Tees Valley Mohawks ended their season with a thrilling 72-71 win over 2014 treble winners Reading Rockets.
But after missing out on the play-offs, coach Steve Butler says it’s time to learn and rebuild in order to do better next term.
The Mohawks went into their final match of the campaign at Teesside University’s Olympia Building already out of the play-off picture after a midweek 84-81 defeat away to derby rivals Team Northumbria.
But their victory assured them of ninth place in the final EBL National League Division One table - one position short of qualification.
“As a coach I’m still learning and I need to improve on things,” admitted Butler.
“We had a great squad this year but we can’t allow teams to take games away from us at the end, which we did this season.
“We allowed 12 league points go slipping through our fingertips and if we’d got those results we would have been up in fifth spot, possibly fourth.
“It shows this league is really competitive and I’m hoping for better things next season.
“It’s time to rebuild and learn from this season’s mistakes and improve next season.”
Butler was down to six players - including himself - for the visit of Reading, and made it clear he was disappointed at some of the reasons his absentees gave.
However he vowed to end the season with a bang against a full-strength Rockets side who needed a win to boost their hopes of a top four finish, and with it home advantage in the play-off quarter-finals.
Reading started brightly with captain Danny Carter hitting eight points as his side pulled out a 20-10 lead.
Five quick points from Butler including a neat three-pointer gave Mohawks hope, however, and they started the second quarter down by seven points at 22-15.
The sides traded baskets in the second session with Bryan Hockaday, Alex Moore and Charles Rhodes keeping the hosts in the hunt.
The gap was back up to double figures as Reading took a 40-30 lead into the locker room but Mohawks burst into life in the third period.
Team defence and pure heart showed what they had to offer and, with the crowd behind them, Mohawks took the quarter 24-12.
Mohawks extended their lead further but, as their legs tired, Reading hit back and with three minutes left the visitors held a seven-point lead.
But Butler’s men battled their way back into the game and with 13 seconds remaining were down by just two points with possession.
Butler called a time-out and ran up a play which the team executid perfectly as Moore attacked the basket and scored but got fouled in the process.
Steady hand Moore duly converted the free throw with three seconds remaining to give Mohawks the lead and, with time running out, Reading missed the following shot and with it their chance to turn things around.
“I’m so proud of the team,” said Butler. “It shows we have under-achieved and made mistakes in games that we should have won, especially before Christmas.
“But we finished the season on a high note and we got a confidence-boosting win.
“The crowd were fantastic and very loud. It was a great atmosphere to play in - I must get my boots out more often!”
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