The Milton Keynes Breakers produced a dominant display to defeat a short-handed Essex Rebels side 54-91 on Sunday afternoon, setting up a home National Cup quarter-final match up with local rivals Hemel Storm, scheduled for a 5pm tip-off on Sunday 15th December at Bletchley Leisure Centre.
Nate Robinson led a balanced scoring attack off the bench for the Breakers, pouring in 17 points behind a perfect 4/4 from 3-point range. Michael Amako led all scorers with 18 points for the Rebels.
Adrian Scarborough opened the scoring for the Breakers before DJ Wol responded with a 3-pointer as Essex took an early 3-2 lead. Chris Tawiah responded with 2 of his own before Kai Walker scored 5 of his 10 first quarter points in quick succession. Back-to-back scores from Scarborough and another 2 from Walker forced Essex into an early timeout as they found themselves trailing 7-15.
The Breakers however responded the stronger out of the timeout. Troy McIndoe checked in and quickly made his presence felt with an inside score, before Nate Robinson rattled off 8 points, including a pair of three pointers to end the opening quarter, the Breakers firmly in control leading 16-32.
The Rebels fought back in the second quarter as the Breakers were guilty of taking their eye off the ball. A lack of focus on the defensive end for the Breakers allowed the Rebels offensive rebounds and easy trips to the free throw line. An Emmanuel Kanwei tip-in as the half time buzzer expired just about summed up the Breakers second quarter, as the Rebels trimmed the gap to 10 at 37-47.
Breakers Coach Billy Beddow-Patel was able to focus his troops at half time, and the visitors came out on a mission in the second half as they limited Essex to just 17 points in the final 20 minutes, whilst pouring in 44 of their own.
All 12 Breakers players saw action in the game, with academy player Damian Ogodan making his debut. Joining Nate Robinson in double figure scoring for the Breakers was Kai Walker (14), Adrian Scarborough (13) and KJ Johnson (13). Michael Amako (18) and Jordan Ashley (12) were the only players to hit double figures for Essex.
The win sees the Breakers reach the Quarterfinals of the National Cup for the third straight season, setting up another game with local rivals Hemel Storm, to be played at Bletchley Leisure Centre on the 15th December, ticket information to be released shortly.
Attention turns back to the league as the Breakers will be looking to improve on their 2-4 start as they host Derby Trailblazers on Saturday 7th December, 5pm Tip-Off at Bletchley Leisure Centre, tickets available HERE
