Hoods Fall to the Rockets in Birmingham

The Hoods fell to 8th in the BCB standings after another away loss to the Rockets in Birmingham on Friday. 

The Rockets were off to a head start after a layup in transition from Blain.  Savery-Richards was able to respond on the other end with a tip-in off an Akano miss but the Rockets were well on their way to an 18-9 run within the first five minutes of the opening quarter.  

Coming out the timeout, former Birmingham Rocket, Faaris Mughal received a cold reception after instantly sinking a corner-three on his return to Birmingham after signing for the Hoods. The Rockets, however, wasted no time replying after Powell came down and answered with a three of his own. The back and forth three point exchange continued as Elliot Bailey drilled a three, ghosting off the screen for Chris Moore. Field goals were hard to come by in the final stretch as the Hoods went on a scoring drought to see the quarter- Birmingham holding them to fifteen til Cam Polak made a 16-footer to end the quarter. 

The Hoods entered the second period trailing by 19 after Ono opened the quarter up with the tough second chance layup. Mughal made his second three of the night to respond and after a Moore layup, the game saw its second scoring drought as both sides struggled to find the bottom of the net. A foul from Mughal broke this deadlock as Donaldson went 2/2 from the line to put the Rockets up sixteen once again. Bailey continued on what was a great three point shooting night as he made his second three pointer, connecting with Chris Moore once again who cut the lead to ten with a three of his own. Despite the Hoods momentum, the Rockets had the better quarter as they went unconscious from both the free throw line and the arc to see the quarter out 53-37. 

Cam Kahn looked to leave his mark on the game coming out the first half. He started the quarter cashing in at the line to bring the game to fourteen, cutting the lead further with a three off the loose ball. The Rockets, however, played a more physical quarter as they earned themselves various trips to the line to increase the lead. Despite straying away from the three point shot, they managed to have their way inside as Zach Powell capped  off the fast break with a resounding alley-oop in the final minute of the third.

Despite their win, the fourth was by far the Rockets’ worst quarter as their scoring mainly came from the charity stripe. The Hoods looked to capitalize as Bailey made his third three of the game but by then all hope of a comeback looked unlikely as the Hoods trailed by 14. The game ended 84-71. 

By Gabriel-Javis Megueu

The Hoods will be back again this Sunday where they’ll tip off at Harvey Hadden as coach Ben Stanley faces off against his former team the MK Breakers. This will no doubt be a game the Hoods will hope to win after a long and grueling road trip. 

Tip off @ 2pm Harvey Hadden. 

Get your tickets below:

https://app.fanbaseclub.com/fixture/nottingham-hoods/21530