BRADFORD Dragons' run of wins came to an end in Newcastle against National Basketball League Division One leaders Team Northumbria.

Yet the visitors came close to making it eight victories in a row as they narrowly lost a hard-fought contest 94-91.

Both teams had only lost one league game prior to their meeting but Northumbria were two places above Bradford courtesy of the fact that they had played a game more.

While the Dragons boast the most potent offence in the division, they also have one of the leakiest defences, so high-scoring games are almost guaranteed.

Newcastle won the tip-off and opened the scoring within the first five seconds but it was a further minute and a half before the next points went on the board, with Rafi Saipe levelling the scores for a Bradford side who were wearing their new kit.

The score remained tight through the first five minutes but the hosts then took control, ending the opening period with a 24-14 lead.

Three minutes into the second quarter, a Jason Swaine three-point jump shot pulled it back to a two-point game but Team Northumbria again hit the gas to lead 49-41 at half-time.

The third quarter followed a similar pattern, with the Dragons gradually eating into the Northumbria lead and finally, with three minutes of the period remaining, they hit the front at 60-59.

Any jubilation was short lived as the home side stepped things up once again, finishing the penultimate period 71-64 ahead.

The game then exploded in the final quarter, with the Dragons leading 77-76 with five minutes left.

The hosts also quickly racked up five team fouls and it was looking good for another Bradford victory – but the Geordies refused to let go and the lead ebbed and flowed for the remainder of the contest.

With four minutes left, Bradford's power forward Ricky Fetske picked up his fifth foul, sending him to the bench, followed two minutes later by Rihards Sulcs.

With only 1min 45sec remaining, the scores were tied at 85-85. The Northumbria coach then called a time-out with 32 seconds left and his team leading 88-87, which was followed by a Bradford time-out with 18 seconds on the clock with the scores now at 90-87.

Three seconds later, it was back to 90-89 and it the home side's turn to call for another time-out. On the restart, Florent Levazeux quickly picked up his fifth personal foul, joining Fetske and Sulcs on the bench, and the hosts made no mistake with the resulting free throws.

As the clock still showed 14 seconds, Dragons coach Chris Mellor called one last time-out with his side again three points down at 92-89.

Young Eisley Swaine made his shot to pull the game back to 92-91 but, in a last-ditch attempt to gain back possession, Marcus Gooding fouled and again Northumbria sank both shots to open their lead back up to three with only five seconds remaining.

As the buzzer was about to sound, Eisley Swaine went for the three-pointer in an attempt to force overtime but saw his shot bounce back off the rim, leaving the home side to celebrate victory.

Gooding led the Bradford scorers with 20 points, while Fetske racked up another double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Sulcs also contributing 15 points.

Mellor said: "It was a tough, hard-fought game. We were down by double digits early on but slowly managed to find our rhythm and it was disappointing not to come away with the win.

"Ricky and Rihards both fouling out made things difficult, as well as some missed foul shots, but I couldn't fault our effort."

The Dragons have an early opportunity to settle the scores when Team Northumbria visit the Dragons' Den for a National Cup quarter-final on Sunday (4.15pm).

This is preceded by a home league fixture for Bradford on Saturday against promoted Team Solent Kestrels (6.15pm).

The Dragons' under-16s and under-14s were both in action in a double-header at Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College.

The under-16s recorded an astonishing 134-32 victory against East Durham, while the under-14s beat Manchester Giants 71-59.