BCB WEEK 19: MILTON KEYNES BREAK BIRMINGHAM'S UNBEATEN RUN AS TOP FOUR SPREAD THEIR WINGS

City of Birmingham Rockets’ superb winning run came to a heartbreaking end on Saturday, and after Week 19 drew to a close, the gap between the top four continues to increase.

The Newcastle Knights and Aldermore Reading Rockets continue to set the pace, as both sides picked up wins against teams outside of post-season contention.

Key Storylines

• MK Breakers end Birmingham's nine-game winning streak
• Newcastle and Reading match each other again
• London score pivotal win over Worthing, despite 41 from Hopkins

Recap

Jonas Dieterich helped Milton Keynes Breakers (15-4) put the City of Birmingham Rockets (14-5) to the sword as his free throw secured a 79-78 win to end a nine-game unbeaten run for Charles Smith’s side.

Dieterich missed the second free throw but was bailed out by Xavier Wilson, who collected a vital offensive board to make the game safe.

DaShawn Jackson led the winners with 22 points, with Blayne Freckleton chipping in with 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting. Eric Donaldson had a game-high 24 points for Birmingham.

Newcastle Knights (16-3) maintained their good run of form as they ousted the Loughborough Riders (4-15) 109-83.

Sam Trunley had 20 points to lead Newcastle, with Messiah Jones adding 19, as five Knights players scored in double figures. Michael Joiner led all scorers with 33 points and eight rebounds for the Riders.

Aldermore Reading Rockets (16-3) bounced back from last Sunday’s loss to Birmingham with a 90-52 win over Bristol Flyers II (0-20).

Simon Chamberlain and Jax Bouknight both had 19 points apiece for Reading, with the former draining five triples and the latter dishing out six assists. Ebuka Ekwegh had 15 for Bristol.

A strong first half from the London Cavaliers (11-7) propelled them to a 96-89 victory over the Worthing Thunder (10-9) in a key battle for Playoff spots.

Juan Manning and AJ Roberts played all 40 minutes, scoring 27 and 21 points, respectively, with the latter flirting with a triple-double, settling for 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Justin Hopkins led Thunder with a 41-point haul, taking 25 of Thunder’s total 75 field goal attempts.

Yorkshire Dragons (11-9) fought back from a double-digit deficit entering the fourth quarter to beat Essex Rebels (8-11) 84-81.

David Ulph made the game safe with under a minute to play with a score under the basket to secure the win, as the Dragons outscored the Rebels 27-14 in the fourth when they were trailing 67-57 after three periods.

British guard Jordan Whelan led Yorkshire with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Corey Johnson had 22 on 8-for-16 shooting.

The Dragons’ weekend was capped off less than 24 hours later with a 91-75 victory over the Flyers II. Jordan Jefferson led the way with 21 points.

Derby Trailblazers (9-8) continue their mini-resurgence as Jai Pathmarajah starred in their 104-82 success over the Bristol Hurricanes (3-15).

Pathmarajah had 27 points and five assists without any turnovers as Derby took control from the first quarter to seal the win.