Hoods succumb to Thunder in Worthing

The Hoods’ double headed win streak came to a halt on the weekend after an away loss to the Thunder in Worthing. 

Cam Kahn got the game underway in the first with a tenacious jump ball effort against the 7’2 David Craig. Despite this, the Hoods were first to concede after a layup from Hernandez on the inside. This didn’t go unanswered as Smith-White got his layup to go on a drive from the left wing. Hernandez, however, showed early signs of his stellar shooting night as he sank his first of four three point attempts to place Worthing on a 13-5 run before the Hoods called timeout. Coming out the timeout the Hoods looked strong, forcing the action as Akano hit a hook shot coming down the weak side. Defensive rotations looked more promising as Kahn and Polack iced the fast break attempt. Despite the adjustments, three point shooting went unanswered as Ostrowsky drained his first three to place the Thunder back up by nine. 

Worthing shot 65% from deep as a unit — 75% in the first period alone. The Hoods went silent from behind the arc until Cam Polak hit a three toward the end of the first to cut the lead down to seven. The quarter ended on a missed three from Kahn out in transition.

The Hoods entered the second chasing the game down eleven. Worthing made it easy no less as they continued pressing the issue, continuing where they left off in the previous quarter. Despite a sixteen-point Worthing lead toward the start, the Hoods managed a succession of positive possessions, cutting the lead to within seven after a difficult turn-around shot by Akano late in the period. Sadly, it wasn’t enough as the Thunder reclaimed momentum, seeing the quarter out comfortably. 

The game seemed out of hand until the final minutes of the fourth, the Hoods coming into the quarter staring down a fifteen-point deficit. Huge contributions from Cam Kahn, Cam Polak, and Chris Moore saw the lead cut down to eight after Chris Moore sank a second chance shot from deep with 3 minutes left of regulation. The Thunder replied only for Moore to send a second triple on another possession down the floor.  With Worthing well within reach, the Hoods came closer after a crucial Kahn tip-in and Moore layup within the final minutes.

With only three points separating the team, the Thunder looked uncomfortable and unrecognizable as the game was the closest it had been since the first half. The Hoods were relentless defensively as Ostrowsky and Hernandez forced their shots up to no avail. Unfortunately, the Hoods were unable to translate their organised defense into offense as the Thunder kept the Hoods from converting. A corner dagger three from Ostrowsky down the stretch put the game well beyond doubt as the Thunder were up two possessions once again. To seal the game, Hopkins went to the line after a three-point-foul to send the Hoods home 115-106.

By Gabriel-Javis Megueu