Nottingham Hoods were beaten by Bradford Dragons on Saturday at the Wildcats Arena as the Sneinton based basketball team suffered their seventh defeat in eight league games this season.
A bad day at the office was made worse in the fourth quarter when young star and the nights MVP for Hoods Victor Olererin was carried off with a nasty looking injury to his ankle.
The night started with a great atmosphere at the Arena with Hoods winning the tip and getting their first points on the board through Houston by the time the Dragons had twice scored to open a lead they would never surrendor. The Dragons dominated the first period with brief moments of magic from the home sides Olererin who bagged a three pointer to take it to 13-26 with the away side eventually ending the quarter with a thirteen point lead.
Hoods fell further behind to over twenty points in the second before closing the gap with points for Atkinson, Houston, Mitchell and Spencer but catching the Dragons was a big ask and by half time the score was 34-53 in the away teams favour.
More of the same in the third as the points were shared Houston then Olererin shooting for three but from 43-63 the Dragons began again to run away and closed out with a 30 point lead with a quarter remaining.
Olarerin starred with a spree of points in the fourth before injuring himself after a heavy fall and left the game as the Hoods were behind by twenty. A late rally by McGregor helped close the gap as Bradford ended up short of a ton eventually winning 82-99 a seventeen point margin that perhaps looked more comfortable than the game suggested.
After the game Coach Ryan Westley stated “as always we shown heart and passion. Just need to bring our heads in line with that and things will fall into place”.
The next Hoods game is on Saturday as they take on Barking Abbey Crusaders in East London.
*Main image @hoodsbasketball pre game action as Hoods set to face Bradford Dragons.
