OXFORD scrambled to a 46-44 BSN Series victory over Plymouth in a meeting which went right down to the line in Heat 15.
A solid-scoring Gladiators side raced into an eight-point lead at the halfway stage and remained in front despite a Cheetahs’ comeback, with Dan (11+1) and Joe Thompson (10+2) outstanding for the visitors.
But the home side’s top two of Sam Masters and Scott Nicholls combined for a 5-1 in Heat 13 and repeated the feat in Heat 15 with Masters completing a 15-point maximum – whilst Nicholls, who scored 14+3, got the verdict in a photo-finish with Dan Thompson.
Masters said: “I’m not keen on last heat deciders – I prefer the team to win by a few points. But it was exciting for the fans to watch tonight.
“Hats off to Plymouth. Last year, we gave them a bit of a flogging every time they came here, but they pushed us all the way tonight and they made it a close meeting. We really had to dig deep to pull off the victory.
“A few of the other guys in our team had bike issues tonight and hopefully we can get those sorted and we can win more comfortably going forwards.”
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Photo credit: LES AUBREY