Otago crashed to one of its worst defeats in history.
The Southland Sharks dished out a 116-79 hammering in Invercargill last night.
And it was every bit as brutal as it sounds.
The Sharks went into the game on a three-game losing-streak and desperately needed a win to stay in touch with the top six.
But no-one was expecting a 37-point drubbing — the visiting side’s eighth-heaviest loss.
The Nuggets had set the benchmark with seven consecutive wins to start the season.
They were missing star point guard JaQuori McLaughlin. He is out with a knee complaint.
The defending champions certainly lacked cohesion in his absence.
But so many other parts of their game fell away.
The biggest concern had to be the defensive effort. It was seriously lacking.
Alonzo Burton led the scoring with 20 points for the Sharks. But another six of his team-mates got into double figures.
The rebounding battle was one-way traffic as well. The Sharks won that phase 46-26.
Michael Harris led the scoring for the Nuggets with 21 points. But he struggled to find his range and missed all eight of his three-point attempts.
Sam Timmins (15 points) had a quiet game and Todd Withers (14 points) had a decent shooting night but was not able to make a big dent defensively.
Burton dropped in a three to open the scoring.
Withers responded with one of this own and also picked up the foul. He converted from the stripe, but the Nuggets looked completely disjointed.
Had it not been for Withers dropping in another couple of triples, they would have found themselves in a much deeper rut.
The Nuggets’ reputation for playing sticky defence unravelled a lot. The Sharks were getting too many open looks and they were murdering the visiting side on the boards.
The Sharks added an early bucket in the second to stretch their 34-17 first quarter lead.
Withers made his way to the hoop and slammed it in. Matthew Bardsley slipped behind the defence for an easy two and Timmins slapped away a block.
But none of it put a dent in the Sharks’ lead which continued to build.
"Too easy", commentator Justin Nelson said for the umpteenth dozen time as the Sharks popped in a series of soft baskets.
"This team in baby blue are asleep right now," he continued.
The halftime deficit of 64-41 was a pretty loud wake-up call.
The problem the Nuggets faced was a couple of the players they needed to lean on to help claw their way back into the game were not firing.
Harris' shooting was off. Timmins was not rebounding.
The third quarter was a shambles — hide in the dark and pull a blanket over your head sort of stuff.
The Sharks drained a series of three-pointers as they closed in on 100 points.
Ben Hall missed the triple, which would have brought up the milestone. The Sharks had to settle for a 98-52 lead with 10 minutes to go.
In other games over the long weekend, the Franklin Bulls beat the Jets 97-82 in Auckland. The Jets also suffered a 96-82 loss to the Auckland Tuatara on their road trip.
The Saints outscored the Taranaki Airs 111-92 in New Plymouth, and the Canterbury Rams defeated the Hawke’s Bay Hawks 112-97 in Christchurch.
NBL
The scores
Southland Sharks 116
Alonzo Burton 20, Ben Hall 19
Otago Nuggets 79
Michael Harris 21, Sam Timmins 15
Quarter scores: 34-17, 64-41, 98-52.
Biggest losses for Nuggets
47 points: Southland (2013)
46 points: Canterbury (1992)
42 points: Southland (2011)
42 points: Waikato Pistons (2011)
42 points: Nelson (2003)
40 points: Canterbury (1990)
38 points: Taranaki (2005)
37 points: Southland (2023)
