Home draw for Hemel Storm as super seven slay the Dragons

Without injured star guard Bode Adeluola or power forward Damian Edwards, a depleted Hemel Storm used only seven players to record a sensational win against Bradford Dragons in front of a capacity crowd at Sportspace.
Hemel Storm centre Tom Adorian hit a season-high 33 points in a fantastic win against Bradford Dragons at SportspaceHemel Storm centre Tom Adorian hit a season-high 33 points in a fantastic win against Bradford Dragons at Sportspace
Hemel Storm centre Tom Adorian hit a season-high 33 points in a fantastic win against Bradford Dragons at Sportspace

The 86-80 victory avenged an away league defeat to Bradford in January and earns Hemel a home draw in the top-eight National Championship playoffs that start at the weekend.

The win capped a fine season for Storm who finished fourth in Division One – the highest placed all-British team in the competition.

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Storm will play Team Northumbria on Saturday at Sportspace, tip-off 7pm – a team who have beaten them twice already this season.

Against Bradford, Storm’s 6ft 9ins centre Tom Adorian produced his best performance of the season, top-scoring with 33 points, grabbing six rebounds and hitting all seven of his free-throws.

A determined Hemel got off to the perfect start as they jumped out to a 20-8 lead, but Bradford’s American centre Nicholas Moore responded to help his team close the gap to 22-15 as the first quarter ended.

Hemel’s 18-year-old back-up point guard Nick Allin took on the ball-handling role of the injured Adeluola and delighted the home crowd as he confidently controlled his team’s offence under intense pressure from Bradford’s Spanish guard Adria Vinas.

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Hemel held a 41-36 advantage at the half-time break, before a possession by possession battle throughout the third quarter ended with a driving lay-up by Nik Rhodes to restore a three-point edge at 60-57.

With less than two minutes to go, Storm’s Rhodes stole the ball and found a sprinting Adorian with a full-court pass that the Hemel centre slammed through the basket to put daylight between the teams and open a six point lead.

Despite two Bradford free-throws and a three-pointer from Vinas, Storm’s co-captain Simon Kearney held his nerve to hit three out of four free-throws and seal a memorable victory.

On the final buzzer the court was rushed by fans as the Hemel players and coaches raised their arms in triumph.

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“Given our situation with injuries, the fact that we had lost to Bradford previously and what was at stake in the game, this was a wonderful win,” said a delighted Storm co-coach Dave Titmuss. “It was a terrific team effort and Tom (Adorian) was simply outstanding.

“We’ve got a week now to prepare for Northumbria and can only hope that our injured players have time to recover.

“Unfortunately things don’t look promising at the moment but I would never count this Storm team out; our spirit, determination and fantastic fans got us through tonight and we can do it again in the playoffs.”

Storm’s team and scorers: Adorian 33, Rhodes 20 (and seven assists) Mumuni 11, Kearney 11, Darlow 5 (and 11 rebounds), Wood 4, Allin 2, Rodwell.

The National Champion Play-Off quarterfinal is on Saturday at Sportspace, tip-off 7pm. More information and tickets can be found at www.stormbasketball.net

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