Flyers edge Riders whilst Trailblazers stun Scorchers

BBL Trophy, First Round
Bristol Flyers 71-68 Leicester Riders (16-10, 38-34, 59-44)
(Flyers – Thomas-Edwards 18, Evans 17, Jacob 12; Riders – Whelan 16, Walker 12, Nelson-Henry 11)

BBL Trophy, First Round
Surrey Scorchers 93-98 Derby Trailblazers (27-32, 44-60, 62-78)
(Scorchers – Hamrick 28, Mclemore 17, Davis Jr 15; Trailblazers – Smith 36, Bowman 25, Dieterich 15)

BBL Trophy, First Round
Glen Luss Glasgow Rocks 91-82 Solent Kestrels (22-15, 47-37, 61-51)
(Rocks – Fraser 26, Bunyan 16, Hillsman 16; Kestrels – Gentry 17, Jackman 13, Sentence 13)

The 2021-22 BBL Trophy kicked off with a bang in a night that saw cup upsets and one of the early favourites knocked out in Friday’s Trophy opener.

Bristol Flyers knocked out BBL Cup finalists Leicester Riders in an excellent performance, whilst Surrey Scorchers were stunned by Derby Trailblazers and Glasgow Rocks overcame Solent Kestrels.

In the night’s only all-BBL clash, the Flyers came up against a Leicester Riders side fresh off the bounce of securing their place in the BBL Cup final later in the month. The Riders would fall at the first hurdle in the trophy as the Flyers put in an excellent display to progress to the next round.

Bristol held the Riders to only 10 points in both the first and third quarters, with the latter period putting the Flyers in a commanding position as they pulled out to a 15-point lead with only 10 minutes remaining.

The defending league champions fought back with a vengeance to come within a score of Bristol with seconds remaining, however the Flyers held on to earn a well-deserved victory.

Raphell Thomas-Edwards led all scorers with 18 points for Bristol whilst Marcus Evans stuffed the stat line with 17 points, six rebounds and five assits.

Surrey Sports Park played host to an early Trophy shock as NBL D1 side Derby Trailblazers stunned Surrey Scorchers in an incredible offensive display.

The Trailblazers erupted for 60 first half points and were led by the mightly impressive duo of Malcolm Smith and Blake Bowman to take a commanding lead into halftime. The final period again threatened a comeback from the Scorchers however the Trailblazers held on for a famous victory.

Smith led all scorers with 36 points and 12 rebounds in a monster performance, whilst Bowman ended the ballgame with 25 points of his own.

The evening’s final game saw Glasgow Rocks overcome NBL side Solent Kestrels, in another tie that saw a D1 side more than hold their own against a BBL side.

The Rocks started the game strongly and threatened to run away with the tie after a 22-15 first period, however the Kestrels found their footing on the offensive end and outscored the Rocks in the second half as Glasgow set up a second-round tie with either fellow D1 sides Thames Valley or Hemel.

Ali Fraser led all scorers with 26 points and seven rebounds whilst Cole Gentry led the Kestrels with 17 points