Rockets record double victory
Published 10 Feb 2012 17:00
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OUTSTANDING contributions from Reading Rockets skipper Ryan Lohfink and young Luke Nelson propelled the side to back-to-back victories in English Basketball League Division One last weekend.
The Rockets' 12-point win at Medway Park Crusaders on Saturday was their first victory in four games and they backed that up with a well deserved 83-80 win over Tees Valley Mohawks at the Rivermead Leisure Complex.
Rockets head coach Samit Nuruzade said: "I am delighted with the two wins we achieved over the weekend, especially Saturday's away win at Medway where I thought we put in one of our best performances of the season."
Lohfink amassed an impressive 28 points and 15 rebounds against the Mohawks in a match that saw Rockets hit their highest first quarter points of the season with 37, and, for the second game in a row, accrue 54 points by half-time.
Rockets held a double digit lead for most of the game and led for all but the opening 19 seconds.
Lewis Champion was on fire in the opening period with 14 points, a 100 per cent shooting record, four assists and three rebounds to fire Rockets into a 37-19 lead.
Mohawks hit a treble of threes to stay in touch in the second period but Robbie Parker's third three and Lohfink's continued scoring ensured Rockets went into the locker room 54-41 up.
Lohfink continued where he left off in the third period, taking down boards at either end while Mohawks' Michael Dodd missed his first three attempts.
A confident Nelson also hit an audacious long-range three pointer to stretch the lead to 14 points going into the final quarter.
Lukas Aleksandravicius netted in the fourth period and although the Mohawks scored six three-pointers to cut the deficit to single figures, Rockets held out for the win.
It was Nelson who stole the show in the Crusaders win on Saturday night, hitting six from six in the final minute to seal a 84-72 victory and become top scorer with 19 points.
Rockets avenged their home defeat before Christmas in resounding style, as Kastytis Normantas scored a lay-up after just six seconds. Rockets were 23-13 up after the first stanza, which set the tone for the remainder of the match.
They were largely untroubled, leaving Nelson to take centre stage in the third period. Nelson had a brilliant couple of minutes with an outrageous three-pointer, which he followed up with a block, a drive and a left-handed lay-up, before hitting a second big three to extend Rockets' lead to 16 points.
Top scorers were Lohfink with 16 points, Normantas and Parker, against his old club, scoring 14 points each and Gamble scoring nine.
The only negative is that Normantas is out for six weeks with a hamstring injury picked up on Saturday.
Despite the high number of injuries suffered to the Rockets this season, director of coaching Matt Johnson remains upbeat, saying: "The opportunities it has given our younger players has been fantastic and I think this is epitomised by the fact we started a 16-year-old on Saturday who went on to top score in the game.
"When I sit back and see five players on the court that are British and under the age of 20 and that are competing hard and contributing heavily to our team, I feel very proud of what we have achieved so far this season and really hope they get their rewards at some point during this campaign."
Rockets will be looking for a place in the National Trophy final for the fifth time in six years this Saturday when they travel to league leaders Derby Trailblazers (7.30pm tip-off).
The competition has been a very successful one in recent years for the Berkshire club as they have lifted the trophy four times in the last five seasons.
Nuruzade added: "The first trophy I won with this club was the National Trophy and I am really hoping we can have another shot at bringing it back to Reading."
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