Storm suffer second league defeat of the season in Nottingham

A disappointing first half proved costly as Hemel Storm fell to a 89-79 defeat against Nottingham Hoods on their first visit to the Harvey Hadden Sports Village.

Taylor Johnson began his third spell as a Storm player leading the scorers with a total of 26 points. He was followed by Matt Norman with 12 and Darien Nelson-Henry, who were the only players to achieve double figures.

It took just two seconds for Johnson to open the scoring with a layup, as the opening stages of the game proved to have an extremely high tempo. A three-pointer from Norman alongside some good work inside the paint from Nelson-Henry kept the visitors in the lead at the half way stage of the period, before Nottingham began to find some momentum. The speed of Donell Nixon II and Tyrone Williams alongside the threatening Elliot Bailey inspired the Hoods as their accurate shooting and good decision making gave the hosts a 23-16 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes.

The momentum remained with the hosts in the second quarter as the Hoods continued to dominate with rebounds, to which Storm struggled to compete. Williams, in particular, was a thorn in the Storm side as his mid-range shooting forced Jake Rothauge into a timeout, with the lead at 14 in Hoods’ favour. Storm did respond following the timeout with a Norman three-pointer, but the momentum proved to be short-lived. Mergim Sokoli extended the lead to a game high of 18 before a Sam Newman three-pointer sent both teams into the interval with the Hoods sporting a comfortable 49-34 lead.

Storm needed a reaction in the third quarter as Hoods had controlled the tempo and shot incredibly well. A reaction looked to have been shown as an and-one play from Johnson began to create some momentum in Storm’s way. Whilst Storm were able to make better decisions going forward, they also limited Nottingham to lower percentage shots. This was effective as the lead was trimmed to just seven points before the final possession. However, the hosts were able to restore their double digit advantage after a three-pointer from Nixon II sent both teams into the final period with the Hoods winning 67-57.

Much like the third quarter, whenever Storm trimmed the deficit to within single figures, Nottingham seemed to break the scoring run with a successful shot. There did seem to be momentum with the visitors as shots from Jack Burnell alongside the duo of Johnson and Norman put Storm within only six points of the Hoods, forcing them into a timeout. The break in play allowed the Hoods to regroup and extended the lead back to 10 points. Whilst Storm continued to compete until the final buzzer, Elliot Bailey dunked the ball on the buzzer to round off a bad day at the office for Storm, losing 89-79.

It was unfortunately a game of disappointment for Storm, as the chance to follow up last week’s dominant display at Loughborough with consecutive victories went missing. Lost rebounds and turnovers especially in the first half proved to be a key contributor to the defeat, with 22 turnovers over the 40 minutes. Storm will look to bounce back, with a trip to Yorkshire Dragons on Saturday 1st November. Storm's next home game is on Saturday 15th November. Tickets available now via our Fanbase app.

Written by Ollie Heathcote

Graphics by TGD Visuals / Sam O'Rourke