The RetireInvest Ballarat Miners resisted an onslaught by class act Andrew Rice to get the points 120-104.

Rice's potency almost single handedly kept the Bandits in the game.

He returned the stand-out figures of 38 points and 18 rebounds, but ultimately it was Ballarat's greater depth which separated the regional rivals.

"It's a good result," Miners coach Shane Mathison said.

"Any win on the road is a good win.

"It was tough, but we played very good basketball," he said.

Despite Rice being almost unstoppable early, Ballarat had the game all to itself when it led by 17 points five minutes into the second quarter.

However, the Miners did not score for the next five minutes and Albury-Wodonga was able to lock up the scores.

"We lost our way offensively," Mathison said.

"The fluency went out of our game and we dropped off a little."

He said to the team's credit though, it picked up a gear.

By the last break, Ballarat was again in charge with a 13-point lead and this was to prove enough.

Mathison praised the defensive effort of import Marcus Toney-El on Rice.

Rice looked like he might do anything after shooting 16 points in a menacing first quarter.

Mathison gave Toney-El the job of minding Rice and his work was to be telling as the Miners took their east conference standing to seven wins and four losses to be second and well placed to face a huge test against Brisbane-

based Southern Districts in Ballarat on Saturday night.

Nathan Cavanagh had his best game in his comeback season - grabbing the opportunity given to him in the absence of Matt Hardiman.

Cavanagh, who spent last season overseas, scored an invaluable 18 points in a role he will now have for the rest of the year.

The Geelong-based Hardiman has quit the Miners owing to work commitments.

Mathison said Hardiman, who joined Ballarat this season after time in the United States, had decided to give it away because of the pressures of commuting between Geelong and Ballarat for training.