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Reading Rockets got back to winning ways by beating a resilient Bradford Dragons side 95-78 in an epic clash.
With both teams deep in the battle for fourth place in the standings, it billed up to be a great game and it was nothing short of that.
It took a massive fourth quarter from Reading to separate the two sides at the buzzer.
Troy Cracknell was the star of the game, finishing with 32 points and eight rebounds on 12-for-18 shooting.
Jermiah Jenkins found his form again, finishing with 21 points. Jawad Adekoya was key in keeping the Rockets in it early, he finished with 19 points and six rebounds.
It was loud and packed in Loddon Valley, in what is Reading’s last home game in February.
The first quarter was a sign of things to come, with both teams playing lockdown defense and struggling to find good looks. It was Adekoya who started well for Reading, scoring the opening six points for the team.
On the defensive end of the ball, it was a great start for the home side, holding the Dragons to just five points in the opening five minutes.
Bradford would work their way back into it late in the quarter but a mid range jumper by Lewis Champion gave the Rockets a three point,19-16, lead at the end of the first.
The second quarter would be an exact reverse of the first with the Dragons winning the quarter 19-15 this time.
A one minute flurry in the opening stages of the quarter had the crowd thinking the game would pick up, but high pressure defense forced a lot of turnovers and brought the game back to a grinding halt. In fact, both teams would end the game forcing over 20 turnovers each.
It was in the third quarter the game started to pick up on the offensive side of the ball for both sides. An incredible back and forth scoring flurry saw the score go from a 35-36 Reading deficit to a 47-46 Rocket lead just two and half minutes into the quarter.
Two quick layups from Champion with two minutes left in the quarter saw the lead reach five but Bradford quickly responded, bringing the game back to a one point Reading lead.
The Rockets launched off in the fourth, scoring 36 points as a team compared to Bradford’s 20. Reading went back to the players who have led them all season for this massive stretch.
Troy Cracknell and Jermiah Jenkins combined for 26 of the 36 points.
The buckets came early and often for the Rockets in the fourth with Reis Pinnock, who was excellent defensively, hitting a three to bring the lead to double digits. Cracknell then would hit a three himself to bring the lead to 12, the highest it had been at that point, and Reading never looked back.
Including that three, Cracknell scored 11 straight points in the middle of the quarter. However, it was Jenkins who closed out the game, scoring seven in the final minute to bring the game to a close at 95-78.
The Rockets will end February with an on the road double header, first traveling to Barking Abbey to take on the Lions II and then visiting the Westminster Warriors in the second half of the double header.
