BRADFORD Dragons made it two wins from two in Division One of the National Basketball League on Saturday, defeating Oakland Wolves 89-85 in Hertfordshire.

In a game of two halves, the Dragons led by double-digits for large spells, but made hard work of it late on before eventually securing a nervy victory.

Bradford were looking to compile more misery on the hosts after their 0-3 start to the season and also build on their promising opening game victory (81-67) away to Team Newcastle University.

The Dragons burst into an early 17-5 lead here as the Wolves struggled to get anything going offensively.

Dragons captain Ricky Fetske notched his side's first six points before Tyme Regent-Bascombe, Rihards Šulcs, Dave Walsh, Andreas Lycoudis and Uche Umekwe increased the visitors' lead.

Bradford's strong defence early on, which saw them force multiple turnovers, helped ensure they had a healthy 23-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The hosts pulled to within five in a scrappy second quarter, but Regent-Bascombe proceeded to score the final four points of the half to give the Dragons a 45-35 lead heading into the break.

After the interval, the visitors managed to extend their lead to a game-high 17-points (62-45) midway through the penultimate period.

But the Wolves then began to get a firm foothold in the game, forcing five Dragons turnovers in a crucial four-minute stretch to end the third quarter.

The visitors endured the Wolves onslaught, and two Walsh free-throws early on in the final quarter gave the Dragons a 73-63 lead.

But then came a disastrous stretch for the visitors.

A scoreless three-minute period of basketball coincided with the Dragons' lead evaporating, as the Wolves scored ten straight points to tie the game up.

Bradford were then dealt a colossal double blow, as Umekwe fouled out and captain Fetske followed his teammate back on to the bench less than a minute after coming on.

But Chris Mellor’s Bradford side weren’t about to roll over and allow the Wolves to stroll to victory.

In a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Dragons stalwart Šulcs knocked down the second of two free-throws to put the visitors 86-81 in front late on, but two successive scoreless possessions allowed the Wolves to cut the lead down to one with 32 seconds left.

In need of a hero, up stepped Walsh, who knocked down a stunning three-pointer to give the Dragons an unassailable four-point lead and the victory.

Šulcs led the Dragons' scoring with 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Coach Mellor said afterwards: “We never really got into any rhythm, but credit to Oakland, they played hard, and we never could quite put the game out of reach.

“I’m just relieved we got the win and didn’t run out of players.”

Next up for the Dragons is a trip to face the Nottingham Hoods in NBL Division One action this Saturday, with the tip-off at 6pm.