Manchester Basketball beat Caledonia Gladiators 101-78 in the Super League Basketball Championship.

Jordan Johnson and Zak Irvin were the stars of Manchester's victory, leading the team with 16 points each. Irvin was particularly impressive, achieving this tally in just 15 minutes of action. He went 8-10 from the field and grabbed 5 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Johnson continued his strong run of form, dishing out 6 assists off the bench. Max Jones scored 15 points, and Matt Nicholson was dominant on the boards, grabbing 10 on the night.

Caledonia had no answer for Manchester’s physicality as the hosts scored 64 of their 101 points in the paint. They also won the bench battle 42-17, flexing their strength in depth throughout the 40 minutes of action.

This was a complete performance on both ends. Manchester had 11 steals and 6 blocks on the night, led by three rejections from Nicholson, who owned the paint.

Manchester bolted out the gates in this wire-to-wire win. They won the first quarter 29-13, taking a commanding position throughout, leading by as many as 36 points.

A 6-0 run from Irvin to end the half made it 56-32 at the break, and a 6-2 run to start the second half ended any semblance of a Gladiators comeback.

The victory made it a 2-0 week for Manchester after beating London Lions midweek, as they are rounding into red-hot mid-season form ahead of their SLB Cup Final against the Lions in Manchester later in the month. Their Championship record is now 13-10.

Next for the team in the SLB is a trip to the South West, as Manchester take on the Bristol Flyers on Friday, March 13, at 7:30 pm.

But before then, their European North Basketball League playoffs begins, as Croatian side Dubrava come to the National Basketball Performance Centre.

The game will be played on Tuesday, March 10, at 7pm. You can get your tickets here!


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