A dominant shooting display saw Reading Rockets earn a win in their third meeting of the season with Loughborough Riders.
With Loughborough struggling for form but the Rockets missing their leading scorer in Tyler Cartaino, the match was primed to be a competitive affair but, fortunately for the Rockets, they earned an insurmountable lead early on which they rode to victory.
Reis Pinnock’s layup put two on the board for the Rockets, but Loughborough’s Evan Walshe made two threes in quick succession to stretch the lead to eight at 10-2. Head Coach Dan Pearson took an immediate time-out resulting in major change.
Another three courtesy of Pinnock saw the Rockets go up 13-12 after a slow start, Pinnock duelling with Walshe who had 10 of his own in the first quarter.
The Rockets moved the ball well and made some key stops as the quarter wore on, earning a Lewis Champion three after a clever kickout by Meshack Lufile who was then called on to close out the quarter with a buzzer-beating inbounds lob which he finished softly at the rim.
Up 22-16 entering the second, the Rockets showed no signs of slowing down. Pinnock continued to use his athleticism to break down Loughborough’s defense, earning free throws to start the period and tacking on another three for good measure.
Jaz Bains, who had showed off his active hands with an impressive strip and save in the first quarter, continued to disrupt the Riders in the open court with a steal at half court which he took to the lane, neatly euro-stepping his defender and dishing the ball to Meshack who converted from the dunkers spot.
Bains knocked down another three off of more solid passing play by the Rockets, extending the lead to 32-16 only three minutes into the period.
Champion spotted up from three and drained a deep one to reclaim some momentum and had a second soon after thanks to a superb offensive board by Pinnock.
Jan Bielak made a three for the Riders off an inbounds before Pinnock closed the quarter with a tough layup going left across the lane. The Rockets’ late run ensured that the half ended 44-27, with the Riders’ offense unable to close the gap despite solid defense at points in the quarter.
Champion continued his hot shooting at the top of third, splashing one form the left wing in response to Loughborough’s fastbreak layup which opened the quarter.
Layups from Isaac Round and Meshack saw the period end 72-43, with the win all but ensured for the Rockets.
Bains and Pinnock, who formed a devastating backcourt partnership this game, each tallied yet another triple during the period to push up the Rockets’ score and they were joined in their deep-ball efforts by
Ben Dixon and Isaac Round who also produced one apiece.
Ronnie Oguekwe and Live Kivuvu each scored in the closing minutes, capping a strong showing from the entire roster and seeing off the Riders 97-59 – agonizingly just one more three-pointer short of triple digits.
By Jamie King
