Worthing Thunder fell short right at the last, allowing Nottingham Hoods to take a 95-88 narrow victory which puts daylight between the team in the standings.

The opening throws of the game saw two of English basketball’s brightest stars trade blows as Hafeez Abdul and Joshua Guddemi took their sides on eight and six-point runs respectively.

Thunder led 53-51 at the half and the first part of the third quarter played host to scintillating basketball.

In a quarter of small margins, Ishmael Fontaine’s three and Hafeez Abdul’s back-to-back dunks only left them within one-point of Nottingham.

The frantic pace of the match never let up, explaining the frequency both sides turned the ball over.

Nottingham struck once more, stringing together a run which left them five-points ahead, forcing Mike Blatchford to call a timeout.

Tola Okiki settled the ship, his 100% record at the free-throw line on his return after injury meant both sides couldn’t be separated with just one quarter left.

Landon Taliaferro contributed seven to an 11-0 run in the fourth, putting Hoods up by nine points.

Thunder hardly gave in, drawing back to four-points with Tola Okiki’s three and Daniel Johnson-Thompson’s layup.

Taliaferro, the second Hoods player to get a double-double on the night, stepped up to break Thunder hearts.

His shot, compounded by Latrell Maitland’s free throw, gave the Hoods an unassailable seven-point buffer.

Abdul finished with 28 points and Tom Ward hit 16.

Thunder can take heart from the spirit they showed throughout the game.

That spirit is needed again on Saturday when they welcome league leaders Essex Rebels to the Thunderdome (7.30pm).