Reading Rockets 77 (25,48,61)
Leopards 55 (19,29,43)

A poor performance saw Leopards suffer their fourth league defeat of the season on Friday night as they crashed against title-chasing Rockets.

The Big Cats scored only two of their 17 three-point attempts, and managed just 40 percent from two-pointers.

With the home side also out-rebounding them 54-39, it was a poor all-round performance from Jon Burnell’s side.

Despite that they remain in fourth place, with games in hand over the sides immediately below them.

Carl Latham-Henry again led the Leopards scoring with 17 points, while Errol Seaman collected a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Rockets opened the scoring through David Watts, who went on to top score with 24 points, but a Latham-Henry “and-one” gave Leopards what proved to be their only lead of the night.

Scores from Matt Eames, Seaman and Latham-Henry kept Leopards on level terms at 9-9, and another Latham-Henry score kept the teams level at 15-15 with six minutes gone before an 8-1 run from the home side put them in charge.

Sam Salter broke the run with a trey, but it was Reading who went into the first break with a 25-19 lead as the impressive Danny Carter wrapped up the first period scoring.

The second quarter proved to be key as the Big Cats were outscored 23-10, and they never looked capable of fighting back from a 19-point first half deficit.

Only Latham-Henry and Laws scored for the visitors in the first four minutes, and although Salter and Fola Adeleke each managed a single free-throw, Rockets continued to built the lead and they went into the locker room with a comfortable lead.

Whatever coach Burnell said at half-time clearly had some effect as Leopards opened the second half strongly, and with Laws, Salter, Latham-Henry and Seaman all scoring, the deficit was cut to 52-37 by the midway stage of the third quarter.

Salter drained another shot, but a farcical hold up while Reading attempted to get the wrong player to take a pair of free-throws seemed to disrupt Leopards rhythm, and despite late scores from Latham-Henry and Seaman, the visitors trailed 61-43 at the final break.

Matt Collins opened the fourth period with a basket, and a trey from Adeleke sparked the visitors into life.

Seaman and Latham-Henry were also on target as the Big Cats cut the deficit to 12.

However that was as close as they got, and as Reading spent most of the rest of the game at the foul line, the home side scored 14 unanswered points to wrap the victory and send the Leopards home empty handed.

Leopards: C Latham-Henry 17, E Seaman 14, F Adeleke 8, S Salter 7, G Laws 5, M Collins 2, M Eames 2, L Volskis, R Lloyd, A Scotland-Williamson (DNP)