Nuggets 81
Rams 86
Poor shooting and foul trouble deprived the Otago Nuggets of a much-needed win over the Canterbury Rams at the Lion Foundation Arena on Saturday night.
Nuggets guard Nat Connell sent the see-sawing match into overtime when he drained a three-pointer with just three seconds remaining in regulation time. But the visitors dominated the extra period 12-7 to win the game 86-81.
Canterbury point guard Jeremy Kench led all scorers with a haul of 25 points and American swingman Joey Harrell piled on 20 points to help the Rams seal the victory.
The Nuggets' American import Jay Anderson had a solid game with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Connell was excellent with 18 points and 11 boards.
But both fouled out and had to watch the final moments of the game from the bench. With three starters sitting down during the final stretch the Nuggets lacked the firepower and faded to lose by 5 points.
The Nuggets did not help themselves with some woeful shooting. The home side struggled to find its range for the second consecutive week, landing just 29 of its 80 attempts from the floor. The Rams, in comparison, shot 27 from 64.
‘‘It is our Achilles heel and it showed up again,'' coach Don Sims lamented.
‘‘We've just got to keep working at it. We've got guys who can shoot the ball with Brent [Charleton], Nat [Connell] and Jay [Anderson] but we've just got to work harder.
‘‘I think what is happening is we are asking a lot of them defensively and their bodies just haven't caught up. We're spending a lot of energy making rebounds and getting after people.''
While it is still early in the season the Nuggets are 0-2 and the loss to Canterbury has put a significant dent in their play-off prospects. The franchise has a bye next week but has a doubleheader against the Auckland Stars and the Harbour Heat in round four.
There is every possibility the Nuggets will return from their first road trip 0-4.
Depending on other results that would leave the Nuggets needing to win half of their remaining games to finish in the top six and make its first appearance in the play-offs since 1997.
The other problem for the Nuggets is the form of 2.14m tall centre Rahsaan Smith.
The American import had an off night grabbing just the one rebound and posting 8 points in 18min.
Sims believes Smith is still adjusting to the league and is yet to produce his best form. Smith fouled out against Nelson Giants last weekend and came a little timid against the Rams as a result.
But Sims has asked him to back himself and take control of the paint, even if that means fouling out early.
‘‘We're asking him to go out and give us maximum effort. Last weekend I didn't have a problem with his effort even though he got into foul trouble.
‘‘As long as he plays hard I wouldn't mind if he fouled out in the first period.
‘‘We need that spark coming out of the gate, so it is just a matter of him understanding what's his role and how I expect him to play.''
Canterbury Rams 86 (Jeremy Kench 25, Joey Harrell 20, Gerard Bowden 12, Dave Langrell 10),
Otago Nuggets 81 (Jay Anderson 19, Nat Connell 18, Brent Charleton 14)
Quarter 27-21, Half-time 39-42, three quarters 59-53, full-time 74-74, over time 86-81.
