The Otago men's team suffered its first loss in the National Basketball Championships in Auckland yesterday.
After beating Counties and Porirua on Wednesday, it topped Waitakere West 89-83 in its first game yesterday, before losing 97-94 to Canterbury.
Canterbury came out firing to start the match, knocking down five three-pointers in the first quarter to jump out to a 34-14 lead.
However, Otago clawed its way back into the game to level scores at 94-94 inside the last 10 seconds.
However, Sam King was called for a foul on a Canterbury tip-in, and the resulting free-throw gave the red and blacks a three-point lead.
Otago got the ball back with seven seconds left on the clock, but could not get a shot off.
Guard Micah Lepaio led the Otago scorers with 25 points in a typically classy performance against Waitakere West, while Olly Smith (16 points), Sam King (15) and Jack Stirling (14) also chipped in.
Otago will play Waitakere West Rangers in its final round-robin match at 12.30pm today, and will lock up a semifinal spot with a win.
The Otago women's team, which split its first two games on Wednesday, bounced back to beat Counties 2 68-63 yesterday on the back of Amiria Koopu's 22-point haul in its first game.
It played Waitakere West last night. The semifinals will be played tonight, and the finals tomorrow night.
