AFTER back-to-back defeats, David Colclough was pleased that Swindon Shock were able to produce a gritty defensive performance to claim a 74-59 win over Reading Rockets II.

A tight first quarter saw the New College-based side hold a narrow one-point lead after leaking 20 points in the opening period.

The lead then continued to swap sides but by the halfway stage it was Shock who were six points ahead.

In the third quarter, a good defensive display meant Swindon were able to stretch their lead, with the visitors only managing 10 points in the session.

Forwards Chris Cole and Spencer Wells led the scoring with 31 and 29 points respectively.

Newcomer Dominic Sajovic also put in a solid performance as he sank 11 points including some impressive efforts from distance.

“It was really good win. It was a must win because the morale of the team was really down and we really had to pull it together,” said the player-coach.

“I coached them hard on Tuesday and really emphasised defence so once we got going, it was really good to see it.

“For some strange reason, the last few weeks, we were so focused on our offence, we forgot about the defensive side of things.

“We always knew we could score but it is so rare to give up 90 points in a basketball game, so to do it back-to-back to a top and bottom team was disappointing.”

The National League Division Four side now have a break in their regular season and Colclough wants to use that time to get to work on the practice court.

“We’ve got an off week now so it’s a chance to work on some things,” he added. “We’ve done most of our travelling and people will have to come to us and that takes a lot out of people too.”