BALLARAT Miners’ fast finish and tactical manoeuvres almost caught the Bendigo Braves.
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Almost. But not quite.
The GMHBA Miners fought from 12 points down, midway through the final term, to four points down with 17.1 seconds on the clock in the South East Australian Basketball League clash at the Mars Minerdome last night.
Impressive as the late comeback was, the Braves bumped the margin up from the free throw line to defeat the Miners 81-73.
Foul trouble kept key miners Roy Booker and Ken Horton from the floor through the second half of the third term – an issue compounded with captain Liam Gibcus sent to the rooms with blood on his face.
The loss hurt the Miners, who have only one win from four matches (including two narrow losses at home) and a 17-day break until their next assignment.
A sold-out crowd is yet to see the Miners at their best but the flashes of exciting play they have shown keeps drawing fans back.
Booker was the Miners’ top-scorer with 22 points (three three-pointers).
Miners Ken Horton (13 rebounds) and Chris Smith (10 rebounds) dominated the boards with the Miners notching up a combined 41 rebounds to the Braves’ 27.
Braves’ prolific scorer Dustin Salisbery proved hard to contain with 24 points.