Worthing Thunder captain Hafeez Abdul regretted a “tough loss” against Barking Abbey but praised the resilience of new team members for helping in the struggle, writes Henry Parrish.

Thunder suffered a sixth single-digit defeat as they went down 101-97.

Abdul, who scored 33 points, said: “It was a tough loss against a well-coached and energetic team. This (match) showed us we must be fully engaged from start to finish.”

Barking Abbey, who sit bottom of the standings, started brightly as Juan Manning, Harry Gent and Amarlie Wilkinson all punished Thunder with a fast-paced brand of basketball.

The visitors grew into the match, looking once more to Abdul as he contributed 15 early points.

His fast opening inspired teammates Ishmael Fontaine and Tola Okiki, with Abdul capping off the quarter to squeeze Thunder into a two-point advantage.

Thunder’s brightest patch came in the second as they established a ten-point lead, their maximum of Luke Moore connected on consecutive triples, and Tyler Fairbairn contributed five of his nine-points total.

Whenever Thunder looked to build their lead, Barking Abbey fought back.

Experienced 6ft 9in Troy Mcindoe fronted their push, with academy graduates Ethan Conway and Moziah King-Danchie combining to keep their deficit to seven points at the break.

Barking Abbey took the initiative in the third, winning the quarter 29-16.

Daniel Johnson-Thompson, who finished fifth overall in points scoring with 13, buoyed his side with a put-back dunk, but it couldn’t prevent a six-point deficit heading to the fourth.

Wilkinson, a tricky young guard at the centre of everything good for Barking Abbey, kept scores ticking over, but Akano was the assassin.

The former Solent Kestrel added ten of his 19-point total in the fourth.

Thunder: Abdul 33, Johnson-Thompson 13, Ward 12, Wilkins 10, Fontaine 9.