Rams beaten down south as Sharks bite
Poor three point shooting and offensive rebounding crippled the Canterbury Rams in their National Basketball League away loss to the Southland Sharks.
The Rams missed the chance to make up ground on pacesetters Wellington and Nelson on the ladder, losing 89-83 in Invercargill on Monday afternoon.
Southland took control of the game in the second quarter, going on a 22-5 run late in the first half to build a handy 45-30 halftime advantage.
The Rams trailed by 18 points in the third quarter, but to their credit hauled themselves back into the contest.
With four minutes left, Canterbury were down by just four points [74-70], but a three pointer from experienced Southland forward Adrian Majstrovich and a basket by Australian import Todd Blanchfield extended their lead to nine points.
Rams coach Mark Dickel said the second quarter, where Canterbury were outscored 25-13, left them with too large a deficit to recover from.
‘‘You remove the second quarter from it and we pretty much had the run of the game. Southland are really good. They’ve got a lot of good players. Players that are hard to guard,’’ Dickel said.
‘‘The lesson for us is we’ve got to find a way to keep the game close, so when we go on a run, we get an advantage.’’
Blanchfield was a constant menace for Southland, filling up the stat sheet with 21 points and 18 rebounds.
Veteran American point guard Kevin Braswell also paced the Sharks with a team-high 24 points, which included four threes.
Canterbury were let down by their three point accuracy, landing just three of 16 attempts from beyond the arc for the game.
Southland landed 10 in comparison, but put up 32 attempts from deep.
The Rams’ poor offensive rebounding also let them down badly. Canterbury, who lead the NBL for rebounds per game, were dominated on the glass 51-38.
Southland pulled down 21 offensive boards to the Rams’ 10 with Blanchfield and New Zealand Breaker Tai Wesley both nabbing six apiece.
The Sharks made Canterbury pay, notching 25 second chance points to the Rams’ eight.
Monday’s game competed a gruelling three game road trip for the Rams over four days.
Canterbury went 1-2 on the weekend, losing to Nelson on Friday night, but bouncing back with victory over winless Manawatu on Saturday in Palmerston North. Richie Edwards was impressive off the bench against Southland, scoring a game-high 27 points, while also registering seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Co-captain Ethan Rusbatch added 19 points and six rebounds, while American big man Mickell Gladness had another double- double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
The loss drops Canterbury back to a 4-3 record. Saturday night’s game against the Super City Rangers at Cowles Stadium is a vital one for the Rams, who need to remain in touch with the competition frontrunners.
Dickel said they were desperate to preserve their unbeaten 3-0 home record.
‘‘It’s no secret we can’t lose any home games if we want to get our goal, which is the playoffs and have a chance to win. You’ve got to win your home games.’’