IT all came down to the final seconds of play when the Mount Gambier Lakers suffered their first defeat of the 2018-19 Country Basketball League South West men’s competition.
Up against the Horsham Hornets at the Icehouse Saturday night for the first of two Round 7 games, the Lakers held a slim lead for most of the night.
However, the guests refused to accept defeat and with a minute left on the clock, scores were level at 70-all.
A foul from Braiden Ousey saw Horsham’s Tim Pickert convert both free throws to put the Hornets ahead by two, but the lead was short-lived with Jason Nysten bagging a two-pointer to equalise.
With both teams frantic to keep their undefeated status alive, a strong rebound from Lachie Hunter kept the scores at 72-all with 21 seconds remaining.
But it was then the Lakers stumbled, as Hunter gave away a foul with 15 seconds left.
Pickert converted again and the Lakers called a timeout, with a two-point deficit and just 15 seconds to decide their fate.
Players returned to the court and Kane de Wit fired from the three-point line for the winning shot, but was off target by a slim margin.
With seconds to go, a desperate fumble to keep the ball in play saw the Lakers give away another foul and the game was all-but decided.
The ball was delivered to the other end of the court and Mitch Martin slotted both shots to secure a four-point lead.
With two seconds on the clock and the ball in the Lakers’ hands, a last-ditch effort saw a shot from beyond half court, which hit the backboard to the right of the basket.
However, it could not change the result anyway and the Hornets celebrated their sixth consecutive win for the season.
For the Lakers, Hunter played another solid game and led the way with 18 points.
Ousey also scored well with 17 for the match, while de Wit finished with 15.
Nysten drove hard around the court despite just six points to his name, while Matt Berkefeld finished with nine in a consistent performance.
Pickert scored a game-high 21 points for the Hornets, while Jeremiah McKenzie bagged 18 and Martin finished with 13 in the tight contest.
The Lakers would no doubt be disappointed with Saturday’s result and that showed in Sunday’s game against the Warrnambool Seahawks.
It did not take long for the Lakers to edge out to a dominant lead, with the margin at the first change 32-14.
Hunter found plenty of the ball around the hoop again, with 10 points in the first quarter setting up his eventual total of 26.
By half time the margin was 23 points and the Lakers did not take their foot off the gas from there.
A massive third term saw the home team score 27 to the Seahawks’ five, while the points kept coming in the final stanza for an eventual 106-59 point victory.
Ousey was also firing, with 24 points for the game, while Sam Stafford – who was absent on Saturday night – had an impact with 13.
Berkefeld and de Wit both finished with 12 points, while Kurt Rodis rounded out the double-figures with 10.
Mitchell Hunter was the only player not to score double-figures, but finished with nine points in a solid team effort.
The best score from the Seahawks saw Aidan Carroll with 17 points, while Michael Barnes (13) provided the only other double-figure result.
Though the Lakers took back some confidence on Sunday, Horsham also had a double-header round and defeated the Portland Coasters on the same day to now sit at the top of the ladder with seven wins from as many games.
However, the season is far from over and the Lakers will look forward to another home game against the Colac Kookas this weekend.
