Worthing Thunder beat Bradford Dragons – but fall to Hemel Storm

Against Bradford Dragons they were at their toughest in a game that was closer than the final 99-89 scoreline suggests.

Taking a 14-point lead in the first quarter it looked like a runaway victory was on the cards. The Dragons had other ideas and closed it to ten at the halfway stage.

The second half was a tough, tense affair with Thunder having to be at their best as Dragons pushed the home favourites to the end.

Still leading by 10 points at the final break it was still all to play for as Dragons pushed all the way.

Despite not gaining a lead in the entire game this dead rubber of a game kept the large home crowd on their feet in roaring them to victory.

The final score of 99-89 was a good victory against a Dragons side who refused to lie down.

The two sides were very equally matched and the game will be repeated on Saturday In the quarter-final of the post-season play-offs when Bradford make the long journey south again.

If Bradford can restrict Thunder by cutting out the fouls it will be a close match.

Thunder were led by the impressive Tom Ward and Ronald Blain in the scoring stakes with David Moya getting nine assists and yet another outstanding performance by Orlan Jackman (17 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals).

Sunday saw Thunder travel to newly crowned champions Hemel Storm.

In front of a full house Storm were up for this from the start. Led by their usual stars it was one of their unsung heroes Sam Newman who caught the eye, hitting eight treys in the first half.

The scoreline at the halfway stage was 71-43 and as the game wore on the lead grew to 53. The final score of 126-73 emphasised what a good team they are.

Thunder fought to the end with decent shows from Veron Eze (16 points, 4 rebounds), Brendan Okeronkwo (15, 3), David Moya (14, 5) and Andre Arrisol (11, 7, 7).

Bradford Dragons arrive at the Thunderdome for a tip-off time of 7.30pm on Saturday.

Buy tickets in advance is the advice.