AN inspired final quarter comeback wasn’t enough for the Albury-Wodonga Bandits last night, falling to the Nunawading Spectres 100-90 at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre.
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Trailing by as many as 23 points in the first half, the Border club roared home, closing to within two points with three minutes left, but they could not prevent Nunawading from inflicting the Bandits’ first defeat on their home floor this season.
Albury-Wodonga paid dearly for an insipid opening quarter that saw the Spectres pour in 39 points and take a 14-point lead that took the best part of three quarters to reel in.
Until the final quarter the visitors were simply too clinical, shooting an outrageous 91 per cent from beyond the arc in the first half and giving the Bandits a harsh reality check.
The Bandits were led by Daniel Sepokas’ 21 points, with Deba George and Cory Dixon adding 18 and 17 points respectively.
For Nunawading, a familiar face in Shane McDonald was again the deciding factor, the former Bandits playmaker hitting 21 points, grabbing six boards and dishing out five assists.
“We just didn’t make any solid adjustments in the first half,” Bandits coach Brad Chalmers said.
“We were just too reactive and not collectively on the same page.
“But we worked our way back into it and then we were probably tired in the last few minutes.
“It’s a good wake-up call, they just outplayed us in the first half, they were more desparate than us.
“They knew their season was on the line, so they wanted it a little more.”
The Bandits jumped out to a 5-0 lead but an 8-0 reply from the visitors made it readily apparent this was not going to be an easy night for Albury-Wodonga.
With the Spectres holding an incredible 39-25 advantage after the first quarter, it wasn’t just a warning sound for the hosts, it was an air raid siren.
The incandescent shooting continued throughout the second period, Nunawading hitting its first nine attempts from international waters without blemish.
Despite being on the end of a fearsome spray from Chalmers, it was still a Bandits squad that lacked for offensive polish as Nunawading kept its hosts at arm’s length.
Trailing 86-70 with one quarter to play, the onus was on the Bandits to show a spark — and they did, a quick-fire run reducing the margin to eight in just two minutes.
It was loud after a Sepokas triple and absolute bedlam following a George three as the Bandits came all the way back to 92-90 with three minutes left.
But the Spectres steadied down the stretch, the guiding hand of McDonald proving the difference in the final moments.