THE Franklin Bulls suffered their third straight defeat as they bowed to the Otago Nuggets, 103-82, Thursday in the 2021 NZ NBL season at Franklin Pool and Leisure Centre.
Fil-Kiwi guard Joseph Nunag struggled once again as he only nabbed four points on 1-of-4 shooting from deep, on top of two rebounds off the bench as the skid continues for Franklin.
But it wasn't just him, with top gun Josh Selby only scoring seven points and four boards in 19 minutes of play as the Bulls sunk to a 3-5 win-loss record.
Outrebounded was Franklin as Otago controlled the boards, 59 to 33, leading to 24 second chance points for the visitors.
That allowed the Nuggets to slowly break away from the Bulls after a 54-44 halftime and used a 13-3 assault late in the third quarter to flip the game from a 65-55 lead with 5:13 in the canto to a comfortable 78-58 lead entering the payoff period.
It was all Otago from there as it enjoyed a lead as high as 25 after going 13-of-33 from rainbow country.
Samuel Timmins led the charge for the Nuggets with his monster double-double showing of 31 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks in the win.
Isaiah Moss added 24 points on a scintillating 6-of-14 clip from deep, alongside eight boards, while Gerasimos Mckay chimed in 23 points and eight rebounds to help Otago rise to 4-3.
Fil-Kiwi guard Richie Rodger, who studied in University of the East, also registered eight points, seven boards, and three dimes in the Nuggets triumph.
Zane Waterman paced Franklin in the losing cause with 21 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three blocks.
Denhym Brooke also got 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from deep, to go with five boards, as Isaac Davidson had 10 points and two rebounds for the Bulls.
Franklin seeks to arrest its slide when it hosts the Hawkes Bay Hawks (4-1) at the same venue next Friday.
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