The Braves claimed a 94-80 victory on its home court as the Miners struggled to get their game plan in action for any length of time.

After trailing by 11 points at half-time, Miners drew the margin back to two points heading into the last term, but Bendigo once again moved clear.

Coach Eric Hayes felt that, aside from portions of the third, his side never got the game on its terms.

“I thought we played pretty poorly throughout,” Hayes said.

“We had a patch where we got back in it...but we just couldn’t consistently stick to what we wanted.

“Then they made a bit of a push and we just didn’t respond to that very well.”

The main area for concern is the Miners’ record away from the Minerdome.

From its 11 away matches, it has won just four. Hayes was not exactly sure why this was the case, but felt it was something the group had to address.

Hayes has faith the team structures in place are capable, given the results on its home floor. But felt at times the group struggled to get itself “up” for games on the road and deal with the cauldron-like atmosphere of opposition arenas.

“We haven’t travelled well. So we’ve been talking about different things that we might do when we travel, to have a bit of a different energy.

“When we’re on the road and a team makes a run, the atmosphere changes and we just don’t seem to respond to that.

“We certainly have some things to talk about.

“In terms of what we do structurally, I think that’s fine, it’s just being able to stick to that when things are a bit tough.

“In my view, for every game each individual has to find how what you need to do to make sure you are ready to go.

“We try and do some things to make sure players are ready to go…but each individual will feel different.

Craig Moller top-scored upon his return with 26 points.

The Miners will welcome back star Peter Hooley next week after his time in China with the Sydney Kings.