Storm suffer disappointing start to new year

Hemel Storm fell to a 68-86 defeat at the hands of Milton Keynes Breakers in their first game of the new year. 

It was a tight opening quarter at the StormDome, but the guests pulled away in the second and third, clinching a comfortable victory in the first local derby of the BCB League season. 

Brayden Inger had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Matt Norman had 15 as he desperately tried to heave his side back into the contest. 

Taylor Johnson also had 16 but Storm’s offence failed to consistently break down the Breakers, with a tally of 68 their lowest of the season so far. 

They could not stem the flow at the other end either, with MK’s squad depth coming to the fore as five men registered double digits, including former Storm man Blayne Freckleton. 

A scrappy first period, with some Christmas rust evident on both sides, ended with the Breakers 19-18 ahead. 

But then the guests really caught fire, with three consecutive threes from Freckleton making up part of an 18-2 run that took them 16 points into the ascendancy. 

Storm eventually responded, Norman connecting with a pair of long-range efforts himself, but as the half-time buzzer sounded, they still trailed 38-47. 

Storm failed to muster a threatening run in the third quarter and saw the game slip further out of their grasp, despite five unanswered points from new man Mergim Sokoli. 

The score sat at 52-69 at the final break, and the hosts briefly hinted at a comeback at the beginning of the fourth quarter, as Norman, Inger and Sam Newman combined to reduce the arrears to single digits with four minutes on the clock. 

But an 11-0 Breakers run dispelled any doubts and Storm were condemned to their eighth league loss the season. 

They are at home again next Saturday as they take on the London Cavaliers. Tickets for that are available to buy on the Fanbase app. 

Written by Callum Humphrey