NZNBL 2024

Heartbreak in Tauranga.

The Night ’n Day Otago Nuggets have suffered a heartbreaking one-point loss to Tauranga on the road on Wednesday night.

Down 70-69 with one second on the clock, Tai Webster’s inbound pass couldn’t find Kimani Lawrence, handing the Whai a stunning upset.

The Nuggets trailed for the majority of the contest before coming to life late in the third term to lead on multiple occasions in the last.

Trailing by a point with 5.9 seconds left, Ben Henshall was fouled just before dishing off an alley-oop pass to Lawrence which was disallowed.

Webster was then fouled with 4.1 seconds on the clock before Henshall was called for a controversial travel.

American import Lawrence starred for the second game in a row for the Nuggets, scoring a game-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds.

Australian young gun Henshall (11 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals) was another big performer, putting up his second consecutive double-double on the back of 31 points in Sunday’s win over Nelson.

Ever-improving centre Jack Andrew was consistent across the four quarters on the way to 16 points and six rebounds, while Webster bounced back from early foul trouble to contribute 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Andrew was in everything in the opening term, putting up eight points - including a couple of big dunks - and three rebounds before quarter-time to give the visitors a 25-21 lead.

Fellow Wildcats Development Player Dontae Russo-Nance checked in for his Nuggets debut late in the first term after recovering from a wrist injury which kept him sidelined for the opening seven games of the season.

Webster got a couple of quick fouls against him, forcing him to spend more time than usual on the bench.

It was a low-scoring, turnover-riddled second term with just 23 points scored in total as the Whai turned a four-point deficit into a 36-33 advantage.

Andrew continued to make his presence felt, adding another dunk to his highlights reel on the way to a game-high 12 points and six rebounds of the half.

The Nuggets trailed by as much as nine in the third term, with their outside and free-throw shooting particularly disappointing.

But, inspired by an energetic Webster and big man Lawrence who both scored back-to-back buckets, things turned with Otago’s deficit cut to 55-53 at the final change.

Andrew produced a monster block just before the buzzer in a team-lifting moment.

A huge slam from Lawrence early in the last quarter tied things up at 58-apiece as the momentum shifted in the Nuggets’ favour.

A hook shot from Andrew with six minutes remaining then gave his team the lead for the first time since the second quarter.

But the Whai held their nerve for a thrilling win.

Otago came away with a 29-23 Rapid League victory with Josh Aitcheson (seven points and six rebounds) and Robbie Coman (seven points and four rebounds) impressing and Russo-Nance scoring five points in six minutes off the bench.

The Nuggets are on the road again on Saturday, taking on Hawke’s Bay in Napier.