Nuggets well beaten but ‘played with a lot of heart’

Otago Nuggets forward Kimani Lawrence looks for a way past Franklin Bulls defenders Ethan Rusbatch (left) and Lee Skinner at the Edgar Centre on Saturday night. PHOTO: BLAKE ARMSTRONG

It was not the way Brent Matehaere envisioned his team’s season would end.

Nevertheless, the Otago Nuggets coach was proud of the heart and commitment his players showed.

They were well beaten 99-83 by a classy Franklin Bulls side at the Edgar Centre on Saturday.

It brings the Nuggets’ season to a close with a 7-13 record, while the Bulls (13-7) move on to the playoffs.

"They still played with a lot of heart — that’s to be commended," Matehaere said.

"Certainly, with the players we had out, there’s a lot of skills that’s not on the floor for us.

"For our guys to come out and compete the way they did, I’m really proud of the guys.

It was "a season that we’re going to learn a lot from moving forward as a franchise and [I] just hope that we can get it basically back up and running better next year".

Among the 1569-strong crowd, there was a pocket of animated Bulls fans — joined by members of former Nuggets captain Sam Timmins’ family — who let the home crowd know who they were supporting.

It was a happy homecoming for Timmins as he produced a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bulls looked smooth from the first whistle, and before they knew it, they were up by 15.

Isaac Davidson did a swag of damage early, knocking down four triples in the opening quarter.

The Nuggets’ radar was just a little off, which allowed the Bulls to capitalise, and the visitors were quick in transition.

Jack Andrew found himself alone in the paint and Kimani Lawrence had a nice late touch to narrow the Bulls’ lead to 31-22 at the break.

The home side started the second quarter strongly and closed the gap to just six at one point. Matt Bardsley came up with a massive block, Andrew pressured in the paint and Zaccheus Darko-Kelly picked up the crumbs to score.

The Bulls’ class helped them recover, and they showed why they knocked over the defending champion Rams days earlier as they nudged to a 58-45 lead at the break.

The Nuggets, to their credit, continued to work hard.

Darcy Knox hustled for the ball on the ground and came up with the steal. He followed up by banking the three at the other end.

Joe Ahie also put his body on the line, as did Robbie Coman.

The Nuggets came up with the ball from Coman, and Darko-Kelly appropriately knocked down a triple for his team-mates’ effort.

But the Bulls’ experience was just too strong as they moved the ball, went hard on defence and always found their way to the bucket.

Davidson scored a deep three from the corner right on the buzzer for the Bulls to lead 84-66.

Lawrence attacked hard, driving around the base to finish with a reverse lay-up. He then stole the ball, brought it down the court, banked the shot and drew the foul against him.

Josh Aitcheson featured in a nice cameo off the bench, grabbing five rebounds in his 100th NBL game.

The Nuggets won their rapid league game 38-35.

The Rams (17-3) have top spot for the playoffs, and the Tuatara (16-4) are second. The other four playoff teams — the Airs, Saints, Bulls and Giants — are set, but their ranking was not finalised until games last night.