Reading Rockets fall agonisingly short to Nottingham Hoods after 16 point comeback falls short

A Seth Hall mid range jumper at the buzzer claimed the Nottingham Hoods a 83-81 victory in a game that could have been a blowout, if not for a 16 point fourth quarter comeback by a spirited Rockets team.

Jermiah Jenkins led the Rockets with 21 points, Troy Cracknell added 18 and Fin Porter provided a spark off the bench with 17 points on 66% shooting.

Josh Guddemi led the Hoods with 22 points on an efficient 58% shooting with Seth Hall and Eddy Brownell adding 21 points each, combining for 64 of Nottingham’s 83 points, including the trio hitting 11 threes.

Jordan Jackson won an uncontested tip to start the game as the Hoods backed into a two-three zone defense which the Rockets managed to exploit on the opening possession with Cracknell throwing it to Jackson in the post who gave it back to a driving Cracknell for the opening points.

However any positivity was immediately shredded by a contested Guddemi three which started a 21-4 Hoods run in the first five minutes of the game, including a deep Seth Hall three that stunned the Rockets early on.

Similar to the game against the Hemel Storm, live ball turnovers were a problem for the Rockets with sloppy ball handling and passing. In that 21-4 run, there was a span of 48 seconds with three turnovers by the Rockets.

Cracknell, Jenkins and Porter were able to break the cold shooting streak, and by holding the Hoods to just four points in the final three and a half minutes, the Rockets were able to bring the game to only a 25-13 deficit at the end of the first.

The second quarter was more evenly matched, with both teams trading buckets. Jordan Jackson, who had a quiet game, got his first bucket with three minutes to go in the second to bring it to within 11 but a 7-2 run by the Hoods to end the quarter meant the Rockets went into the half down 16.

The two teams once again traded buckets to start the third and it was frustrating the Rockets. The frustration was shown in a possession three minutes into the quarter where Cracknell and Porter had three goes at a layup, but just couldn’t get it to go.

Lewis Champion brought the game within nine with a layup and the foul, but once again the Hoods responded with a couple threes to go into the final quarter up 13.

Hoods went back to the zone they started with the game with and it worked to begin with, forcing a missed three by Reis Pinnock and Guddemi went up the other end and hit a tough three, upping the lead to 16 and forcing a Rockets timeout.

This is when the Rockets launched into life. A lovely up and under move by Jenkins after two Pinnock free throws brought the lead down to 12. The Rockets then forced an offensive foul and then Pinnock drew a foul on the other end to hit two free throws. The Rockets then forced a turnover and Porter drove it inside to bring it to eight, the lowest it had been since the start.

A 15-6 run by the Rockets was capped off by a Lewis Champion three to raise the roof off the Loddon Valley Arena as the Rockets, down 16 just seven minutes ago, took their first lead of the game.

Guddemi and Jenkins traded buckets for the final two minutes as the Hoods led by two with 16 seconds to go. The inbound went to Jenkins, who drove it right, into the lane and, despite his small stature, jumped the highest and nailed a fall away jumper with just nine seconds left to have the Rockets up by one.

Hall took the inbound for the Hoods, drove the length of the court. Like Jenkins, he drove into the right hand side of the lane and chucked up a fadeaway jumper. The buzzer sounded as the Rockets fandom held their breath, the ball bounced off the backboard and went in. Hall was mobbed by his team while the Rockets players stood there in disbelief. A spirited and improbable comeback, stopped agonisingly short.

Report by Charlie Parker