A triple double from John McCord helped Thames Valley Tigers to inflict a first defeat of the season on Haribo London Towers on Saturday night, his 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists inspiring Paul James' side to a 87-105 win at Crystal Palace.

Although Towers led narrowly early in the first period and again at the outset of the second, they were out-worked and out-played by their guests whose 0-10 burst in the second quarter too them in front for good.

Leading by three points at the mid-point, the Bracknell outfit blew out the Euroleague participants with Chandar Bingham an absorbing presence in the middle. The Tigers pulled down one rebound after another and had built a 20 point cushion entering the final quarter.

And although Kendrick Warren - their leading contributor with 27 points and 13 boards - inspired a late rally which cut the deficit to single figures, they could not close as Thames Valley again re-asserted their lead.

"We've asked the players to do some different things and they came through," praised James. "It's a great win for us."

Greg Meldrum added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Thames Valley who had all five starters in two figure scoring.