Tigers came agonisingly close to winning this enthralling encounter with the unbeaten league leaders from Southampton.
The match was tight throughout with neither team being able to open up a significant advantage. Having been just behind 22 – 26 at the end of first half, Taunton came back strongly in the 3rd quarter and, as time ran down, a shot off the glass from captain Joe Saunders gave them the lead for the first time since the early minutes of the game.
In the final quarter the game seemed to be slipping away from the home side as the visitors slowly built up an 8 point lead. With just 3 minutes 43 seconds left in the game and the score at 44 – 52, coach Gary Carter called a time out. Tigers stormed out of the huddle and scored 8 unanswered points (all from Dan Howe) to tie the score 52 – 52 with 40 seconds left. Solent then restored their lead with 2 points from the free throw, before a really patient Tigers offence gave Saunders an open shot which fell.
Over-time beckoned, but there was still time for more drama. With 4 seconds on the clock in regulation, Taunton stole the ball and there was just time for Matt Nolan to try a long-range shot. It fell short, with the home crowd calling for a foul, but the officials saw it as a clean block by the defender.
There was never more than 3 points in it either way in over-time, until, at 66 – 69 and with less than 10 seconds to go, Saunders again found himself with a shot to save the game. Unfortunately, this time his 3 point effort hit the rim and bounced out.