HAVING gone into the weekend with an English Basketball League record of six defeats and no victories, Bradford Dragons are now breathing a lot easier after winning two Division One matches.

Neither Westminster Warriors nor Tees Valley Mohawks had won a league game either – and the Dragons ensured it stayed that way by defeating the Warriors 97-91 at the Dragons Den and the Mohawks 88-80 at Middlesbrough's Sports Village.

Both the Dragons and the Warriors were understandably nervous at the start of their match, turning over possession frequently, but thanks to a three-pointer on the buzzer, Westminster led 32-27 after the opening quarter.

Although Bradford pulled the margin back to two points midway through the second period, the Warriors still led 56-47 at half-time.

The Dragons showed more grit and determination in the third quarter, twice levelling the scores, but a six-point flurry gave Westminster the advantage again at 77-71.

The Warriors maintained their advantage until halfway through the final session but the Dragons then got their noses in front with a little more than three minutes left – for the first time since the opening minute.

Yet the real drama was condensed into the final 15 seconds. Down by three points, the Warriors sank two free-throws to reduce the gap to a point, only for Bradford's Nick Moore to be elbowed to the floor as the second shot went in.

The referee pulled up Westminster for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving Moore two free-throws at the other end of the court.

He not only sank his first shot but claimed a rebound after his second shot came out off the rim and also drew a further foul, sinking that point to put the match out of the Warriors' reach.

Moore finished with an impressive 35 points, with Henri Bongoma adding 21, Jason Swain 16 and Ricky Fetske 12 – as well as getting 13 rebounds.

On Sunday, the Dragons faced the Mohawks, who they had already beaten away in the National Trophy in September.

Bradford got off to a flyer, scoring 18 unanswered points, and led 27-13 and 49-32 at the end of the first and second quarters.

Despite the Mohawks pulling the scores back to within three points in the final few minutes, the Dragons knocked down some late shots to triumph.

Moore once again topped the scoring for the Dragons with 29 points, followed by Fetske (16) and Bongoma (13).

Bradford head coach Chris Mellor said: "We didn't play great in either game but we just needed to get a couple of wins on the board to get our season underway.

"This should give us some confidence moving forward and hopefully another couple of weeks should see us nearly at full strength fitness-wise, apart from Rihards (Sulcs)."

The Dragons, who have moved four places up the table to tenth, face another tough game as Lancashire Spinners visit the Dragons Den on Saturday (6.15pm).

The Spinners beat Bradford by three points when the teams met in the National Trophy in October and the Dragons will be seeking revenge.

Bradford's under-16s hosted Leeds Force at Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College on Saturday and welcomed back former coach Tamas Okros, who is now heading up Leeds' youth development programme.

Unfortunately, the Dragons were on the wrong end of a 99-73 scoreline. Earlier, the under-14s hosted Newcastle Eagles, also at Buttershaw, and won impressively 69-54.

Meanwhile, the under-18s beat Sheffield Junior Sharks II 59-55 at the Dragons Den on Sunday.