Reading Rockets 76, Hemel Storm 99
Saturday 7 November 2026, Loddon Valley, attendance 550
A sold-out Loddon Valley crowd saw Hemel Storm win 99-76 on Saturday night. The Rockets battled throughout and won the third quarter, but a hot-shooting Hemel side built a second-quarter lead that proved too big to close.
First half
The Rockets started brightly and led 5-3 early on, but Hemel answered quickly. Former Rocket Victor Olarerin was in fine form against his old club, and the visitors led 26-20 after the first quarter. Hemel’s best quarter came in the second. They scored 33 points to lead 59-39 at half-time, with Olarerin already on 21.
Second half
The Rockets came out with real energy after the break. The home side won the third quarter 19-14, cutting the gap to 15. Hemel responded with 26 in the fourth to close out the game 99-76.
Key stats
The Rockets shot 52% from the field (29-of-55) and made 7 of 18 threes. They shared the ball well, with 24 assists, and scored 42 points in the paint and 16 on the fast break.
The difference was turnovers and shooting. The Rockets turned the ball over 21 times, compared with Hemel’s 15, and Hemel scored 19 points off those turnovers. Hemel shot 58% from the field, 45% from three (11 from 24) and 90% from the line (10 from 11), while the Rockets made 11 from 18.
Player of the game
Jaxon Nap led the way with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, a double-double in almost 36 minutes. Jaylen Curry added 13 points, including 3 threes, with 2 blocks. Live Kivuvu was perfect from the field, 5-for-5, for 11 points. Yusef Salih and Ramiah Adedigba added 9 each.
For Hemel, Victor Olarerin scored 23, Jabari Nurse had 18 points and 7 steals, and Sam Newman had 13 assists.
Quarter by quarter
Rockets 20, 19, 19, 18 (76)
Hemel 26, 33, 14, 26 (99)
Rockets scoring
Jaxon Nap 22 (10 reb, 7 ast)
Jaylen Curry 13 (4 reb, 2 blk)
Live Kivuvu 11
Yusef Salih 9
Ramiah Adedigba 9 (4 ast, 2 stl)
Toby Holmes 6 (4 ast)
Mo Walker 4
Ethan Harrington 2
Jax Bouknight 0 (3 ast)
Joe MacKinnon 0
Ethan Ojo 0
Team stats (Rockets v Hemel)
Field goals 29/55 (52%) v 39/67 (58%)
Threes 7/18 (38%) v 11/24 (45%)
Free throws 11/18 (61%) v 10/11 (90%)
Rebounds 27 v 30
Assists 24 v 25
Turnovers 21 v 15
Steals 8 v 14
Points in the paint 42 v 54
Bench points 28 v 28
What’s next
Thank you to everyone who filled Loddon Valley again. The Rockets are back in action on Saturday 21 November against Gloucester in the BCB Trophy, tip-off at 7:30 pm.
