A raucous crowd packed out Bletchley Leisure Centre on Sunday evening as MK Breakers secured their place in the KitKing Trophy Final after a 100-88 win over Hemel Storm.
KJ Johnson shone for the Breakers with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assist, whilst Nate Robinson following closely behind with 29 points – including 5 3-pointers.
The opening two minutes certainly showcased the intense pace this game would be played at, with both teams struggling to find their feet in the encounter. It was Nelson-Henry who netted the first points of the game with his jump shot for the visitors, that lead was further extended by Moton who converted the first three points of the evening. Kai Walker, however, hit back with three points of his own to ensure the lead sat at two points.
Nate Robinson then converted an effort of his own from beyond the arc to hand the Breakers the lead for the first time in the clash. Storm, however, scored the fourth successive three pointer of the quarter to retake the lead via Newman. Chris Tawiah drew level, however, thanks to his powerful dunk to net his first points of the clash, Storm, however, retook the lead thanks to Nelson-Henry’s successful free throws.
KJ Johnson would bring the scores back to level pegging, but the Storm would continue the story of the opening quarter and retake the lead seconds later. Adrian Scarborough put his first points on the board in typical Scarborough fashion with a dunk, before Robinson’s lay-up saw the Breakers go ahead by two points.
Moton would net three free throws to swing the lead back in favour of the Storm, but two points from both Robinson and Johnson ensured the lead stayed with the hosts. Freckleton then extended that lead with his three-point jump shot, but some good scoring from Hemel saw them retake the lead by two points with less than a minute left in the opening quarter. Freckleton, however, ensured the lead was in the Breakers’ hands as he scored his second three points of the evening.
The Breakers extended their narrow lead with Walker scoring the first points of the second quarter through, with Robinson adding two points of his own shortly after to give the Breakers a five-point lead. Eze reduced that lead netting one of his two three throws, but Johnson’s lay-up put the lead up to six points. Moton would eat into that advantage with his jump shot, before Johnson hit back to push the lead to seven points. Scarborough was on hand to further increase the gap to nine as he converted back-to-back free throws, however buckets from Newman and Moton pulled the lead to four points.
Newman pulled the lead back to just two points, but Nate Robinson’s three-point effort pushed the Breakers lead back to five points. Robinson continued to keep the Breakers ahead as his jump shot followed Nelson-Henry’s free throw. KJ Johnson reached double figures as he converted two from the line before Robinson put himself on 16 points with his dunk to hand the Breakers an eight point lead.
Moton and Eze hit jump shots in quick succession to immediately bring that advantage down to four points, with KJ Johnson hitting right back. Newman’s dunk somehow missed the mark, with the Breakers going up the other end and netting three points through Freckleton’s jump shot. Storm, however, Ellis hit two free throws to bring the lead down to seven. The final points of the half were scored by Johnson who helped the Breakers take an eight point lead at the break.
The Storm netted the first points of the second half as Ellis’ layup saw the visitors cut into the lead, but Scarborough hit back with a layup of his own to keep the advantage at eight. Robinson and Johnson continued their fine performances as they took themselves to 18 and 16 points respectively to cancel out Disu’s lay-up. Nelson-Henry made sure the lead didn’t get away from Storm as he pulled the gap to eight points, before Eze’s free throw saw the Storm pull to within five. A combination of Scarborough and Johnson saw the Breakers push their gap to nine points, with Chris Tawiah maintaining that advantage following Newman’s jump shot.
Robinson took himself past the 20-point mark with his third three pointer of the evening, restoring an eight point lead in the process. Blayne Freckleton followed shortly after with a three-point effort of his own, scoring his fourth in the process. Moton hit two from the line to bring the lead back to nine, however, Robinson continued his form from beyond the arc as he hit his fourth three pointer.
Ellis’ layup meant the Storm trailed by 10 with just thirty seconds left on the clock, but Chris Tawiah’s late free throw pushed the advantage to 11 as the Breakers led 74-63 with 10-minutes left to play.
Ellis opened the final quarter with his jump shot, before Scarborough’s floating jump shot restored the double-digit advantage. Storm, however, pulled themselves right back into the clash as Nelson-Henry’s three-point play swung the momentum in the favour of the visitors, with Disu making it a five point game with his three point effort. Chris Tawiah hit two successful free throws to put the Breakers up by seven with seven minutes left on the clock.
KJ Johnson increased that lead to nine with his jumpshot, but Storm would hit right back through Disu, but Robinson restored the lead back to nine points. KJ Johnson helped the Breakers take a double-digit lead, with Troy McIndoe further extending the gap. Storm, however, kept themselves in the game and trailed by 11 with four minutes to play.
Moton took to the line and pulled his side to within nine points of the Breakers, but Johnson would do the same to push the lead back to double digits. The advantage was reduced back to single digits following Eze’s three throws, a feat he repeated moments later to bring his side to within seven.
Johnson would once again step to the line and convert two from two ensuring the Breakers took a nine point lead into the final two minutes. Nate Robinson would all but secure victory with his fifth three pointer of the evening, with KJ Johnson converting his tenth and eleventh from the line to bring up a 15-point lead for the Breakers. Eze hit twice from the line to reduce the gap to 13 with a minute left to play, before doing the same to pull his side to within 10. Johnson took himself to thirty points with another two successful attempts from the free throw line, before Scaborough took the Breakers to 100 points as the Breakers secured victory over Hemel Storm for the first time in their history.
Adrian Scarborough (14) joined Johnson and Robinson in double figures. Veron Eze led Hemel with 22 points, he was joined in double figures by Moton (20) Nelson-Henry (14), Ellis (10) and Newman (10).
The KitKing Trophy Final will take place in March, with the exact date and venue still to be confirmed. The Breakers will host the winners of Reading Rockets vs Derby Trailblazers, which is scheduled for Sunday 17th November.
