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Sunday was a day of double celebration for Mohawks who recorded two victories in BWB National League including their first Premier Division win of the season. 

Premier Division 

Mohawks went into the Premier Division game against London Titans off the back of two opening defeats, but their first win arrived on their new home court as they beat London Titans 58:52. There was never more than nine points separating the two sides as both teams battled hard for the win with two points the difference at the halfway stage in favour of Mohawks. 

The hosts did extend their lead to nine points in the third quarter, an advantage that was cut to six points by the time the buzzer went at the end of the third period. It was a lead that was halved heading into the final 60 seconds of the match with Titans player-coach Matt Sealy scoring eight points in the final quarter. 

But a lay-up from Lee Fawcett and three successful free-throws from David Ion late on put the game out of reach of the Titans as the clock ticked down towards the buzzer which gave Mohawks their first victory. Liam Fawcett was the game’s top-scorer, scoring 27 points, while Sealy led the scoring for Titans with 15 points.

Division 1 

Spectators watching inside Middlesbrough College or at home on the Mohawks’ live stream had already been treated to another entertaining game as Mohawks 2 took on North Wales Knights in Division 1 North earlier in the afternoon.

Thomas Harvey scored 31 points as Mohawks won 67:52 despite a third quarter fightback from Knights. The team from North Wales were trailing 37:22 at half-time but fought back in the third quarter to reduce their deficit to seven points with it all to play for in the final quarter. 

But Harvey’s 10 points in the final quarter, along with points from Brooke Mottram, Ciaran Carrigan and Brian Russell sealed back-to-back wins for Mohawks. 

In Division 1 South, Aces Wheelchair Basketball also continued their winning start to the season with their second win from their opening two games. After a close opening two quarters, with Aces leading the newly-named Plymouth Fusion by only four points at the half-way stage, Aces began to pull away in the third quarter, ending the quarter with a 12-point lead. 

The final quarter saw Plymouth close the gap to five points as Aces held firm to win 56:51. Jordan Luce and Oscar Knight led the points scoring for each team, scoring 65 points between them with Luce ending the game with 39 points for Aces and Knight 26 points for Plymouth. 

Division 2 

There was only one Division 2 game over the weekend and it saw Blackhawks record their second win in as many games as they beat London Titans 3 53:29 in Division 2 South. 

Macauley Tomlinson was the game’s top-scorer for Blackhawks, scoring 27 points, as the hosts led throughout. 

Division 3 

There was a busier fixture list in Division 3 including two thrilling one-point games at both Leeds and Folkestone. 

Leeds Rhinos were playing their first game of the season as one of the new teams to join Division 3 this season and they certainly made an impression on their return. It was a close game throughout, but it was North East Warriors who had a six point lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

With Leeds Rhinos closing the gap in the final quarter, North East Warriors had a one-point lead as the game entered the final few seconds of the match before Aqeel Zadi Batool scored late on to claim a one-point victory for Leeds Rhinos. 43:42 was the final score with North East Warriors’ Michael Hutchinson top-scoring with 28 points. 

There was also a one-point game in Division 3 South as Folkestone Arrows beat Windsor Monarchs 36:35. Windsor first came within one point of Folkstone with five minutes to go in the final quarter, before Folkestone responded and restored their three-point lead twice including what turned out to be the match-winning points by Rob Whale. 

Windsor captain Sean Cullen did make it a one-point game again to set-up a tense finale, but Windsor couldn’t find another basket to claim the win. 

Folkestone have now won both of their opening games as have Thames Valley Kings 3 in the same division. Their latest victory came against Aces WBC 2 with Kings winning 26:31.

In Division 3 Central, Stoke Spitfires began their season with a 58:13 victory at home to Hereward Heat. Matt Stan scored 24 points to finish as the game’s top-scorer. 

In the North Division, Calderdale WBC also made a winning start to their season beating new Division 3 team Southport WBC 32:56.