BRADFORD Dragons came home empty-handed from their National Basketball League trip to Derby Trailblazers following an 82-60 defeat.

The two teams had met only two weeks earlier, when Bradford stole victory during the dying seconds to ensure their progression to the quarter-finals of the National Trophy.

This time the Dragons travelled to Derbyshire for a Division One fixture ravaged by injury and absentees and they only managed a single basket within the first five minutes to trail by 11 points (13-2) at the mid-point of the first quarter.

It was only then that the visitors started to pull things together, narrowing the deficit to six points (19-13) by the end of the opening period and further cutting it to two points midway through the second.

But they failed to capitalise on their momentum as Derby pulled away again and the hosts held a nine-point advantage as the teams returned to the locker rooms for half-time with the scores at 34-25.

The Dragons never managed to get close after the break, with the Trailblazers increasing their lead to 13 points (59-46) by the end of the penultimate quarter.

By this time Bradford were clearly starting to show signs of fatigue, allowing the home side to finish the game off with a substantial 22-point cushion.

Top scorers for the Dragons were Nick Moore with 19 points, Adria Rodriguez Vinas (17) and Eisley Swaine (13). Moore also completed a double-double in the game, taking a total of 12 rebounds.

Bradford head coach Chris Mellor said: "We got ourselves into the game but ended the first half very badly. We made some really poor offensive decisions, which led to easy scores for Derby at the other end.

"We never really got close to them after that and a culmination of poor shooting, rebounding and live turn-overs, leading to scores, sealed our fate. I thought the final result was a fair reflection of the game."

The Dragons are now none from two in the league and must pick themselves up for a home fixture against Kent Crusaders at the Dragons Den on Saturday (6.15pm).

The Crusaders have also made a blank start to their season, losing in each of their opening three games. Both teams will therefore be keen to kick-start their campaign with victory this weekend.

Meanwhile, the Dragons' under-16s narrowly lost out 86-83 following overtime at Manchester Giants. The Bradford under-14s travelled to Sheffield Junior Sharks II and brought home a 76-47 victory.