Daniel Hildreth wants his Worthing Thunder side to pose more problems for opposing defences if they are to climb the table.

Thunder slipped to a third successive NBL defeat, despite big hauls for Americans Milton Chavis and Hank Rivers.

They let slip an 11-point lead late in the third quarter and were held off 102-100 by Kent Crusaders in an exciting finish.

Rivers, who had 31 points and 17 rebounds, could have forced overtime on the buzzer but his putback of a floater from Chavis (38 points) bounced away off the rim.

Coach Hildreth admitted: "It's a tough one when it's so close at the end.

"Kent share the ball well and that shows in six guys getting double figures for them.

"That makes them very difficult to guard.

"We had two guys in the 30s and that's not ideal. A lot of pressure is on those guys."

Dau Jok (29 points) shot a fabulous seven-for-seven from three-point range for Kent, who trailed 86-75 late in the third but then went on a 12-0 run.

Our video picks up the action as Thunder trail by five with 40 seconds remaining. They are given hope by a Chavis three early in the shot clock.

They then force a Kent miss but come up empty-handed themselves on their final possession as Rivers sees his effort bounce off the rim.