OUTCLASSED, outgunned, outplayed.
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Not much went to plan for the Albury-Wodonga Bandits on Friday night, hitting a Hobart Chargers-shaped brick wall in the south conference preliminary final.
The 97-66 loss was hardly the way the Bandits wanted to bow out of their 2016 campaign, particularly on the heels of their stirring victory over Geelong last week.
But, unfortunately, that was the way it was as the Chargers stormed into the conference grand final.
A full-court press and fierce defensive pressure forced the Bandits into several costly turnovers early in the game.
Eight turnovers in the first quarter alone set the tone for the rest of the match, and although the Chargers didn’t exactly look after the ball either (21 turnovers to 22), the damage had already been done.
The Chargers were up and about on the defensive end, limiting the Bandits to just 30 points for the first half.
Though the Bandits were able to limit the damage in the third quarter, they were still outscored 17-16.
Entering the final quarter trailing by 24, the Bandits were still clinging to hope of a comeback.
But that was snuffed out when star import Donte Nicholas was fouled out early in the final quarter.
Deba George, Jack Duck, Sawyer Dearborn and Ben Kearins battled on without him, but the Chargers simply wouldn’t be denied.
Greg Mays top scored for the Bandits with 20 points, while Nicholas (13) and George (11) were next best.
Ten of the Chargers 11 players scored by the end of the game, led by a game-high 23 points from Tom Wright.
Though disappointed to have ended their season on a low, coach Brad Chalmers said he was proud the team had made it as far as it had.
“We gave it our all, but it just wasn’t our night,” he said.
“It’s been a tough year and a long year, but I’m proud that we were able to milk something out of it.
“It shows that there’s a lot of fight in this group, I’m really happy with them all, that they kept going, kept pushing to make it this far.
“We haven’t had the greatest of seasons, we’ve been open about that, but to go and get a tough playoff win last week says a lot.
“I’m still extremely proud of the boys.
“Jack, Sawyer (Dearborn) were really good when they got a run at it, Darcy busted his gut to play, as did Clay (McMath).