Manchester Basketball fell 83-80 to the Bristol Flyers in the Super League Basketball Championship.

Jordan Johnson led Manchester off the bench, putting up 24 points and 5 assists. He went 10-18 from the field in a hard-fought home loss.

Tim Adetukasi had 14 points and 4 rebounds. Meanwhile, DJ Mitchell and Pjay Smith both scored 11 points.

Manchester came into this matchup off the back of another tight encounter with the Newcastle Eagles, but while they were able to win that matchup on the road, they couldn’t see this one out against the Flyers.

This was a closely fought game for 40 minutes, with neither side holding a double-digit lead for the entire game. But it was Bristol who made just enough plays down the stretch to take the win.

It was a two-point game entering the fourth, and the scoreline swung dramatically back and forth during the final stanza. The biggest lead of the period was just five points, which Bristol held with seven minutes remaining.

Manchester did take a late lead thanks to Adetukasi's three. That made it 74-71 with 4:45 left. But the Flyers battled back to edge ahead in the closing minutes.

Down two, Manchester had a number of possessions in the final minute to tie it, but couldn’t find the bottom of the bucket. Then, after a Cameron Christon free throw, only a three would do.

That shot fell to Mitchell, who couldn’t get it to go, and Manchester fell in a closely fought affair.

The loss means Manchester’s record is now 17-12 in the SLB Championship.

Next, Manchester play Leicester Riders on the road on Friday, April 17, at 7:30 pm.

They return to the National Basketball Performance Centre on Sunday, April 19, at 3:00 pm to host the London Lions.

You can get your tickets here!