On Sunday, Tigers took a huge step towards their aim of securing one of the two play-off spots by thrashing one of their closest rivals for promotion. Chichester had won the first match between these sides this season and, going into the game, Taunton were in second place in the league and Chichester third, so a tense encounter was expected, but that's not how it turned out.
The first half was evenly contested. The visitors' had a significant size advantage under the basket which posed questions of the home side's defence. As ever, though, Tigers own big-men, Tad Gray and Mike Sebire, rose to the challenge.
With a lead of just 7, the game was very much in the balance at the half-way mark, but a magnificent third quarter showed just how determined Taunton were keep their unbeaten run going. Superb, unhurried ball movement created numerous high-quality scoring opportunities in as good a spell of play as Tigers have enjoyed all season. Adam Rickwood and Mike Sebire converted chances inside on the way to a 10 – 1 at the start of the period, and that was then followed up with a shooting master-class from 3-point range from Rickwood, Joe Mills, Alistair Bird and Joe Saunders. Tigers had outscored the visitors 28 – 12 in the quarter to stretch their advantage to 23 points.
The win extended Tigers' winning streak to 6 games and saw them leap-frog Reading University Rockets to go top of the table. They have another home match this weekend, as they take on bottom of the league Team Gloster Jets (Somerset College Sports Hall, 5.00 pm tip-off). A win in that game would really set up a fascinating clash the following week, when Reading will be the visitors.