PLYMOUTH Raiders came to the Northgate Arena bringing many potential stories, but the one which was played out for the Cheshire Jets' crowd was of hope and disappointment.

Many people were talking about the battle of the brothers, the first competitive meeting between the Jets' Kai Williams and older sibling Jamal, also a former Jet.

As it turned out Jamal played just over four minutes while Kai was out there for nearly 39 and made a double double 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Another topic of discussion was the return of 2010/11 BBL Championship MVP Jeremy Bell to the Northgate with the Raiders. He ended up causing the Jets a lot of problems with his speed, getting to the free-throw line for 11 attempts and making eight of them.

But for most of the game it seemed as if it was the Jets' to lose. John Lavery's side knew they had to work hard from the first minute if they were to entertain any hope of victory and they did exactly that, creating opportunities and, crucially, taking them as they kept pace with their visitors.

An early technical foul saw Lavery penalised and Jeremy Bell go to the line for two free throws, a sight which was to become all too familiar as the first half progressed.

It was Bell's deadeye shooting from the charity stripe that gave the Raiders the advantage.

But the Jets stuck to their task, even when Matt Schneck earned an and-one chance but had the points cancelled out due to a phantom tip in after the whistle that made no contact with the ball.

By half time, thanks to Colin O'Reilly's 16 point haul and 12 points and seven rebounds by the immense Bill Cole the Jets were in touch 43-39 down.

In the third the Jets demonstrated their best form, with Kai Williams stepping up to the plate and taking charge, scoring 10 points in the quarter.

Matt Schneck (15 points, 14 rebounds) also looked back to his best, powerfully pulling down rebounds and stepping to the basket while Adam Brown hit the fast breaks Colin O'Reilly took points inside and outside.

Their efforts meant the Jets led 70-61 going into the final period – but that was when disaster seemed to strike. Previously in this campaign the Jets have been accused of – and admitted to – struggling to hold on in the fourth quarter.

And when they came out for that final session there was a sense that the intensity of the previous quarter had gone, replaced instead with the Jets taking a step off their opposition.

The Raiders took full advantage of the opportunity before them, scoring all the points in the opening four minutes of the quarter to take a 71-70 lead.

O'Reilly (game high 24 points) halted that run but it was immediately followed by another as the Raiders added another seven points before Bill Cole (14pts, 10 rebounds) responded for the Jets,

As time marched on the Jets' slow start to the fourth left them with too much to do and even some late fouling to slow the clock down did not give them enough time to force their way back into the match.

Afterwards John Lavery rightly said this result was not the end of the Jets' season or their play-off ambitions, but both they and next week's home opponents Mersey Tigers cannot afford many more results like this if the post-season is to remain a realistic target.

Post-match, Lavery was keen to stress there was still a lot for the Jets to play for, but added that familiar weaknesses were creeping back in.

“Basketball's a 40 minute game. We played well in the third quarter, but we knew they were going to make a run back at us but obviously silly execution down the stretch and a few bad mistakes cost us the game.

“They went to the line 25 times tonight compared to our nine which is a bit disappointing. We need to attack them down the other end, particularly when we can get them into foul trouble.

“There's a long way to go yet. You look at all the teams that are around us, Guildford Heat have got to come here, Mersey Tigers have got to come here so one loss tonight is not going to end our season. We have to look at the positives and come out hard for the rest of the season.”