Plymouth Raiders stayed ahead of Lions in second after going blow-for-blow with Bristol Flyers in a tetchy south-west derby, once again showing their resilience to come back from a second half deficit to win 74-65.
GB international Ashley Hamilton came from the bench to lead all scorers with 21 points, with 11 of those coming in a fourth quarter that Plymouth won 23-10.
They headed into those final ten minutes trailing, until Hamilton hit a three-pointer as part of a 7-0 burst that put them 60-59 in front. The game would be tied again, but Raiders – the league’s best defence – didn’t allow their rivals a field goal in the final five minutes in a 12-3 finish that was ended by an emphatic Hamilton dunk, with Elvisi Dusha and Mike Morsell also hitting decisive three-pointers.
It’s a ninth straight league win for Plymouth, dating back to mid-February.