BIG G GROUNDS ROCKETS

Having, as expected, won at winless Kingston on Saturday in their penultimate pool game, Thunder received Reading Rockets on Sunday afternoon knowing they could afford to lose by 21 points and still win the group.

Such flabby thinking was far from their minds, however, and after a see-saw middle two quarters, they marshalled their most prolific forces and put away a Reading team who will win nothing while American guard-forward Ted Smith stays on their roster nursing a persistent knee injury.

He had limited court time, so the Reading battle was waged, a starter short, by star guard EJ Harrison, beefy forward Errol Seaman, 7ft centre James Cook and outside shooter Richard Wellings. When Wellings fouled out at 105-93, Thunder had clinched the match with a 16-2 run out of the break to lead 103-89 with a little more than two minutes to go.

Teon Knox and Steve Parillon had 10 points apiece to take Thunder, backed by R.Barker of Tarring, into the first break 30-22 ahead. Knox, the rookie American 6ft 8in centre, was sinking jumpshots over Cook and Parillon was again slashing devastatingly to the hoop.

Three-point salvos peppered the second stanza, three from Thunder guard Steven Gayle, one from Harrison, one from Wellings, and Thunder's 14-point lead at 49-35 was effectively 36 points including the winning away margin of 22 that they took into the head-to-head reckoning.

The job was not quite done.

Two treys from Wellings and one from Ross Carlton featured in a 15-0 Reading retort and at 52-57 down, Thunder needed a James Brame three to go into the interval two points behind and to head off a 19-point turnaround in Reading's favour. Gayle had 11 points in the quarter.

Reading then stuttered into fouls and, with help from Okolie Ugbana, Thunder turned the advantage around by nine to lead 72-65, only for Harrison to haul Rockets back to tie it all at 81 at the third quarter break.

Thunder were without first-choice point-guard Daniel Hildreth for the weekend. He had a knee injury. So in the final quarter, Gayle and Brame took his role alternatingly. David Butterworth was at the two spot, Parillon at three, Gaylon Moore at four, Knox at five. This was irresistible.

All game long, captain Moore, the league MVP last season, had been compiling yet another triple double of points, rebounds and assists. He had 18, 14 and 11. What would a Gaylon Moore v Dale Shackleford comparison reveal in the Worthing hoops annals?

Parillon added 32 points and nine rebounds to his 22 and 12 at Kingston, as well as three assists against Reading. Knox added 20 and nine to his 19 and seven against Kingston '” and dished three assists both days.

Gayle put 19 points on Reading with seven rebounds while Brame notched nine points and two steals. Butterworth, looking progressively more active and confident, was three of five from three point land and collected four rebounds.