FOR a second-straight game Steven Gayle provided a spark off the bench as Lancashire Spinners ended second-placed Derby Trailblazers’ unbeaten run in Division One of the National League on Saturday.

The veteran guard scored 18 points as he converted six of 13 shots – including three from six from beyond the arc – as the Spinners closed out a 96-92 victory to move up to seventh place in the table.

“It’s about bringing that energy off the bench and it seems to be working,” said Gayle, who had started in all 16 of his appearances for the Spinners this season prior to the trip to Bradford on December 5.

In previous defeats against Manchester Magic and Hemel Storm he shot a combined seven-of-34 from the field – a 20.6 per cent success ratio – but has found his range over the last two games.

With Lancashire trailing for the first time since the opening quarter, Gayle hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1mins 45secs left. The basket sparked an 8-2 run, which Derby could not recover from.

“Stopping Lancashire from scoring was the main issue,” said the Trailblazers coach Matt Shaw.

“Mike [Bernard] and Steve came through with the big plays in the last five minutes.”

Bernard scored a team-high 24 points while Andre Gayle had nine, as well as three crucial rebounds on his return to the team from suspension.

The Spinners held an advantage after every quarter, including their first half-time lead since November 7, when they defeated Worthing Thunder.

Though a 78-68 fourth-quarter lead was whittled down to a point following a 9-0 Derby run over a two-minute stretch.

Failing to overtake Lancashire on their first two attempts, Derby (13-7, NBL1 7-1) climbed in front 87-86 after 1:56 of the final quarter.

The Spinners then scored five unanswered points before a timely triple from Mark Rangeley, who scored 12 points, sealed the victory.

“We needed to back up last week’s performance,” said Spinners head coach Neal Hopkins.

David Watts recorded a game-high 31 points for the Trailblazers, including four triples, and Sidney Donaldson and Dan Watts combined for 43 in the loss.

Lancashire do not play again until January 9, when they host Leicester Warriors at Castle Leisure Centre in Bury, tip-off 5.45pm.

They then welcome Reading Rockets for the quarter-finals of the National Trophy in their second match of the new year.