A LAST-gasp double miss at the end of the fourth quarter by Zaire Taylor of Worthing Thunder allowed Bradford Dragons to secure a thrilling 127-126 overtime victory.

The Dragons were leading 114-113 with seconds remaining but Rihards Sulcs' foul gifted Taylor three shots from the free-throw line. Yet he only netted one and the Latvian could breathe a sigh of relief.

The game had started quickly and the sides traded baskets in the opening quarter, with Thunder holding a narrow 32-29 lead after ten minutes.

The free-scoring Marcus Gooding netted 34 points to secure man of the match honours and his brace of three-pointers at the start of the second period put the Dragons ahead.

Worthing battled back, though, and took a 58-55 advantage into half-time.

Gooding and Disraeli Lufadeju's baskets put the hosts back ahead in the third period before Sulcs and Ricky Fetske took command, with the experienced duo helping Bradford to a nine-point lead by the buzzer.

Thunder refused to go quietly, clawing their way back to 108-108 with a minute remaining. Bradford resisted the storm and looked to have secured victory when they made it 114-111.

The away side scored from a rebound to bring the score to within one but after being fouled, Eisley Swaine had two free-throws to ensure the win.

But he missed both and Sulcs' subsequent foul looked to have sunk Bradford at the last. Thunder failed to take advantage and that meant a five-minute period of overtime.

Neither team gave an inch during the additional period and, with 20 seconds remaining, the scores were tied at 126-126. Lufadeju was then fouled but only managed to net one of his free-throws.

Those misses gave Worthing a chance to steal victory but their final lay-up bounced out and Bradford secured an incredible victory.

Dragons coach Chris Mellor reflected: "That was one crazy game. Both defences took the night off and it was an absolute offensive show from both teams.

"We couldn't stop them and they couldn't stop us and luckily we just managed to hold on."

The Dragons next face a tricky fixture at Manchester Magic on Saturday. They have not won in the last 11 meetings between the sides.

The action then returns to the Dragons' Den on Sunday at 4.15pm, when bottom side Lancashire Spinners provide the opposition.