No great surprise for tenth consecutive loss
And one more makes 10.
The Otago Nuggets have slipped to a tenth consecutive loss in the National Basketball League this season.
It is just outside their top five most barren runs in their history.
The latest loss was no great surprise.
They were up against the Wellington Saints (11-4) who are at the other end of the competition standings — the good end.
The Saints were perhaps guilty of coasting along in patches. But they pulled away late to win 91-79.
Nicholas Marshall (24 points, 7 rebounds) and Hyrum Harris (15 points, 13 rebounds) starred.
Jordan Ngatai, who won a banner with the Nuggets in the 2020 Showdown, banged in 18 points.
Nicholas Muszynski posted a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
For the Nuggets, Jaylen Sebree (22 points, 9 rebounds) and Jonathan Janssen (15 points, 6 rebounds) stood out on the statistics sheet.
Caleb Smiler made a positive contribution from the bench. But import Don Carey jun had a cold shooting night, landing five from 16 from the field.
Both teams struggled from range. But that was more costly for the Nuggets, who do not have a genuine big to mix it up in the paint.
They were out rebounded 47-35 which is a big advantage to overcome.
The Nuggets last win was against the Indian Panthers, who have since withdrawn from the league.
That win has been subtracted from their total, leaving the team 2-12 for the season.
It is not a good return considering they are fighting for their future. Their owners, SEN, have signalled they will pull out at the end of the campaign.
Ngatai spun his way to the hoop in the opening seconds of the match to highlight how hard it would be for the Nuggets to get stops close to the rim.
The Nugget's first play, by contrast, completely lacked direction and ended with Carey throwing up an air ball.
It was not a good omen.
Matthew Bardsley brought some early hustle for the Nuggets. But the Saints had no problem splitting the defence and started to take control late in the opening period.
Marshall banged in a three to help them get in front 22-15.
He got busy early in the second and the lead blew out to 12.
The Nuggets were putting up some passive defence.
Sebree connected from deep and Janssen muscled his way to the hoop for a brace of buckets. He has really lifted his game in recent weeks.
The Nuggets got back to within three. It was a terrific rally, but the challenge faded in the second half of the period.
Harris made some successful drives to the lid to give his side a 47-37 lead at halftime.
Muszynski bullied an offensive rebound partway through the third and made the lay-up to give the Saints their equal biggest lead of the game — 14 points.
Darcy Knox got to the hoop in his 100th game. But his side was stuck in catch-up mode and did not have the firepower to bridge the gap.
They were down 71-58 with 10 minutes to go.
The Nuggets surged again.
Sebree hit a couple of lovely jumpers and Bardsley cut the lead to just three again when he slipped in under the hoop and got a cheap basket.
They gave themselves a chance to win but the Saints had more composure in the final minute and iced the win.
The Nuggets won the Rapid League game 31-30. NBL
The scores
Wellington Saints 91
Nicholas Marshall 24, Jordan Ngatai 18
Otago Nuggets 79
Jaylen Sebree 22, Jonathan Janssen 15
Quarter scores: 22-15, 47-37, 71-58, 91-79.
adrian.seconi@odt.co.nz
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