LANCASHIRE Spinners advanced to the semi-finals of the EBL Division Two playoffs, defeating Brixton Topcats 85-80 in a nip and tuck game, writes Allen Gunn.

The Bury-based basketball club were pushed by the seventh-seeded Topcats in a contest that changed hands nine times in the second half and although the visitors drew level three times, they never led once Spinners went ahead 64-63 with just over eight minutes remaining in the final quarter.

Carried by Josh Houghton’s 26 points, Lancashire had four other players finish in double figures, including 69 points from the starting five – Mark Rangeley added 16 points off the bench.

Earlier in the day, Ipswich won 97-80 over Derbyshire Arrows to earn an opportunity to travel to the second-seeded Spinners’ home court in a semifinal matchup on April 11.

Houghton said, “The playoffs are always going to be tough – Brixton are a tough team to play against. They’re high intensity. You’ve just got to go at them as hard as they’re coming at you.”

The shooting guard knocked down two important free throws with 19 seconds remaining to give Spinners an 83-80 advantage before Brixton Topcats came up empty on their final possession.

Topcats’ Luke Baker, who scored a team-high 16 points, missed an open look to tie the game and a second effort by a teammate was blocked by Andre Gayle.

Spinners held the largest advantage of the game at 11 points during the second period but a 14-4 Brixton run clawed it back to a single point and a layup at the buzzer nudged Topcats in front 44-43 at the break.

After allowing 34 opening quarter points, Brixton knuckled down defensively limiting Lancashire to 26 over the next 20 minutes but were never able to control the game fully and their largest lead never grew beyond four points as Spinners matched each run.