Ballarat lost to Sandringham 124-84 on Saturday night.

The Nuggets did much better against Nunawading in Ballarat on Sunday, but still lost 115-104.

Ballarat was without Nathan Cavanagh (Miners), Matt Deppeler (work) and Corey Collier and Ricky Henderson (state under-18 squad training) against Sandringham.

On the positive side, Jacob Borner was back after a bout of the flu and Dom Beaston suited up for his first game.

Dylan Davidson showed the value of his extra work this season as he asserted his influence on the game.

Sandringham secured the victory in the second quarter to lead 75-38 at half-time.

Defence continued to be the Nuggets' weakness in the third quarter as Sandringham scored at will.

Ballarat trailed 101-60 at the last change and a number of the Nuggets' senior players rested as each team went through the motions in a fairly soft final term.

In contrast, the Nuggets took it right up to second-placed Nunawading.

They had the benefit of Nathan Cavanagh and Damien Chapman from the Miners.

Their influence gave the team the confidence to work hard throughout the game.

Nunawading led 31-25 at quarter time and in the second term Nunawading's lead fluctuated between seven and 12 points with Chapman keeping potential match-winner Stefan Martin in check.

The last quarter belonged to the Nuggets as they continued to surge despite Chapman fouling out.

Sam Valentine replaced him and the momentum continued with the gap down to seven points, but the Spectres regrouped to hold by 11 points.