By Jamie King
In their third meeting of the season, the Rockets traveled to Loughborough to take on the Riders in an NBL D1 matchup. 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, their dominant shooting display earned them an insurmountable lead early on which they rode to victory.
The Riders started well, earning four points after a turnover gave them back to back scores to open the contest. 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. A brief scoring slump subsided when Pinnock splashed a three, waking up the Rockets’ offense as Lufile, Toluwase and Dixon all got on the board soon after. 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 eurostepping his defender and dishing the ball to Meshack who converted from the dunkers spot. Jaz 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. The Riders worked their way back into the quarter with a couple of defensive stops either side of a Harrison Gamble layup, but their inconsistency around the hoop limited their ability to stage a comeback even while the Rockets’ offense stalled at the midpoint of the quarter. Coach Pearson called a timeout with four minutes to go, hoping to reignite the Rockets’ early scoring streak. Evan Walshe had other ideas, converting a tough floater out of the timeout and a three on the next play which was chalked off due to an offensive foul by the Riders. Their defense remained problematic for Coach Dixon’s squad with a couple of 24 second violations troubling the Rockets, but Lufile asserted himself with a strong baseline dunk to end the Rockets’ slump late in the quarter. 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. Two more long bombs followed, first by the Riders courtesy of Justin Hedley and then by Champion yet again, who pulled up from way downtown on the break. Frustration was evident amongst the Riders as things got a bit chippy after a contentious foul, but Jaz Bains left them with little time to complain as he made a three of his own, spurring the Rockets on to a 21-point lead. Pinnock and Jaz Bains were utterly relentless, each making yet more threes after a contentious foul was called against Pinnock as he made an athletic block attempt. The Rockets’ fire, after seeming to fade in the second period, was back in earnest for the third and they broke 60 points before the midway point of the third. The Riders struggled to retain the ball but had moments of success defensively, forcing a turnover with a full court press and earning Klodian Muca a layup. Just as in the first half, however, their moments of success were far outweighed by Reading’s periods of dominance and, even after Milo Gordon splashed a corner three, the Rockets were left with a comfortable lead of 66-43. The Rockets were comfortable generating points by any means necessary, leaning on Lufile’s dominant offensive rebounding to keep the scoreboard ticking over during the brief interludes between Reading’s incredible shooting stretches and applying pressure from all over the court. The Riders generated some good looks, but they simply couldn’t produce points often enough to hang with the Rockets. Layups from Isaac Round and Meshack saw the period end 72-43, with the win all but ensured for the Rockets.
The fourth quarter passed without any dramatic shifts in momentum, as the Rockets worked their way towards a triple-digit score and the Riders attempted to make the scoreline a touch more flattering. 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. The Riders scored well in the opening exchanges of the quarter but were denied any hope by the Rockets who maintained and even extended their lead. 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 – agonisingly just one more three-pointer short of triple digits. The Rockets looked superb in a performance that showcased the very best that the squad has to offer. Jaz Bains, Lewis Champion and Reis Pinnock provided light-out shooting, tallying an incredible 5 threes each and going 15/23 from downtown as a unit. Lufile gathered five offensive boards and put up 18 points in the victory, and Coach Pearson benefitted from great production from Ben Dixon and Isaac Round off the bench too. Toluwase brought his trademark hustle and was crucial defensively, picking up just one foul despite tallying a block and a steal. Every player scored in a balanced performance on both ends, filled with great ball-movement and stellar individual play in equal measure, and the Rockets can certainly look forward to their upcoming fixtures with confidence after such a dominant display.