THE Ballarat Miners have dropped their third consecutive game, going down comfortably 94-80 to a strong Brisbane Spartans outfit in their South East Australian Basketball League round five contest on Sunday afternoon.
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The Spartans led the Miners at every change, shooting out to a nine-point lead at the end of the first term in what was a physical contest.
Roy Booker proved instrumental in keeping the home side in the contest, sinking four three-pointers in a term where the Miners struggled to get the ball moving.
While an early dunk from Earnest Ross looked to light the Miners’ spark at the beginning of the second term, the Spartans held their resolve going into the major break. The Spartans finished the half with 10 point scorers, double that of the Miners.
In a final term where the Spartans would extend their lead to as much as 23 points, a visibly frustrated Miners coach Eric Hayes was penalised with a technical foul for his response to a call by the referee.
Hayes said his chargers had failed to work together across the court which cost them both offensively and defensively. “On both ends we didn’t play very well together, we didn’t help each other out and we didn’t run the ball well.”
Former Fremantle footballer Craig Moller’s effort was one of the few positives for the Miners from Sunday afternoon, with the big man racking up nine rebounds and five assists. Hayes was also full of praise for younsters Ross Weightman, James Reeves and Tristan Fisher, who received game time towards the end of the match.
