READING ROCKETS earned victory in their final match at the Rivermead Leisure Centre by scoring 101 points against Team Newcastle University.
A Mothers-Day matchup with Team Newcastle University awaited the Rockets on Sunday afternoon in what would be the Rockets’ final game at Rivermead after 25 years of fixtures there.
With the Rockets already poised to face the first-seed Team Solent Kestrels in the playoffs, this matchup offered Reading a chance to continue their strong form and build momentum ahead of the postseason – a chance that they took with style, putting on a great show in front of a lively Rivermead crowd and earning a commanding 101-82 victory.
Sam Toluwase rekindled the offense with a powerful slam after receiving the ball in the dunker’s spot and scored again soon after, absorbing a lot of contact down low to score and earn an and-one which put Reading ahead 11-10.
Toluwase concluded a personal eight-point run with a three after Newcastle’s Moya scored one of his own and the Rockets returned to the paint for their next score as their patient passing opened up a drive and assist for Pinnock to Lufile.
Meshack scored off an offensive board on the next play and then pivoted inside for a layup soon after, briefly earning the Rockets the lead before Moya struck from deep again to close out the quarter 21-20 to Newcastle.
Newcastle were kept out of the paint thanks to great communication and effort from Reis Pinnock in particular, who followed up an early Cartaino three with a brilliant stop on Moya. J
az Bains jumped the passing lane for a steal and layup before Meshack added one of his many highlight plays, coming across the lane and powerfully rejecting a Newcastle layup. Cartaino continued to add points, capping a 10-0 run for Reading with a smooth jumpshot.
Moya finally broke down the defense to open up a corner three for Cork, but Newcastle struggled to turn the tide against the Rockets as the quarter wore on.
The Rockets continued to get stops and punished Newcastle in transition while Meshack dominated the paint on both ends. Cartaino, with a few tough makes under his belt, showed off his handle and scored a long two-pointer.
The score ballooned to 59-48, with both teams passing well and another highlight dunk courtesy of Tyler Cartaino’s clever backdoor cut and slam.
Cartaino added another offensive rebound and found Jaz Bains who scythed through the lane for a layup, but Newcastle would soon ramp up their scoring again.
Federici and Moya both broke out moments of excellent guard play, scoring in the flow of the offense but also finding some success in isolation and inside scores from Toluwase and Cartaino weren’t enough to hold off a sudden flurry of Newcastle threes.
Meshack and Pinnock continued to work on the offensive boards and earned easy points by getting to the free throw line for an 81-72 lead.
Yet another thrilling dunk by Cartaino, assisted by Meshack, continued the Rockets’ strong inside scoring and Newcastle’s lack of authority in the paint proved fatal in the fourth. Jaz Bains and Meshack both scored inside through cuts to the basket and free throws and the Rockets went into the final three minutes with a 14-point advantage.
The Rockets didn’t let up, however, and capped off a dominant display with a pair of Toluwase dunks in the dying minutes. Reis Pinnock got himself one last layup with the last play, earning himself a triple-double and pushing the Rockets to triple-digit scoring to give Rivermead a memorable send-off and a 101-82 victory.
