Otago Nuggets 73
If the Otago Nuggets have not started thinking about next year yet, then they should.
This season is beyond salvaging after the beleaguered franchise was whipped 93-73 by a classy Wellington Saints side at the Lion Foundation Arena on Saturday night.
The Nuggets have won just two of their 16 games and have almost certainly secured their fourth consecutive wooden spoon.
They have two matches remaining and it is just as well, because from outside the camp the team looks to be in disarray.
Players have bickered with each other and protested against coach Don Sims, and several have voiced their discontent during the season.
Last week, in a public outburst, American import Lemar Gayle questioned Sims' decision to bench him at a crucial time during the Nuggets' 78-88 loss to the Hawkes Bay Hawks.
He also said some of his team-mates seemed content to lose, just as long as the score did not blow out.
Sims has said his team does not have the talent other franchises enjoy.
That point seems obvious if you look at the results, but his comments could not have done much for morale.
On Saturday night the only person holding the Nuggets together was American centre Antoine Tisby, with a haul of 29 points and 17 rebounds.
It was consummate performance which caught the attention of the opposition coach, Doug Marty.
"Tisby carried them," Marty said.
"He scored half their points in the first half and he was a real handful.
"We were inconsistent and gave up too many baskets.
"But Tisby really controlled that first half."
The statistics sheet made grim reading for the home side.
Brent Charleton had one of his better offensive games, scoring 13 points.
He also does much good work on defence which sometimes goes unnoticed.
Gayle scored 21 points but it was not one of his great performances.
Eight of those points came in the last quarter when the game was won and the Saints had hit cruise control.
Only two other Nuggets registered any points, Shaun Tilby (7) and Jamie Blake (3).
Former Junior Tall Black Darryl Jones played 25 scoreless minutes and the team shot an unflattering 32.9% from the floor.
The Saints had five players in double figures and scored 42 points off the bench.
That statistic is misleading though.
The Saints roster was so strong Marty could afford to leave Tall Black point guard Lindsay Tait on the bench at the start.
He kept former Tall Black Brendon Pongia and import Kevin Owens company.
The game appeared to be a mismatch from the start, with the Saints stealing an early 9-0 march on their opponents.
Sims was forced to call a time-out after about 90sec to halt the Saints' momentum.
Shortly after the stoppage, Luke Martin turned Tilby inside out and waltzed to the basket for an easy lay-up.
Shell-shocked, the Nuggets finally got into the match with consecutive three-pointers and a basket from inside when Tisby backed his way into the paint and nailed a hook shot.
Charleton hit two three-pointers in the first quarter and began the next period with another from beyond the arch.
Tait answered back, sprinting the length of the floor and passing to Nick Horvath for an easy bucket under the rim.
Tilby made the best assist of the match, a deft no-look flick around his back to Tisby, who added another two points to his half-time total of 19 points and 11 rebounds - exactly half the team's points and half its rebounds.
Gayle had a quiet 20min, landing just two of his 14 attempts from the floor.
A 12-4 run to the Saints increased the gap to 17 points midway through the third period, and the Nuggets were never in a position to mount a challenge from that point.
Tait led the scoring for the Saints with 21 and Horvath posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Wellington Saints 93 (Lindsay Tait 21, Luke Martin 13, Ernest Scott 12, Nick Horvath 12) Otago Nuggets 73 (Antoine Tisby 29, Lemar Gayle 21, Brent Charleton 13).
Quarter 24-23, half-time 47-38, three-quarters 74-54.
