NIIGATA Albirex BB took a crushing 82-81 defeat at the hands of the Kawasaki Brave Thunders in the 2021-22 B.League season Wednesday at Kawasaki City Todoroki Arena.
Rosco Allen had a monumental mistake that cost Niigata a chance to snap its losing streak, committing an unsportsmanlike foul with 17 seconds left that led to a split from the line from Pablo Aguilar and the go-ahead jumper from Nick Fazekas with 10 seconds to spare.
He had one last shot to steal the game, but his layup rimmed out and sent the Albirex to their ninth straight defeat.
It was a painful loss for Niigata which went back-and-forth with Kawasaki in the payoff period and even held an 81-79 lead in the final minute after a Jeff Ayres dunk and a Yuto Nohmi split from the charity stripe.
Allen finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the defeat which sent the Albirex to a 2-10 card.
Ayres also churned out a double-double of 17 points and 13 boards, as Nohmi shot 4-of-7 from deep for his 17 points and four assists.
Kobe Paras B.League news
Kobe Paras, who dished the ball to Ayres for Niigata's go-ahead bucket, shot a horrid 2-of-13 from the field to wound up with seven points, four rebounds, two dimes, and two steals in the loss.
The schedule won't get any easier for the Albirex when they go on the road to face the defending champion Chiba Jets at Funabashi Arena this weekend.
Fazekas starred for Kawasaki (9-3) with 23 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, and two blocks.
Jordan Heath added 11 points and five boards, while Matt Janning got 10 points off the bench for the Brave Thunders.