Basketball: Breakers' resurgence not enough

The New Zealand Breakers were left to lament an Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) near miss after a spirited third quarter comeback pushed them to the brink of a ground-breaking win in Adelaide last night.

The third-placed 36ers hung on for a 100-91 victory after the Breakers, trailing 43-58 at halftime, blitzed the third period 31-18 to set up a spine tingling tit-for-tat exchange to the final buzzer.

Fortunately for veteran coach Phil Smyth, the 36ers maintained their composure on the run home at the Distinctive Homes Dome while counterpart Andrej Lemanis was left to rue one that got away.

"This is probably the first one in a while where it has actually come down to the last couple of minutes and we haven't been in that situation before and we could have executed better," he said, while still crediting his squad's effort.

"We are making progress, since December we've been playing some pretty good basketball particularly when we execute our offence."

The Breakers are yet to win in Adelaide and have now lost eight straight to the 36ers though last night's margin was a significant improvement on their previous four visits where Adelaide won by an average of 20.

Returning to action after a round 19 bye, the 36ers looked looked full of energy and in control with 15-point half-time lead but a rousing comeback saw the Breakers' push their hosts to the limit.

It was not until the final 90 seconds that the 36ers looked safe. Dusty Rychart, who scored 44 points the last time the sides met in South Australia -- pulled down an offensive rebound and then added two points from under the basket to set up a match-winning buffer.

Although the Breakers are now 6-20 and 1-12 on the road Breakers' assistant Wayne Brown described the arduous away trip, which ends in Brisbane on Saturday, as a positive experience.

Rich Melzer scored a game high 24 points and hauled in 15 rebounds while fellow American Brian Green, a late addition to the squad, was an assist away from a triple double.

He contributed 17 points 10 boards and nine assists while Aaron Olson woke from a first half slumber to notch 10 points.

The Breakers dominated the glass at either end of the court, out rebounding the 36ers 65-44 including a franchise record 32 offensive boards.

However, a 36 per cent percentage from the floor and an inefficient 50/50 success rate from the foul line undid a lot of that aggression under the hoop.

"It was a game where we had our chances. They've only lost two games at home (this season) but we still thought we could get the win," Brown said.

"At 15 down at the half we hadn't shot the ball or defended very well but we picked it up.

"We probably should have won but we've had a good road trip. We've won one (Townsville), we've been in two we could have won (Perth Wildcats and last night). If we finish off in Brisbane it will be a great trip."

- NZPA