BRADFORD Dragons picked up a fourth win in six league games, with a dominant 100-82 victory at the Derby Trailblazers consolidating ninth in Division One of the National Basketball League, and moving them level on points with their next opponents, Leicester Warriors.
Despite the victory, the game wasn’t all plain sailing, as the mid-table Trailblazers opened up with a 10-0 run.
The Dragons stopped the bleeding and scored through Rihards Šulcs, Ricky Fetske and Albert Margai. Dave Walsh's two threes late in the quarter ensured Derby were just two ahead by the buzzer.
The visitors had awoken after a slow start and they rattled off six straight points to begin the second quarter, courtesy of two Šulcs buckets and a layup from Clayfell Harris.
Dave Walsh then fired in four threes and Andreas Lycoudis scored a treble, as Bradford stormed into half-time up 51-38.
After a 31-point second period, the Dragons went even better with a 33-point third quarter that blew the game wide open.
Jermayne Laing, Fetske and Margai combined to boost the lead to 18. Then with the Dragons up 70-55 with four and a half minutes left, they went on an 8-0 run in the following two minutes, increasing the lead to a game-high 23-points.
After three-quarters of play, the Dragons held an 84-63 lead.
The Dragons just had to maintain their concentration for the final ten minutes of play and only allowed their hosts within 15 points, ensuring the trip back to West Yorkshire was a happy one.
Coach Chris Mellor was delighted, saying: “It’s a good win against a good team. We were at the required level of intensity and effort throughout the whole game and we executed well offensively.”
Dave Walsh led the scorers with 23 points, knocking down seven threes on the evening, while Ricky Fetske claimed his seventh double-double of the season, with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Lycoudis scored 18 points, including four threes, stats which earned him the NBL Division One’s Britwatch Player of the Week Award.
In Junior Dragons news, it was a mixed bag of results at the weekend. The Under-14s dropped to a 65-56 loss against Leeds and the U18s fell to an 89-79 defeat against the York Eagles, but the U16s beat the Sheffield Swarm 81-65.
Next up for Bradford's senior team is the first Division One game of 2020, against Leicester on Saturday, January 11, at 6.15pm in the Dragons Den.
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