READING Rockets bounced back from their National Trophy final disappointment in dramatic fashion as they beat Lancashire Spinners 81-80 on Sunday.

David Ajumobi opened the scoring for Rockets and captain Danny Carter took down a couple of defensive rebounds before stroking a sweet treble from the top of the key. An Ajumobi hook and Joel Keeble block before a base line drive by the latter allowed D’Montre Edwards to hit Rockets' second treble and gave them a 20-16 lead at the first break.

However, a blast of five trebles from Spinners truly disturbed Rockets in the second period as they gifted the Lancashire side points from turn overs.

Fraser Glass went coast to coast for Rockets but the scores were soon level at 24-24, and a 11-2 Spinners run saw Rockets reeling.

Wayne Yeboah then had a personal crusade of a score, a block and a lay-up to keep Rockets close but trailing 39-30 at half time.

Ajumobi got Rockets off to a good start with a penalty point which was quickly followed by an Edwards dunk. When Jordan Nicholls went base line and took an assist from Edwards the 7-2 Rockets run cut the gap to just four points.

Yet another Spinners treble gave them encouragement but six more quick Edwards points – including a pair of spin moves – put Rockets back in contention.

Keeble stroked a glorious treble and Rockets were within a single point of Spinners at 46-47.

Despite the hosts bagging another three-pointer, Yeboah (pictured) returned the compliment with a three-point play of his own and an end-to-end contest had Rockets 62-54 behind entering the final quarter.

Edwards set them on the path to a win with two successful penalty shots and then Carter drove, scored and hit the bonus shot to get within one score inside 90 seconds of the re-start.

A Nicholls treble and a brace of spins from Ajumobi saw Rockets down 67-66, but Edwards and an Ajumobi treble saw Rockets lead by three before four Spinners points saw the lead being swapped with every score.

An Edwards drive and a slam dunk edged Rockets ahead by two but the scores were level at 77-77 going into the last minute.

Carter scored and Rockets defence stopped Spinners, before Edwards extended the lead to four points.

Spinners hit another treble on the buzzer but it was not enough.

Top scorers for Rockets were Edwards with 25 points, eight rebounds and three steals, Ajumobi with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Yeboah with 11 points.

Captain Carter added 10 points and nine rebounds.

The visitors’ thrilling success leaves them just six points off second place in the NBL Division One table and well in the hunt for a top four finish.

Rockets will look to extend their unbeaten run in the league this weekend when they travel to the south coast on Saturday evening to take on Worthing Thunder (7.30pm) before returning home to face Bradford Dragons on Sunday afternoon (5pm) at Rivermead Leisure Complex.

Rockets are currently on a five-game winning streak in the league but that record will be put to the test against Thunder, a team they have already played three times this season with the series in favour of Worthing 2-1.

The Berkshire outfit lost a close game 70-68 in the National Trophy before suffering the same outcome in the National Cup quarter final, this time crashing 91-80.

A change of fortune came after the Christmas break with the Reading team winning their home league game 82-75.

Sunday’s meeting with Bradford will be the second match up of the season and the Rockets were also winners in their first league game 88-71.

Rockets head coach Manuel Peña Garcés was pleased with his side’s display against Lancashire but still feels they have a lot of work to do heading into the final stages of the campaign.

He said: “I am really pleased we won against Lancashire against a team that has a lot of talent and a team we have had very close games against.

“We are really trying to be better but there were periods in the Lancashire game where we were bad and need to learn and focus better so these mistakes are eliminated and that is what practice must be about.

“We are about to take on two teams who are both very capable indeed and can offer us some problems, so we must be ready for these tests.”

He continued: “This will be the fourth time we have played Worthing and they are a really dangerous

team.

“[James] Cambronne and [Tom] Ward are the key players for me and they have a solid group around them. All but one of their wins has come at home and it has always been a difficult venue to visit, so we expect a tough game.

“Sunday’s game against Bradford will see the return of Adria [Rodrigues Vinas] to Reading along with a Dragons team who have really improved in the last weeks.”

Rockets go into this weekend’s double header with American point guard Antonio Robinson in contention to return following a calf and Achilles problem.

The Rivermead outfit will also be hoping the Under 18 duo of Ali Sbai (eye) and Fidel Gomez De Enterria Lopez (illness) will both be fit.