Surrey Scorchers were given a scare at the Halloween-themed Pavilions, but came away unscathed against the Plymouth City Patriots.
Padiet Wang scored 15 of his team-high 22 in the final six minutes as the Scorchers needed overtime to defeat the Patriots 110-105 on Sunday.
Justin Robinson added 20 as Surrey hit 14 three-pointers, and shot an impressive 60% from the floor.
On his birthday, Taylor Johnson led all with 24 but it wasn’t enough as the South-West outfit stay bottom of the standings.
Plymouth City Patriots Starting Five: Jacob Wiley, Taylor Johnson, Joe Hart, Mason Faulkner, TJ Atwood.
Surrey Scorchers Starting Five: Abdul Mohammed, Cam Gooden, Saiquan Jamison, Padiet Wang, Josh Steel
First Half
Both sides were eager to break out in the opening exchanges in the first five minutes as Surrey started the brighter of the two.
A three from Josh Steel, followed by a dunk from Abdul Mohammed after fluid offence from the Scorchers, gave them a 10-7 lead.
However, both teams were mirror images of the other, with a couple of triples from Robinson separating the sides as the visitors led 20-15 after one.
In the blink of an eye, Plymouth responded with an 8-0 burst as the hosts came out in the second like a team possessed.
Errors from the Scorchers led to a selection of the unanswered scores as the Patriots led 23-20, holding Surrey scoreless in the first three-and-a-half minutes.
But, Surrey recovered from a slow start, and back-to-back three-pointers from Robinson and Quin Cooper gave the visitors a 39-30 cushion with 3:15 left in the half.
A 9-0 spurt from the visitors caught the Patriots cold until Mason Faulkner got the home side going with a triple from the wing.
But the Scorchers were relentless as they went 10/15 from deep and shot 56% from the field to lead 47-39 at the break.
Second Half
It was important for the Patriots to dictate the tempo in the third and put Surrey on the back foot. However, it turned out to be the other way around.
An 8-2 start by the Scorchers gave them their first double-digit lead of the contest. TJ Atwood provided some offensive spark for the hosts, but the visitors were on top.
And leading by as many as 14 points, coach Gardner’s side were cruising, but the Patriots still had fight and chipped their way back into proceedings.
It wasn’t pretty, but the hosts finally returned to the summit thanks to free throws from birthday boy Taylor Johnson with just over a minute of the third remaining.
But just as the Plymouth fans were entering the final period, all smiles, Surrey wiped them off by reclaiming the lead thanks to a three on the horn from Saiquan Jamison.
A player who usually doesn’t shoot many three-pointers, let alone connect on one, had snatched the lead back, but it didn’t turn out to be a momentum builder for the Scorchers.
In fact, it was Plymouth who regained control following an even first five minutes of the fourth.
And a quick-fire 7-0 run, highlighted by a three from Faulkner with 90 seconds left gave the hosts an 89-83 cushion.
Perhaps out of desperation, Padiet Wang took matters into his own hand and it paid dividends as he scored six unanswered to narrow the gap to a single point.
Once Faulkner ended the run by splitting his free throws, Wang stepped up again to knot things up at 90-90 with four ticks left. And that was how it stayed.
Overtime
Traditionally, whoever scores first in overtime usually wins, and the first score went the way of the visitors thanks to a jumper from Robinson.
And in the end, the tradition carries on.
Thanks to nine points from Wang in the extra period, Surrey recovered from being six down in the final 90 seconds of regulation to secure a second win of the season.
Player of the Game
He had a quiet first half but sprung into life when it mattered most; Padiet Wang was clutch for Surrey and was today’s Player of the Game.
| Team | Player | Points | Assists | Rebounds |
| Plymouth City Patriots | Taylor Johnson | 24 | 5 | 3 |
| Plymouth City Patriots | Mason Faulkner | 23 | 4 | 2 |
| Surrey Scorchers | Padiet Wang | 22 | 3 | 6 |
| Surrey Scorchers | Justin Robinson | 20 | 3 | 1 |
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