DEFENDING champions Urban Knights defeated Jamaica Defence Force 70-52 as the 2013 FLOW/Southern Conference National Basketball League (NBL) continued at the National Stadium Courts on Saturday.

Knights were registering their fourth consecutive win in as many games, and together with Spanish Town Spartans, are the only unbeaten teams that have not lost a match so far this season.

The principal scorers for Knights were Astley Marshall with 18 points and three rebounds; Andre Murray 13 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists; Kwame Lawrence 13 points with eight rebounds.

For the soldiers, Feutardo Clarke got eight points, six rebounds and three steals and Raymond Francis with eight points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists. The quarterly scores for the winners were 19-13, 36-27 (half time), 55-41 and 70-52.

In another game, Portmore Mega Flames beat Link-Up All-Stars 73-49 with Kenardo Smith leading the scorers with 17 points, including 12 rebounds. His teammmate Jermain Jacobs had 12 points and four rebounds, while for the losers Aquaie Farquharson 19 points and three steals, Garfield Campbell had 11 points and three assists.

Meanwhile, Spanish Town Spartans defeated Selassie Gardens 69-61 with quarterly scores of 16-10, 31-23 (half time), 50-43 and 69-61 points.

The NBL continues this evening with Majestic Gardens playing Tivoli Wizards at 6:00 pm, while St George’s Slayers go up against St George’s Saints at 7:45 pm.

— GERALD REID