A visit from the Derby Trailblazers awaited the surging Rockets on Sunday and, with the playoffs looming, both teams looked to continue their winning ways in a showdown at Rivermead. Derby, who were fourth in the NBLD1 at the tip, posed a real challenge to the Rockets and took them right down to the wire in a heartbreaking defeat by just one point for Reading. Despite a spirited late-game comeback by the Rockets, they fell just short as Derby escaped victorious by 88-87.
The game opened evenly, and the Rockets fought well on the offensive glass to set the tone as Dixon and Lufile both made putbacks inside for the Rockets’ first five points (including an and-one for the big man). Derby’s Malcolm Smith responded by providing his side’s first six points, showing good range and multi-level scoring, but Meshack collected another offensive board and a basket to put the Rockets up once again. A Jaz Bains three soon followed, moving the Rockets to a 10-8 lead midway through the first quarter. The Trailblazers converted a couple of trips to the line but Sam Toluwase threw down a dunk to draw the scores level. The Blazer’s picked up some steam offensively, scoring on three consecutive possessions, but a timely Cartaino three kept the Rockets right on their heels. A brief offensive lull set in with the Rockets down five, with neither team scoring until Sam Toluwase scored inside with three minutes to go. He kicked off a strong scoring spell for both teams, and the Blazers got five quick points including a Blake Bowman and-one. Lufile and Tyler Cartaino closed the quarter strong for the Rockets, the former scoring six inside the final two minutes to tie up the quarter as it ended. Behind Meshack’s 10 points and three offensive rebounds, the Rockets fought back to 27-27 as they headed to the second period.
Derby scored four points to kick off the second quarter, but points proved harder to come by for both sides than they were in the first. Ryan Bruggeman and Smith carried Derby’s offense initially, with a two-point contribution from Jonas Dieterich, as they found their way inside for a number of layups. Lufile scored to break up their run and Jaz Bains pinned the lead back to four with a converted and-one layup off a Lewis Champion assist. Dixon tacked on two more from the line, but a Derby run stretched the lead back out to eight before the Rockets scored again on a Cartaino three. Leighton Elliott-Sewell, who had an extremely efficient night for Derby, scored inside in response before Lufile exchanged buckets with Bruggeman, leaving the Rockets down seven near the end of the quarter. Both teams had opportunities to score the final basket of the period, and the ball travelled up and down the court before it found the ever-reliable hands of Ben Dixon, who scored a layup to close out the quarter down just five points. With Derby leading 47-42 and shooting 54% from the field at halftime, the Rockets were faced with a challenge in the second half. Despite the slender gap, the Rockets had shot just 20% on 15 threes by this point and had kept it close through strong second-chance and interior scoring.
The third quarter commenced with Elliott-Sewell scoring inside again. Cartaino was quick to provide an answer with a two-point jumpshot, and Lufile was soon back at it on the offensive boards as he gathered his own miss and put it in for two. Malcolm Smith converted an and-one to continue his strong performance. Dixon and Bains each scored from deep for the Rockets, hinting at some improved shooting from the first half, but their efforts were quickly cancelled out by back-to-back threes from Derby. Another scoring lull set in, broken this time by Cartaino with a dynamic drive and finish down the lane. Derby responded with a layup of their own before Jaz Bains drained a three to cut the lead to six with the score at 63-57 in Derby’s favour. A putback for Elliott-Sewell added to his tally late in the quarter and, though Ben Dixon responded with a jumpshot for two points, Jonas Dieterich scored from deep to increase Derby’s lead as the fourth quarter approached. Derby had the ball to end the quarter and Elliott-Sewell set himself to shoot a mid-range shot, but Cartaino swatted the shot at the buzzer to keep the lead at just 10 and to hand Elliott-Sewell one of his mere two missed field goals in the game. With the team buoyed by Cartaino’s defensive heroics, they headed to the fourth period fired up and ready to close the gap.
The flickers of shooting the Rockets had produced so far began to come together in the fourth, and Ben Dixon splashed a three to kick off the quarter. Dixon then forced a turnover to send the Rockets back for another score, this time through Meshack Lufile. After some scrappy play, with both teams forcing turnovers and punctuated by a Meshack block, the big man collected another offensive rebound and kicked it out to Cartaino, who sank a shot from distance to cut the lead down to three. Derby scored inside soon after, but Jaz Bains received an assist from Cartaino and shaved the lead down to two with a three of his own. Tyler Cartaino was doing it all for the Rockets late in the game, and Jaz Bains returned the favour by assisting a Cartaino dunk which tied the game at 72 points apiece. Not content with just assisting each other, Cartaino even grabbed an offensive rebound off a Jaz Bains miss and scored the putback for his next two points.
The Trailblazers, rocked by Reading’s aggressive offense and desperate for some momentum, set up Dieterich for another three and he connected from range to give Derby back the lead. Cartaino hit a midrange shot to reclaim the Rockets’ advantage and the quarter became a shootout, with both sides trading baskets and the lead through Elliott-Sewell’s layup and then through Sam T, who threw down another dunk to put the Rockets in front again. Dieterich scored next, but Sam T was there to protect the Rockets’ slim lead with a layup thanks to Meshack’s assist. Malcolm Smith, a consistent source of offense for the Blazers, was next to score inside but the one-point advantage he earned was quickly erased when Cartaino made a technical free throw after a foul called on Elliott-Sewell. Toluwase continued his clutch play with another slam which put the Rockets up two, but Bruggeman connected from deep to snatch the lead back for Derby with the scores at 84-83. A free throw shooting competition ensued in the last 90 seconds, with Sam T sent to the line to shoot and score a pair. Derby’s Blake Bowman was put at the line next time down the floor and he also connected on both, maintaining the one-point gap with under a minute left. The Rockets advanced the ball and were fouled again, this time on Jaz Bains.
With the tension building and the game on the line, Jaz scored both to put the Rockets back in front with 40 seconds left. With both teams continuing to foul, Bowman was sent back to the line for another pair. This time, the pressure was simply too great and Bowman missed on both, handing the Rockets a great opportunity after another foul on Bains. Back at the line with a chance to increase the lead to three, the Rockets failed to convert their final pair of free throws and Derby set off with the rebound down just one point. The clock ticked down until just seven seconds remained. Malcolm Smith received the ball from Bowman and put up a layup for the Blazers which fell through the hoop for an 88-87 lead. With just enough time on the clock for a final play, the Rockets took a time out and set up Lewis Champion for a three to win to game, but it wouldn’t fall.
Despite a gutsy comeback in front of a brilliant crowd at Rivermead, the Rockets fell just short right at the death in one of their most entertaining fixtures this season. Lufile’s dominant first quarter and six total offensive rebounds drove the offense while Reading’s shooters got themselves warmed up and Cartaino came alive in the fourth to power the teams’ comeback with ten of his 22 points in the last period. Ben Dixon provided key buckets for the team throughout and Sam Toluwase came up big late in the game, shooting 5/6 from the field and giving the Rockets a key boost off the bench. The Blazers played well throughout, and the efficient scoring trio of Elliot-Sewell, Dieterich and Smith gave them great production and a ten-assist performance by Bruggeman ensured that all their starters hit double-digit scoring. Though disappointing to fall just one point short, this comeback against a top-4 team in the league is a reminder of just how dangerous the Rockets can be come playoff time. With two home games left before the postseason, be sure to get to Rivermead and catch the Rockets live as they wrap up their season!