Going into the fixture, Dragons (7 wins, 1 loss) had the opportunity to steal first place from Bucs (8 wins, 1 loss) and go top of the table with one game remaining. In their first encounter Dragons came away with a thrilling 1-point win. Their only loss of the season was at the hands of 16/17 League Champions, Bridgwater Baltics.

It was not to be however, as Bucs put on well-rounded performance to clinch the title, their sixth since 2010. The result now gives third place Culm Valley Comets an opportunity to move up to second if they can defeat Dragons in the final game of the season.

Both teams started the game well, neither having trouble finding the bottom of the net. Player coach Jack Roberts got the scoring started for Bucs with a 3 pointer followed by three consecutive field goals by Mark Schroeder.

Dragons scoring in the first quarter came mainly from Lukasz Sokolowski with 8 points in the period. Thiago Botelho contributed 4 of his 18 points for the home side and three pointers from Matt Robins (Captain) and J. Celeste kept the score line close. The quarter ended Dragons 20 – 24 Bucs.

Bucs improved their defence in the second and third quarter, limiting Dragons to just 24 points coming mainly from Botelho and Sokolowski scoring around the basket and at the free-throw line.

Jack Roberts continued to lead the way for Bucs, scoring 8 of his 12 points in the second quarter. Phil Rogers and Igors Kuznecovs both contributed 3 pointers, and then in the third Tad Ulinas took over, scoring 13 points with his trademark moves around the basket.

Thanks to strong defence and clinical shot making Bucs held a commanding lead (42 – 64) heading into the fourth quarter. Dragons refused to lie down though and fought hard to reduce the lead having their best period of the game, 25 – 17.

The match finished Taunton Dragons 67 – 81 Bridgwater Bucs. Sokolowski led all scorers with a game-high 26 points, including 14 from the free-throw line. Botelho and Robins finished with 18 and 9 respectively. Top scorers for Bucs were Kuznecovs with 21 (including 3 three-pointers), Ulinas with 17 and Schroeder with 16.