BRADFORD Dragons wasted no time in getting their latest signing into the action as they made it three wins from three – all on the road.

They engineered a late comeback to beat Tees Valley Mohawks 81-76 in the National Trophy after 23-year-old power forward Nick Moore had only arrived on British soil the day before.

Moore, a 6ft 5in capture from Nyack College in New York, started his Dragons career from the bench at Middlesbrough's new £15m Sports Village but joined the action early.

Bradford ended the first period 26-18 in front and held off a revival to return to the locker room 42-37 ahead.

Yet by the end of the penultimate period, the Mohawks led 60-56 and they extended that advantage to 12 points with just five minutes remaining.

The Dragons looked dead and buried but some great offensive work, including a couple of three-pointers, and defensive doggedness led to the scores being tied at 73-73 with just 134 seconds left – and they then pulled victory out of the bag.

Moore, who finished an impressive two-year career in the Big Apple with 761 points, 392 rebounds and 69 blocks – earning him the most valuable player award last season – marked his Dragons debut with an impressive 36 points, while fellow new boys Adria Rodriguez Vinas and Henri Bongoma chipped in with 18 points each.

Twice called up for the CACC All-Conference team back home, Moore said of his move to England: "I feel that this is a great opportunity to work with one of the best coaches around and I'm looking forward to working with coach (Chris) Mellor more.

"The season is always unpredictable but with this group of guys, I believe that anything is possible, so long as we stick together and stay positive the whole way through."

Head coach Mellor added: "We started well and played a decent first half. They were hurting us with offensive rebounds and that was our main focus after the restart.

"They (Mohawks) played well in the third (quarter) and, to be honest, we were going nowhere fast, down by 12 points with five minutes remaining, but we managed to put together a succession of stops to pull it out of the fire.

"Nick did a great job for us. He gave us a quiet 36 points and ten rebounds. He didn't force anything and played within what we are trying to do as a team. He is a big asset to us."

The Dragons have their first home game of the season against Team Northumbria in another National Trophy tie at Bradford College Sports Hall on Saturday (6.15pm). Advance tickets are available via www.bradforddragons.co.uk.

Bradford then travel to the Amaechi Basketball Centre to face Manchester Magic in the second round of the National Cup on Sunday (5pm).

Meanwhile, the Dragons under-18s returned home from Durham Wildcats on Saturday with a 65-62 victory in Basketball England's North East Development League.