BASKETBALL: Weakened Thunder's hopes are ended

The team’s preparation wasn’t helped with the news three of their players had been involved in a motor accident, and although thankfully none were seriously injured, all three were unable to play in the game.

That meant Thunder went into the game with just eight players, and they were 15-11 down after the first quarter.

The Northants team were struggling with their shooting and were 36-26 adrift at half-time, and that gap was 19 points going into the final 10 minutes.

The win was beyond Thunder but they closed with some determined play and took the last quarter 14-7, but Nottingham were good value for their win.

Thunder’s scoring was led Matt Yates and Sam Mennell with 13 points apiece, with Jacob Holt netting 12.

The loss means Thunder slip to fourth in the Conference table with their play-off dreams a memory.

Junior Men’s National League

Northants Thunder 73 Frankley Falcons 65

THUNDER Junior Men needed overtime to see off a stubborn Falcons side after drawing 64-64.

Thunder were 19-17 up after the first period, and at half-time the score was 26-24, with Thunder losing Ed Taylan with a knee injury.

Thunder then eased ahead on three occasions only to be caught by Falcons, and actually trailed 64-61 in the closing seconds.

Cameron Samuels was fouled and had the chance of winning the game after he converted the first free throw, but missed the second, sending the game into overtime.

The extra five-minute period was dominated by Thunder and a brace of three pointers from Noah Wilborn and three points from Zac Kitchen saw them home.

Samuels and Kitchen led the Thunder scoring with 17 and 16 respectively, with Wilborn 12 and Ed Wallhead nine.

Under 16 Boys National League Midlands Conference

Northants Thunder 45 Stoke–on–Trent Knights 70

THUNDER turned in a battling performance before losing out to Stoke.

The Northants side only trailed 58-45 going into the final four minutes of the contest, but were then overrun 12-0 in the closing minutes.

The Thunder scoring was led by Connor White and Adam Lewandowski with 13 and 11 points respectively.

Northants Thunder 74 City of Birmingham Rockets II 69

LESS than 24 hours after their battling display against Stoke, the Northants Cadet Boys bounced back with an overtime win over Birmingham Rockets, having drawn 65-65.

Led by skipper Connor White, Thunder raced into an 11-0 lead, and still led 22-16 after the first period.

Birmingham hit back to lead 33-31 at half-time, but Thunder responded brilliantly and were 45-40 ahead going into the final quarter.

In a thrilling final 10 minutes both sides had chances to win it, but couldn’t be separated, before Thunder ran away with it in overtime.

White top scored for Thunder with 29 points haul while Adam Lewandowski scored 14.

Northants Hoopsterz Under 15 Boys Central Venue League

Kettering 7 Northants Thunder 11; Kettering 13 Northants Thunder 17 (20-28)

Condos 9 Northants Thunder 27; Condos 8 Northants Thunder 24 (17-51)

HAVING failed to win any games in previous Central Venue Tournaments, Thunder put in extra work and turned in a much-improved performance to claim wins in all four matches.

Star players were Ali Solazzo, Kalen Spatcher, Sam Walker and Henri Berry.

Under 16 Girls National League North Conference

Northants Lightning 63 Northamptonshire Titans 111

Despite losing heavily to unbeaten Titans, coach Janis Kosnikovskis was proud of Lightning’s performance.

Lightning’s main scoring threat throughout came from Lucy Needham who finished with 30 points, while Dina Kosnikovska scored 15.

Under 14 Boys National League West Midlands Conference