The Otago Nuggets were edged 97-94 by a classy Auckland Tuatara side in Dunedin this afternoon.
No shame there.
Tuatara guard Will Hickey had a monster game.
The talented Australian registered a triple-double.
He knocked down 31 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made 10 assists.
Hickey was unstoppable down the stretch. He rolled in lay-up after lay-up.
Rob Loe proved almost as hard to contain. The former Tall Black centre posted 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Somehow the Nuggets hung in there.
The game looked like it was slipping away but they rallied late in the third quarter and even led by five midway through the final period.
Don Carey jun rattled in 29 points. Jose Perez bulldozed his way to the hoop for 24 points.
Jaylen Sebree had a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Jonathan Janssen was good value for his 14 points as well.
And in the dying seconds, they had a chance to win.
Carey had the ball but fumbled a little and could not get clear. He tossed up a three-pointer but could not find the target.
Loe added a free throw to complete the win.
Nuggets coach Mike Kelly was satisfied with the performance despite the result not falling their way.
"That’s the first time we've played a team of that level," he said.
"And while we made a lot of mistakes ... I think there was some good fight.
"I just don't want us to accept that we fought hard and lost. I think that was a winnable game.
"But win or lose, we put ourselves in a position to win. And that's all you can ask for."
Perez wrestled with Tom Vodanovich for most of the match.
Vodanovich won the first round when he shook off his marker and opened the scoring with a three-pointer.
Loe backed into the paint for a couple of buckets and landed a brace of three-point jumpers.
The Nuggets were powerless to stop him from doing whatever he wanted.
Buay Tuach kept his sneakers in top gear. The Auckland guard made some nice cuts to the hoop.
The home team did well to stay in the contest and trailed 27-25 at the end of the opening period.
Tuach made an acrobatic one-handed slam early in the second period. He took flight from St Kilda to land that basket.
But back-to-back three-pointers for the Nuggets saw them edge in front briefly.
Loe barrelled his way to the rim early in the third to stretch the 52-44 halftime lead to 10 points.
Hickey ghosted to the hoop for a series of buckets.
The game looked like it was going in one direction.
The Nuggets needed some magic. Carey got to the top of the circle and flipped in three and poked in another triple from the wing.
And Perez drained a three-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer.
The Nuggets had clawed their way back to within five points.
They had trailed by 16.
Sebree opened the fourth period with a three-pointer. The Nuggets had steamrolled their way back into the contest and led 84-79 at one point.
Enter Hickey.
He slotted two free throws, hit a fadeaway jump and made a pull-up jump shot.
Loe speared in a triple to position the Tuatara next to the control panel.
Carey drained a deep three with 43 seconds remaining to cut the margin to two and set up a late chance to win the game.
It was not to be this time, though.
On Saturday the Hawke’s Bay Hawks recorded an 86-74 against the Whai in Mt Maunganui and the Taranaki Airs dispatched the Nelson Giants 108-93 in Nelson.
• The Nuggets continued their strong start to the Rapid League with a healthy 31-22 win against the Auckland Tuatara yesterday. They have won five of their six games and are in second place.
NBL
The scores
Auckland Tuatara 97 (Will Hickey 31, Rob Loe 27)
Otago Nuggets 94 (Don Carey jun 29, Jose Perez 24)
Quarter scores: 27-25, 52-44, 76-71, 97-94
