Mohawks fight back to win at Thunder

Leading 30-14 after the first quarter, Thunder started in a rich vein of form, as they looked to bounce back from two defeats the previous weekend. But the visitors from the north east steadily came back into the game and a three-point barrage in the second half, added to a 39-28 advantage on the rebounds, saw Tees Valley Mohawks take the lead and come away from the Worthing Leisure Centre with the win.

Bud Johnston led Thunder with 19 points and was supported by Rhys Francis and Brendan Okoronkwo, who both added 16.

Worthing coach Daniel Hildreth said: “After a great week of focused and intense practice, we came out all guns blazing.

“Our defensive intensity is our driving force and we showed great determination, which led to easy scores and a perfect opening quarter.

“As we are fully aware, though, basketball is a game of runs and Tees Valley had theirs either side of the half-time break. I called a time-out a couple of possessions too late as we were really out of sync. Unfortunately, the well was dry and our frustrations on offence had a negative impact on our defence. Credit to Tees Valley but my team and I are aware that we gave that to them.”

Full report in this week’s paper.