LANCASHIRE Spinners clinched the top-seed in the National Trophy north pool following its narrow win over Bradford Dragons on Saturday, writes Allen Gunn.

Former Great Britain forward Nick George scored 19 points and the Bury-based basketball club survived a late surge to defeat Bradford 101-98 in a frenzied contest on the road.

Spinners held a 95-84 lead with less than five minutes remaining but an 11-0 Bradford run levelled the score 1:26 on the clock. George ended a near four-minute scoring drought with a slam-dunk with 71 seconds left.

Teenagers Alex Roberts and Kyle Carey each hit a pair of free throws in the final minute giving Spinners (7-1) a three-point cushion while Bradford (3-3) was unable to force overtime.

“Yeah, we gave up a lot of points but we got the win and that’s the main thing,” said Lancashire head coach Neal Hopkins.

“Kyle [Carey] came in and gave us the pump we needed in the second half after some great performances in the first half from George Darling and Steve Vaughan.”

For the second-straight game, Spinners’ opposition recorded 90-plus points but Lancashire countered with six players in double-figures scoring and 51 per cent shooting while the bench contributed 58 points.

But they allowed Bradford to shoot 61 per cent from inside the arc in a game that saw 11 lead changes – six of which came after halftime – and 11 ties.

Lancashire fell behind 11-4 early as Bradford capitalised on three Spinners turnovers but the visitors recovered and only trailed 26-23 after the opening quarter.

Four-straight points from George Darling and another pair of field goals from Steven Vaughan helped keep pace with Bradford’s up-tempo offence while a Mark Rangeley three tied the game at 38 four minutes before the break.

The Dragons led 49-47 at halftime but Lancashire 35 points in the third gave Spinners an 82-70 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Alex Roberts hit a long two-pointer to begin the fourth period, which gave Spinners its largest lead of 14-points.

Carey, who scored 11 of his 15 points after the break, hit a pair of free throws with 7.6 seconds to give Spinners a 101-98 lead.

“The away support gave me the confidence to make those shots,” said the 18-year-old small forward. “When we’re at home we’re unbeatable and tonight really felt like a home game.”

Bradford’s Henri Bongo scored a game-high 24 points and seven assists while Nick Moore added 22 in a third-straight loss in front of what was a pro-Spinners crowd.

Spinners close out National Trophy pool play on the road against Tees Valley Mohawks on Saturday before returning to Castle Leisure Centre on October 24.