In front of a packed out crowd of over 200 the Raptors put on a great display to beat promotion rivals Nottingham Hoods.

The game started with the Hoods opening up and early lead after the first quarter through some solid and aggressive play. It was clear that Nottingham had come with every intention of winning the game.

In the second quarter the Raptors began to find their feet and put the visitors under pressure. Some great moves around the basket from Lindsay & new signing Kuczaj who was making his home debut had pulled Raptors clear at half time.

In the third quarter both teams picked up their intensity and were trading basket for basket. Raptors dug in and although Hoods were aggresive and managed to cut the lead down to 3 by mid way through the third quarter but Kieran Forsythe, Aitor Estrada and Angelo Kornecki all made some amazing long shots to open up the gap again.

In the final quarter, Nottingham came on strong and put the Raptors under pressure but some good free throw shooting from Steven Gayle put the game beyond doubt and the Raptors won 97-86.

Chairman Ken Masser commented; "it was brilliant to see so many people turning up to watch the game and the players responded. I just hope that we can finish the season well and achieve "the impossible" of back to back national league promotions. It would be an amazing achievement but first we need a good result against Huddersfield on Saturday. I should also thank our sponsors, ASK Solicitors, ISSL and CSG for supporting us and allowing us to have this free ticket promotion and open ourselves up to the Valley that bit more."

Stephen Gayle added, "the crowd was amazing. To think we're getting as many if not more spectators than teams like Manchester an Birmingham is amazing and credit to what a great place Rossendale is! We just need to take one game at a time. We've got a few big games yet against quality teams. All we can focus on is Huddersfield on Saturday."

Next home game is Saturday 23rd February against Shropshire Warriors. 5:15pm tip off.