THE Bradford Dragons finally got their first win of the season on the board in Division One of the National Basketball League, as they pipped Nottingham Hoods 86-82 in a thrilling encounter.

The game took place on the Dragons’ home court, Calderdale College’s Inspire Centre, and their prospects looked bleak when the visitors took a 49-37 lead into half-time.

But Bradford hit back in the third quarter, and only trailed by four points heading into the final period.

At 68-64 down, they still needed a big finish, but got just that.

They took the final quarter 22-14, ensuring a remarkable 86-82 comeback victory.

The Dragons were indebted to the prolific Justin Williams, with the American scoring 31 points to finish the game as top scorer.

But he still had a fair amount of help from his team-mates, with Joe Buchanan and Micah Savery-Richards’ contributions of 18 and 13 points respectively also valuable in helping Bradford over the line.

The victory lifts the Dragons up to ninth in the 13-team table, and they will look to make it two consecutive wins when they host the Essex Rebels, who have won two of their three league games so far, tonight.

Tip off for that game at the Inspire Centre is at 6:15pm.