Rockets mixed fortunes
IT WAS a mixed weekend for Reading Rockets with a league win and cup defeat.
Without head coach Alan Keane, who is away in Spain with the Rockets academy, assistant Josh Thorne took charge as Reading went to Thames Valley Cavaliers in NBL Division One.
And he quickly called a time-out after Rockets fell 14-2 behind, but they turned it around to win 83-64.
However, they could not repeat the trick on Sunday with a 76-60 loss at Manchester Magic in the National Cup.
“We went into the weekend excited to put ourselves to the test with an away double header,” said Thorne. “Our key objectives were to continue on our journey, to focus on excellence in every moment.
“We had a very slow start and TVC came out firing going up 14-2. That needed me to step in, call a time out and refocus.
“The players responded well by winning the quarter, having a solid second period and holding Cavaliers to just five third quarter points.
“I was pretty pleased with the performance; having seven players we faced adversity through fatigue and foul trouble so to get a strong win was really pleasing.”
As well as Keane, Reading were missing injured captain Danny Carter for their short trip to Uxbridge College and had to dig something out after finding themselves 12 points down inside four minutes.
But by the 10-minute mark the comeback was complete to lead 21-18 by the end of the first quarter, sparked by a Sydney Donaldson three-point play, before a stunning 18-0 run helped them pull well clear.
Leading 43-35 at half-time, Rockets improved further after the restart as Cavaliers struggled to cope as they eventually triumped by 19 points. Donaldson ended with a double double of 25 points and 14 rebounds while Trae Pemberton netted 23 points and Adrian O’Sullivan contributed 18.
Like the previous day, Rockets found themselves well behind early on against Manchester.
Trailing 14-3 in the early stages, Thorne’s men got themselves back in contention as they battled for a quarter-final spot. However, they eventually left themselves with too much work to do, losing out by 16 points with O’Sullivan (18pts), Pemberton (15) and Donaldson (7) the leading trio.
Rockets (1-2) have two more away trips to contend with this weekend, at Leicester Warriors (1-2) and Bradford Dragons (3-1) in the league.
“Double header weekends always come with different challenges,” said head coach Keane.
“Preparation for both games starts with focusing on ourselves. Coming off a good win away to TVC and a cup exit to Manchester has highlighted once again we still are nowhere near what our true potential is.
“Leicester is always a difficult place to go and come away with a win. Following that with a trip to Bradford will not only be a huge challenge but a massive opportunity to establish ourselves amongst the better teams this season.”