Taylor rues Worthing Thunder’s weak point after loss to Thames Valley Cavaliers

Captain Hafeez Abdul topped Thunder’s scoring sheets with 33, followed in second by Tom Ward with 15 and Daniel Johnson-Thompson added 13.

Thunder made 13 from 41 at three-point range, attempting 25 more than Thames Valley who made 9.

Reflecting on an evening his side led for 25 minutes, Taylor said, “Competing with anyone in this league is not a question we ask ourselves. The biggest problem we have is closing the game.”

“It’s more mental than physical; the effort is 100% there, every situation is one of one. Developing an understanding takes time,” Taylor continued.

“Hafeez (Abdul) had an amazing game. He hit a boat load of threes (pointers), he really stepped up and carried us,” contemplated Taylor.

Thunder’s best spell of the match came in the third. They took their biggest lead and notched up their largest run of unanswered points. The packed house experienced athletic greatness.

Abdul more than doubled his 15-points first half total. Hitting 18-points in the third alone, 15 of which were from the perimeter, his work spurred Ishmael Fontaine and Johnson-Thompson to compound Thames Valley’s woes to pull away by 13-points.

Abdul against Serbia’s Igor Stokic, whose victorious charisma taunted Thunder at the game’s conclusion, was perhaps the biggest story. Though Stokic, as he’s averaged all season, would pick up a double-double in points and rebounds, he could only answer with 5-points in the third.

Once they’d weathered Thunder’s roar, Thames Valley cut the hosts’ lead with an emphatic 13-point advantage in the fourth. Anthony Wilson, A.J. Roberts and Bode Adeluola all starred. Deji Adekunle’s layup crushed home hope with seconds remaining.

The middle two quarters were the brightest for Thunder. There was a grittiness to their play, particularly defensively. Tom Ward embodied that.

Ward finished with 15-points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals.

Their collective defence provided the platform to overturn a 5-point deficit into an initial double-digit buffer.

Luke Moore, who played with poise, added his 8-points total, and Tola Okiki terrified Thames Valley with his quick and zestful drives to the basket.

Robert’s and Wilson’s triples swung things back in Cavaliers’ favour. Hunter’s layup left them two-points adrift by half time break.

Four games remain in Thunder’s campaign. Trips to Reading, Birmingham and Loughborough await, with the visit of Nottingham Hoods to come on April 6.

Looking ahead to the climax of the season, Taylor said: “We’re more than capable (of a strong finish). We had a major injury in the Nottingham game and we beat Birmingham (at home). These are the teams we’re competing with for the playoffs.”

It’s far from over in an incredibly open season of Division One basketball.