We have to be better: Black

Bendigo Bank Braves Men’s coach Stephen Black didn’t mince his words when asked for his reaction to his team’s 79-106 NBL1 South loss to the Hobart Chargers at Red Energy Arena on Saturday night.

“It was extremely disappointing,” he said.

“We’re trying to set standards for the way we go about things and we need to commit to those standards.

“It’s a lapse here and a let-off there and it’s continually happening. We need to take stock of how important all the little things are we’re trying to do and how they all add up to competing at NBL1 level.”

The Braves suffered their first blow for the night before the game began, with captain Isaac Murphy ruled out with a back injury.

Bendigo then lost import centre Adam Pechacek in the opening seconds of the second quarter, also with a back complaint.

“It was a huge blow to lose Murph before the game and Adam early in the second term,” Black said.

“But even prior to Adam’s injury I wasn’t happy with how we were going about the things we were trying to do.

“At the moment, we’re not using our strengths to influence the game as much as we possibly could or should.”

Bendigo started slowly, down 10-18 just before the half-way mark of the first quarter. A Black timeout stemmed the flow, with the Braves fighting back to be down by one a few minutes later, before heading into the first break behind 23-29.

The next two quarters saw Bendigo outscored 34 to 54, and the three-quarter-time deficit of 26 was too great for Bendigo to come back from.

Lat Mayen top scored for Bendigo with 21 points and Bijan Johnson finished the night on 15. Luke Rosendale and Billy Smythe (both 12) also reached double figures.

Smythe was part of the only good news for the night for Bendigo. He played more than 17 minutes for the game, with fellow young guns Lachlan Sommerville (19 minutes) Lachlan O’Brien (21),  debutant Harry King (16) and Liam O’Brien (11) all getting a heap of court time.

Former Stetson University guard Christiaan Jones joins the Braves squad this week as a replacement for Isaac Turner.

Photo - Craig Dilks Phtography