophy Final 15th March
The Breakers were slowly eating into the lead Chris Tawiah and Nate Robinson bringing the Breakers to within seven points of the lead. Although the Hurricanes would push that gap back to double digits, KJ Johnson would bring that back down to seven with back-to-back three pointers.
The lead was reduced to just four points as Jordan Spencer would make his two shots from the line, but once again the Hurricanes would convert from beyond the arc to push the gap back to nine points. Kai Walker and Blayne Freckleton would reduce the lead to four points before Jordan Spencer’s clutch layup ensured the quarter closed with the Hurricanes leading by two.
The Breakers would tie the game a minute into the final quarter as Blayne Freckleton sank two free throws, however, the visitors would quickly restore their four-point lead. Jordan Spencer would hit his three-point effort to make it a one score game, but the Hurricanes would repeat the same feat through Dusha.
Adrian Scarborough’s lay up would give the Breakers their first lead since the first quarter at 89-87 with 4 minutes to play. The final four minutes had the fans on the edges of their seats with no less than 8 lead changes. A Nate Robinson three-pointer gave the hosts a 92-91 lead before Ubiaro responded with a lay-up for Bristol to put their noses back in front.
KJ Johnson’s lay-up put the Breakers back ahead 94-93 before Edozie hit his third three-pointer of the evening as the shot clock expired, advantage Bristol 94-96. It was that man KJ Johnson who agains answered for the Breakers, his and-1 put the hosts ahead 97-96.
The Hurricanes would take the lead with just four seconds left to play through a put back from David Forsyth, but the story wasn’t done there as Billy Beddow-Patel called timeout to draw one last play to try and win the game.
Up stepped KJ Johnson who would converted a floater from the left elbow with 0.6 seconds to play, bringing the Bletchley Leisure Centre crowd to their feet and securing a crucial win for the Breakers.
The Breakers are back in an action on the road this Sunday when they take on Nottingham Hoods at the Motorpoint Arena as part of the Superleague Basketball Cup Finals weekend, tickets available HERE.
Next weekend attention shifts to the KitKing Trophy Final where the Breakers will take on Reading Rockets looking to pick up their first piece of silverware this season. Fan Travel and Ticket information can be found HERE.
