Tigers came back empty handed from their trip to Reading, and have now lost both their opening games in this season's National League campaign. In truth, though, this was another game that they could so easily have won.
Despite being without key players Mike Sebire and Joe Mills, Taunton put up a much more impressive display on offense than they had been able to muster in recent weeks. With the ever-dependable Adam Rickwood (25 points) leading the way, they powered their way through the first three quarters and looked to have victory in their sights.
A 28 – 21 lead at the end of the 1st quarter became a 51 – 40 advantage at the halfway stage, as Tigers finished off their most fluent first-half of the season so far. Reading had a slight edge in the 3rd quarter, but the visitors still held a 6 point advantage.
Unfortunately, it was the final period that proved to be decisive. For the first time in the game Tigers' offense stuttered and they only managed to put a further 14 points on the board. Reading, seized the opportunity this gave them, knocking down 23 points to snatch a narrow victory.
After the game coach Gary Carter reflected on the highs and lows
“We're learning quickly that the standard of basketball in this league is really high and we need to be strong on both sides of the court if we're going to be successful.”
“After a couple of strong defensive displays we were much better offensively today, but gave up too many easy points. It's just a matter now of putting it all together, and we'll be working hard in training this week to make sure we do that.”