Our Game of the Week between Bradford Dragons and Leeds Carnegie was one of the few second round match-ups that was decided by less than a double digit margin.

Leeds got revenge after Bradford's Trophy win earlier this season by eliminating them from the National Cup with a 68-61 victory. Henry Wilkins (195-SG-90) and Dave Ajumobi (193-F-88) combined for 43 Carnegie points in the win.

The big upset in the second round saw Division 3 side Worcester Wolves II defeat Glamorgan Gladiators 87-54.

Despite Gladiators taking an early 22-15 first quarter lead, Worcester stormed back to win the final three periods 62-32 and now await their chance at another upset against Division 1 side Bristol Academy Flyers. Flyers defeated Division 3 team Plymouth Marjon 76-61 in their second round clash.

A 24-8 opening quarter against newly-relegated PAWS London Capital saw NASSA Neptunes cruise comfortably into Round 3 where they await Hemel Storm.

Storm beat Brixton Topcats 87-73 in the second round and their associate head coach Mark Lloyd said, "The game was played at a higher level than our first match against them in the Trophy so this was an important win for us.

"They really got after us defensively but we responded well and executed - especially down the stretch. Although we're still experimenting with line-ups, for the first time we were able to close the game out in the last eight minutes with our key guys on the floor rested and ready to perform," he said.

All other second round games went the way of the upper tier team.

In the games that featured two teams playing each other from the same division, Mansfield Giants beat Killamarsh Derbyshire Arrows 96-86, Worthing Thunder defeated Medway Park Crusaders 87-78 and the red-hot Tees Valley Mohawks beat local rivals Team Northumbria 87-68.

Mohawks head coach Steve Butler was quick to praise his team:

"It's great to get a local win," he said. "Northumbria are a good team and to win here on their court is a great result for us. Jorge Ebanks got a season high 35 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists; he was excellent today but the whole team was. Lee McLaughlin came off the bench and gave us the spark we needed in the second half so I'm really pleased with his effort."

Worthing Thunder coach Daniel Hildreth was also pleased with his team's performance in Kent:

"The whole team played well and I'm proud of everyone involved. We've deserved this win, and it was a great reward for the effort and professionalism they displayed on the court this weekend," said the new coach.

The full list of Men's National Cup second round results are outlined below. The third round schedule will be finalised after the two remaining round 2 games are played on Thursday evening. London Westside host Canary Wharf London Lituanica and Reading Rockets take on Bracknell Cobras in a battle of Berkshire.

2nd Round
Oct 7 2012	Worcester Wolves II	87	v	54	Glamorgan Gladiators
Oct 7 2012	Team Solent	55	v	79	Westminster Warriors
Oct 7 2012	Essex Leopards	20	v	0	Brentwood Fire
Oct 7 2012	Leicester Warriors	75	v	51	Birmingham Mets
Oct 7 2012	Loughborough Students Riders	74	v	58	Birmingham A's
Oct 7 2012	LSBU Brixton Topcats	73	v	87	Hemel Storm
Oct 7 2012	Mansfield Giants	96	v	86	Killamarsh Derbyshire Arrows
Oct 7 2012	Medway Park Crusaders	78	v	87	Worthing Thunder
Oct 7 2012	Newham (NASSA) Neptunes	85	v	50	PAWS London Capitals
Oct 7 2012	Nottingham Hoods	66	v	89	Derby Trailblazers
Oct 7 2012	Manchester Magic	93	v	61	Rossendale Raptors (stats)
Oct 7 2012	Plymouth Marjon	61	v	76	Bristol Academy Flyers
Oct 7 2012	Bradford Dragons	61	v	68	Leeds Carnegie
Oct 7 2012	Team Northumbria	68	v	87	Tees Valley Mohawks

72	66

Bradford Dragons maintained their unbeaten Trophy record with a 72-66 success over Team Northumbria on Saturday.

After the teams split the first 18 points of the contest, Dragons enjoyed an 11-0 run to lead comfortably after one quarter.

Northumbria edged back into the game through the second and third periods and held Bradford to just 12 points in quarter three to tie the game up at 50 heading into the fourth.

An 8-0 run to start the final quarter saw Dragons establish a lead that they would not surrender as Bobby Edmunds (pictured) scored 9 points in the quarter on his way to a team leading 17 for the game.

Jason Washington (183-G, college: William Jessup) was the game's top scorer with 21 and Siman Stewart added 17 for Northumbria, who are now 1-3 in Trophy play.

79	57

Medway Park Crusaders sent Hemel Storm to their first defeat of the season in convincing fashion, winning 79-57 in Kent.

A 15-5 run by Crusaders saw them move in front in the first quarter and they won each of the middle two periods in close fashion to lead 54-44 at the final break. With Storm needing points to get back into the game in the final quarter, they were held scoreless for six minutes as Medway Park stretched the lead into the twenties.

Disraeli Lufadeju (186-G-92) was impressive for Crusaders with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Cole Hobin nearly had a double-double that didn't include points as he had 13 rebounds and 8 assists (and just 3 points). Dru Spinks led Hemel with 12 points.

98	87

Tees Valley Mohawks as good as booked their spot in the kncokout stages of the trophy with a 98-87 win over Worthing Thunder.

Thunder led 22-20 after one quarter, but an 18-5 run in the second put Mohawks on top and they led 50-38 at half-time. The lead fluctuated around the double-digit mark for the rest of the game, ballooning to as many as 17 inside the final 2 minutes before Worthing made a run.

The high scoring trio of David Hansen (26), Jorge Ebanks (21) and Jamie Kohn (18) put in another good show for Tees Valley coach Steve Butler: "We are learning as a team as I am learning as a coach, but we switched off for one minute and a comfortable lead turned into a 7 point game. It just shows you that in this league how important it is to concentrate for the full 40 minutes.

"David Hanson was fantastic tonight for his 26 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds, DJ Glavan made his debut and fitted in well to our system, but we will see a lot more from him over the next couple of weeks. Worthing played well and I'm sure it won't be long until they get their first victory in the pool."

Tomas Seduikis (23) and Joe Carter (21) both topped the twenty-point mark for Thunder, who fall to 0-3 in the Trophy. Thunder coach Daniel Hildreth was enthused by their performance: "This was a much better performance from the guys. This is one of our longest away journeys and it takes a lot out of you as a player, but they were eager and played with a lot of promise. Unfortunately turnovers and unforced errors cost us in the second quarter and that led to the loss, but the first and fourth quarters were excellent especially."

58	66

Reading Rockets picked up their first win of the Trophy campaign with a 66-58 win in Bristol on Saturday evening.

Both teams struggled to score the ball (although Rockets did end up shooting 50% from the floor) and were tied at 47 going into the final quarter.

A 10-3 start to the fourth by Reading, sparked by five points each from Danny Carter and Dean Williams, put them up by 7 and they held hometown Flyers at bay the rest of the way.

Ryan Lohfink top scored for Reading with 18 points, which was matched by Greg Streete of Bristol.

76	57

Leeds Carnegie opened their Trophy account with a 76-57 success over Westminster Warriors on Saturday.

After a tight opening quarter, Leeds opened up a big gap with a 27-14 second quarter and were not threatened the rest of the way, by a Warriors team that is now 0-3.

Robert Marsden had 20 points for Leeds and Dave Ajumobi (193-F-88) added 19.