Thunder win an over-time thriller against USA

WORTHING Thunder Basketball Club opened their season with an exciting over-time win over a USA Select side in a friendly on Saturday night.
Thunder's Tom WardThunder's Tom Ward
Thunder's Tom Ward

In an entertaining match played in front of a decent-sized crowd at Worthing Leisure Centre, Ziffit-sponsored Thunder edged out their American counterparts 101-97 with an impressive display that leaves them in good shape ahead of their first competitive match of the season – at Reading Rockets in the National Trophy on Saturday.

New signing Tom Ward was the star of the show, top-scoring with 28 points and seven rebounds on debut, and Bud Johnston also chipped in with 25 points.

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Thunder coach Daniel Hildreth said: “We knew that they would come with a big squad and that they wouldn’t get fatigued, so I was impressed with the way we kept going, even in over-time.

“We’ve done a lot of work off the court in pre-season and we carried on our good form on the court, which I’m happy with.

“I cannot say enough about the crowd. I thought as it was a friendly only 100 or so would turn up but they were loud throughout the whole game and they were great. I was very impressed with the way we approached the game in general and how we played. It was a good test for us.”

Terrence Bridgeman was the pick of the USA Select team, scoring 18 points, along with Elijah Wilson, who netted 14 points and claimed three rebounds.

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The hosts led 21-20 at the end of the first quarter and had extended their lead to five points by half-time.

Consecutive three-pointers from Clay Wilson and then Antonio Bethea took the USA side ahead and the game remained close throughout as Donald Qualls’ three-pointer levelled the game for the USA and sent it to over-time.

Despite falling behind early on, Thunder held their nerve and they took the lead for the first time in the added period with a minute-and-a-half remaining.

Two converted free throws from Max Richardson in the dying stages then sealed victory for Thunder.

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