It was a depleted Rockets side, but they battled well against a strong Storm team, with neither side pulling away at any point in the tight encounter.

The first quarter ended with a pair of trebles from Matt Davis and the influential Alex Zurn as the Rockets finished an exhilarating period 29-23 up.

Storm were dispatching three pointers of their own regularly though, and they struck three in quick succession at the start of the second period to take the lead.

Rockets fought back well but an 11-1 run at the end of the period for the hosts saw them lead 50-45 at the break.

The game was end-to-end and, despite falling a further two points behind, Rockets fought back to lead at the end of the third period.

Zurn was at the centre of everything that Rockets did and he was ably assisted by Guardia Marti, who looked to open up the Hemel defence at every opportunity.

Emmanuel Campi Garcia helped himself to five points towards the end of the quarter and Rockets led 64-60 heading into the third quarter.

Points were exchanged early on in the final quarter before a five point run for the hosts levelled the score at 69-69.

The atmosphere was electric as both sides went from defence to attack in the blink of an eye, looking for any opportunity to get ahead.

Gradually, boosted by the home crowd, Hemel edged ahead, leading 76-75 with just 24 seconds remaining.

They hit three free throws from six after drawing fouls to edge further ahead. Rockets tried to fight back but could only muster one score, which was matched by Hemel.

Zurn top scored for Rockets with 27 points, but it was disappointment for him and his teammates despite the buoyant effort put in by all.

Rockets will look to bounce back when they travel up north to face Bradford Dragons on Saturday (6.15pm) in the NBL Division One, before an away game with Kent Crusaders on Sunday in the National Cup third round.