Men's Trophy Final - Reading's Path To Manchester
Rockets made the perfect start to their defence of the National
Trophy when the competition tipped off in earnest in early
October. Two contrasting games saw them win 64-59 at West
Herts Warriors on Saturday evening before visitors Derby Trailblazers
were hammered 126-67 on Sunday.
Against Warriors, Rockets started strongly and rushed into
a 24-10 first period lead and were 41-21 ahead at half-time.
With three Rockets fouling out in the second half, Warriors
– who were led by 12 points from Antonio Bright and
eight from Steve Ogunjimi – staged a comeback to cut
the deficit to 12 points and the final break.
However, with David “Tin Tin” Watts leading the
Rockets with 18 points and American duo Andy Harper and Clint
Deas adding 16 and eight respectively, Reading hung on for
the win. Ultimately the win counted for nothing, however,
as West Herts close down midway through the group stage of
the competition, with the result expunged.
The following day saw Rockets scored their highest points
victory ever as a weakened Trailblazers side were beaten by
59 points. Dave Titmuss, gave court time to two juniors, 15
year old Adam Thoseby and 17 year old Steve Tolloczko and
both players scored in the final quarter.
However 19-year-old Danny Carter stole the show with 31 points,
five rebounds and three assists in just 18 minutes court time.
Rockets led 27-14 at the first break, and the game was effectively
over by half-time with Reading leading 63-35. The pain only
got worse for the visitors as they were outscored 36-9 in
the third stanza and 30-23 in the final quarter to wrap up
Rockets’ win. Simon Allaway’s 28 points proved
to be in vain for Derby, with Pearson and McGaffin adding
16 and 15 respectively.
The following week saw Rockets continue their fine start to
the season with a 100-56 hammering of Coventry Crusaders.
Carter again led the home side’s scoring with 24 points
in a game they had sewn up by half-time. Rockets led 28-8
at the first break, and had taken the lead out to 56-24 by
half-time. A 19-11 third period ended the game as a contest
as American duo Clint Deas and Andy Harper added 18 and 16
points respectively. Ryan Leuthy led Crusaders with 21 points,
with Keith Sudler the only other player in double figures
with 13.
Their fourth game in the competition saw Rockets seize the
initiative in Pool One with a 97-90 victory at Manchester
Magic. The home side led by five points at the first break,
and blew into a 17 point advantage before Reading’s
American forward Clint Deas began to make his presence felt
on the offensive glass and used his size and strength to convert
inside, and the lead was cut to 11 going into the locker room.
The third quarter was a back and forth affair with both teams
anxious to take the initiative as they attacked the rim and
managed to convert despite swarming defensive pressure. Reading
closed the quarter on an 8-0 run and would have been closer
had Danny Carter not missed a pair at the foul line. The Magic
lead had been whittled down to five points with all to play
for in the final period.
The fourth quarter started badly for the home side as the
Rockets went on a 10-4 run which was punctuated by a ferocious
tip dunk from Clint Deas, who collected 10 offensive boards
in the contest. Rockets took an 80-77 lead with 5:30 to play
but the Magic drew level immediately on a base-line three
from Dwyer who quietly put up an inspiring 19 points and seven
boards. However Reading went on an 8-0 run over the next minute
with Vear showing his quality from the free throw line as
he calmly converted five of his six attempts in the period
to ice the win.
Rockets sealed top spot in Pool One as Bristol Academy Flyers
were beaten 88-73 in their final game of the qualifying stage.
Following Clint Deas' sudden departure, youngster Dan Carter
stepped up to fill the void, finishing with 15 points. With
David Watts and Steve Vear each adding 21, the home side built
on a 27-19 first period, and a strong third quarter saw them
wrap up the win against Division One new-boys Bristol.
Flyers did manage to chip a couple of points off Rockets’
lead in the second period to go into the locker room 40-34
down, but a 28-17 third quarter did the damage for Reading.
Predictably, former Rocket Ryan Williams led the Bristol scoring
with 20 points, with Greg Streete adding 14 and Tom Hutchinson
10.
Rockets hosted Sheffield Arrows in the semi-final, and reached
the title game with a 103-88 victory. Titmuss’ side
opened up an early 17-3 lead before Sheffield responded with
a 9-0 run, but Rockets scored the last points of the quarter
to ease into a four point lead, 21-17.
The second quarter opened with Sheffield's renowned armoury
of shooters peppering the Rockets ring and taking a one point
lead at 22-21 – the only time they led during the game,
but despite Arrows spending much of the period on the free
throw line, Carter continued to work hard inside and lead
all scorers at the interval with 15 personal points, as Rockets
held a 10 point advantage 48-38.
The third period saw Dan McKay trouble the scorers but Sheffield
hit back with a huge three and four further unanswered points
to reduce the deficit to just seven.
Watts was majestic amassing 16 personal points including two
threes, tipping in two rebounds and finishing with a finger
roll. Sheffield kept hitting their three point shots scoring
from five attempts and keeping Rockets honest as the quarter
finished 77-64 in Rockets’ favour.
Rockets' defence was much tighter in the final period, whilst
Rockets' use of the 24 second clock saw them finish 3 offences
successfully right on the buzzer. With captain Adam Kelly's
experience in end game situations and Watts continuing rich
vein of form, Rockets finished as they'd begun with a Carter
dunk to go through to the final.
Watts finished with 29, Carter 25 and Simon Kearney 14, while
Brennan Martin led the Arrows on 22, Dustin Bevard 19 and
Rob Marsden 16.
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