Poor focus and concentration cost CWA Fury dearly on Sunday as they lost a vital game in their National League relegation battle.

The King's Lynn club were edged out 67-59 by fellow Division Four (Midlands) strugglers Loughborough Riders and remain bottom of the table in their first season at this level.

The Riders jumped into an early lead as a disorganised Fury struggled to get to grip with the game before two Edga Lomsargis free throws helped them find their rhythm. At 26-18 down after the first period, Fury limited the hosts to just nine points in the second and pulled the score to 35-33 by the end of the quarter.

The score opened up in the third as the Riders took a 57-45 lead into the all-important fourth. And they hung on to win despite a fine Fury rally which saw Zygamantas Klevinskis record eight points in a row.

Head coach James Bamfield said: 'I'm pretty frustrated after last week. I had hoped to really push on but we had seven guys missing from practice for a variety of reasons and although we travelled with 10 I didn't feel we were as sharp as we could have been.

'Once we'd given them a lead it was always going to be difficult as they gained confidence and we had to work very hard and perhaps played our starters too many minutes to try and close the gap. We looked tired at half time and started the second period slowly as they looked much sharper. Credit to the boys though they kept fighting. One thing this team doesn't lack is heart and determination.'

Scorers: Klevinskis 14, Eivydas Aleksa 12, Edgar Lomsargis 12, Rich Milbourne 12, Bamfield 2, Jordan Roberts 2, Martynas Bagdonas 2, Aaron Weston-Millar, Josh Redfearn-Grey, Ashley Manning.

• Fury host league leaders Northants Thunder at Lynnsport on Saturday. The game tips-off at 6pm. Gates open at 5.15pm. Thunder have a 100pc league record and beat higher-level Wellingborough in the National Cup.