By Jamie King
Reading Rockets 97 v 102 Thames Valley Cavaliers
Sunday afternoon saw the Rockets travel to Uxbridge, where they would play out the second game of their weekend back-to-back against Thames Valley Cavaliers. After a strong showing in Saturday’s victory over the Cavaliers at JMA, the Rockets were primed for a challenge on the road and Thames Valley delivered. In a high-octane showdown which almost saw both teams crack 100 points, the Rockets fell just short after trading blows with Thames Valley in a thrilling forty minutes of basketball which ended 102-97 to the Cavaliers.
The first quarter opened with free throws for Tyler Cartaino who put two on the board for the Rockets early. Hakeem Sylla was quick to respond for Thames Valley, and he put up six straight to lead them in the opening minutes while the Rockets found their groove. Blayne Freckleton added five more for the Cavaliers, opening up an 11-4 lead early after Cartaino connected from mid-range. A Jaz Bains three soon narrowed the deficit but TVC hit one of their own straight after. Cartaino struck a triple of his own and then made a great defensive play to strip the ball and dish an outlet pass which gifted Sam Toluwase a layup. Lewis Champion’s mid-range shot and subsequent assist to a cutting Meshack Lufile gave the Rockets the lead and they quickly built on their advantage through Meshack, who produced an emphatic block on a layup attempt before dropping a smooth post-fade through the net. The Rockets defense played well and their ball movement generated a three for Ben Dixon, but TVC eventually began to find their way to the line where they regained momentum as the quarter drew to a close. With time expiring, TVC advanced the ball and made their way inside for a layup which tied up the game at 25 apiece going to the second.
Thames Valley carved out a lead during the second period but the Rockets held them close for the opening possessions, trading free throws and layups until both teams surpassed 30 points. TVC moved the ball well on the strong side to get open for a three which seemed to present a breakthrough, but the Rockets countered immediately as Cartaino hit a fading shot at the elbow. Lewis Champion relocated for a three on the wing during the next halfcourt possession but the Rockets couldn’t get a stop at the other end, leaving AJ Roberts wide open at the top of the arc for a Thames Valley three which gave the home side a 40-35 lead. Thames Valley struck again on a short jumper before the Rockets produced points through Reis Pinnock’s drive and assist for a powerful Sam Toluwase and-one. Meshack showed his speed down the floor for a tough transition layup to close the gap but Thames Valley were active on the offensive boards and continued to chalk up second-chance points. Lewis Champion hit another three to keep things close but the Rockets were quickly overwhelmed by a barrage of easy looks for the Cavaliers who scored nine straight before Bains’ layup stopped the run. With the quarter drawing to a close the Rockets were in danger of going down double-digits, but Sam T smartly drew a travel on TVC’s Sylla to force a turnover and protect the Rockets from further damage before the half.
Down 45-54, the Rockets desperately needed to slow down the Thames Valley offense in the third and they came out with greater defensive intensity from the start. Reis Pinnock struck back-to-back threes either side of a TVC turnover to slash the deficit by six, and Sam Toluwase scored inside to cancel out another Thames Valley trip to the line. TVC hit from deep in the corner before an exchange of easy looks inside, but Sam T forced a turnover to set Ben Dixon free on the break for two. Both teams struggled to look after the ball in one of the few offensive lulls of the game, but Cartaino got hot at the five-minute mark to kickstart the Rockets with a floater, a three and a fading mid-range jumper in quick succession. Thames Valley continued to score, however, preventing the Rockets from carving out a lead and leaving the score at 67-65 in favour of TVC despite Cartaino’s heroics. The Rockets scrambled well on a broken defensive possession, freeing Bains for a transition layup which TVC quickly erased with a three despite Bains’ good contest. They connected again from three for a six-point lead as the third quarter ran out, but the Rockets struck twice late through a Dixon layup off a great Toluwase assist and then on a broken play which Cartaino cleaned up under the rim. With those scores on the board, the scores sat at 73-71 to Thames Valley entering the fourth.
Sam T continued his stellar night off the bench with another powerful offensive board and was fouled on the putback for a three-point play which he converted for the lead. The Rockets defended well and found Lewis Champion in the corner for his third three of the night, but TVC tightened up their defense and continued to score despite Reading’s solid defending. With the score level at 77, Thames Valley’s Jakobi Bonner hit a tough mid-range shot to take the lead before Jaz Bains snatched it back with a transition three. A shifty baseline drive and dish to Cartaino capped off back-to-back big plays for Bains, but TVC were scoring just as freely as the Rockets in an explosive fourth-quarter shootout. Reis Pinnock earned a putback to tie up the scores again at 84 before more quality offense from Thames Valley saw them take a four-point lead. Toluwase connected from three to keep the Rockets in contention but Thames Valley found another gear offensively, making tough isolation shots despite good defense by the Rockets.
They built a six-point lead before Jaz struck again on a brilliant three-pointer as he faded left. The Rockets’ stellar defense forced a loose ball scramble and eventual foul on TVC but they were unable to capitalize on the turnover and TVC scored next time down to solidify their lead. With time ticking, Meshack hit a clean jumper for two but fouled on the next defensive play and left the game with five fouls just one minute from the end. Thames Valley proceeded to grab consecutive offensive boards after the resulting missed free throw, scoring inside to go five points clear with the score at 97-92. Pinnock scored a layup to close the gap but the Rockets had to begin fouling, and Thames Valley made enough of their free throws to maintain the gap even despite a Sam T three at the death. When the dust settled, Thames Valley emerged victors by five points, with the scoreline reading 102-97.
Both teams had moments of offensive magic in this game, but the Rockets will be disappointed to go down after putting up such a great fight for the full forty minutes. Reading struggled to control the glass all night against the length and mobility of TVC, giving up 25 second chance points and 50 in the paint. It’s rare that the Rockets should lose when shooting 55% from the field and 54% from three, but their efficiency was matched across the board by TVC, who also had the luxury of 25 free throws from which they scored 19 points. The Rockets defense was mixed, with a number of lapses and breakdowns, but was also better than the Cavaliers’ score would suggest. Both teams were simply on fire all night long, and TVC’s isolation scorers found an extra gear in the fourth which lifted them just out of reach of the Rockets. Cartaino had a solid night, scoring 22 on great efficiency, and Sam T’s contributions off the bench kept the game close when the Rockets were in need. Ultimately, though, their offensive output was matched at every stage by Thames Valley, who emerged deserving victors in a fantastic game of basketball.