Bradford Dragons' fire extinguished by Worthing Thunder

It was no less than Thunder deserved as the game was always in their grasp.

Roared on by another big crowd Thunder looked confident from the off. Three big treys from Zaire Taylor in the first period had fans on their feet and with constant scoring by Hafeez Abdul, Jarred Dixon and Ishmael Fontaine, Thunder were in control.

The Dragons rallied as the first period ended and with only a one-point lead of 23-22, Thunder couldn’t relax.

The second period brought more dominance by Thunder but the Dragons were not giving up.

More scoring by Taylor saw Thunder take a commanding lead by the halfway break of 49-40.

Good defensive play by Abdul, Howard Crawford and Tom Ward kept the momentum going as Thunder exerted pressure on the Dragons defence.

Thunder took complete control in the third period as the Dragons wilted.

Leading from the front was Taylor, who demonstrated an array of his skills for the crowd to enjoy.

Dunks from Abdul, Dixon and Jorge Ebanks were seen as Thunder hit top form.

Stretching the lead to 20 points at the final break was the outcome.

The game as a contest was over as an appreciative crowd counted down the final minutes of the third period - leading 70-50 meant Thunder could relax.

The final stanza was more end to end as Thunder gave the bench valuable minutes.

Crawford notched another double double and was given loud applause as he sat down.

Biggest cheer of the night went to Thunder junior Kai Nicolas as he hit his first two points for the senior team.

Thunder host Leicester Warriors on Saturday.

D&D BASKETBALL

In the first of two games this week, D&D under-13s beat Shoreham Spartans 66-52. The long journey to Battle to play SE Tigers resulted in a 72-32 win and the team are developing well.

The D&D men’s Black team were at home to Chichester Knights and continued their unbeaten run.

They stepped up a gear to in the second half to take it 110-46.

D&D under-16 Whites travelling to meet Shoreham Spartans and won 66-52.

With two teams in the under-16 age group, they played each other with the Whites beating the Black team 87-33.

Every player in the under-12 team scored against inexperienced Horsham Hawks. It finished 78-8.