Nottingham Hoods head into their last National Basketball League Division One match, away to Worthing Thunder, on the back of what has been their fourth win in six outings this past weekend, and the setting of another, club game record.

Prior to the weekend game against London Cavaliers, Hoods duo, Guard Patrick Peace-Adedeyi, and forward Elliot Bailey, were on-hand to offer some thoughts.

Peace-Adedeyi said of facing the Cavaliers that: “The key is keeping our composure as they’re an experienced team….

“They’ve got experienced BBL guys so we need to keep our composure, whilst being aggressive with the jump, that’ll be the key for us.

“For me, it’s just getting my mind right, especially in a big home game like this; getting my mind right and getting mentally prepared, physically also, looking after my body….”

Bailey meanwhile, similar to his team-mate on the Cavaliers’ attributes, added: “They’ve got an experienced tea, with former pros, a whole bunch of experience.

“I’d say, with the youth in them, we definitely have to attack their energy levels and keep the game intensity where we’re comfortable, and don’t let them take control of the game…”

In hosting London Cavaliers, at the Hoods’ Wildcats Arena home, Vladan Dragosavac’s side did just that, soaring in a first half which saw them up by near twenty at the mid-way point, Jun Murdock enjoying himself on court.

The second half would see the hosts being pegged back in the scoring, but registering enough themselves to keep their noses in-front; come the end of the third quarter the lead had been cut to ten points, and, come the end of the contest, that advantage was whittled down to just four as the Hoods held on for an 85-81 win.

The Cavaliers’ Juan Manning top-scored with 28pts as they notched up 55 of their 81 points in the second half, he being joined by Matthew Bryan-Amaning with 16pts, and AJ Roberts with 15pts, the visitors coming quite close to overturning that half-time deficit.

For the Hoods, Murdock again topped the scoring charts with 26pts of his own, he being joined by Landon Taliaferro with 21pts, and Elliot Bailey notching 15pts; as for the record, Greg Skoric, along with his 15pts, set a new Hoods game record of 26 rebounds – it was the second club record broken in recent weeks.

Hoods’ Managing Director, Russell Levenston, took to his socials after the victory over the Cavaliers, saying: “Thank you to all the Hoods fans, sponsors and volunteers for all your support this season.

“Great to finish on a high winning four out of the last six games and to finish with a complete sell-out.

“Just one more away game to go next week against Worthing and then the hard work begins to prepare for next season.

“It’s exciting times ahead for the Nottingham Hoods (Basketball Club); watch this space with lots of announcements coming over the next couple of months.”

Victory against the Cavaliers sees the Hoods going into their last game, away to the Thunder, (Saturday 5 April) looking to finish the season with a fifth win in seven, and pushing for a top eight finish.

At present they are sitting in tenth, level with Newcastle Knights, and just two points off the joint-seventh pairing of Bristol Hurricanes and City of Birmingham Rockets, Hoods and Knights on sixteen, Hurricanes and Rockers on eighteen apiece.

*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).

*Main image @hoodsbasketball Jun Murdock in action for Nottingham Hoods.