BATHURST Goldminers coach Matt Chapman said at half-time on Saturday as his side were playing men’s State League powerhouses Wagga Wagga that he wasn’t interested in an honourable loss.

At that stage his side had kept the visitors to a 46-43 lead at the Bathurst Indoor Stadium.

“I don’t do close losses. Losing by 100 or losing by one are pretty much the same, we’re here to win,” he said while his team prepared for the second half.

“Their import [Gage Daye] is averaging over 40 points a game, we’ve kept him to 16 so far, so hopefully we keep this up.”

Unfortunately for Chapman, Daye and shooting guard Zach Maloney were just getting started.

In the end the Goldminers suffered a  96-86 defeat.

The third quarter has proven costly for the Goldminers in plenty of games this season but in truth, there wasn’t a lot they could have done to avert the damage Wagga inflicted on Saturday.

Had you told Chapman that the Goldminers would keep all but two of their opponents scoreless for the third term, he would have probably taken it.

The issue came with the fact that Daye and Maloney between them posted 36 points.

The visitors were simply red hot as the three-point line seemed to be about five metres closer to the hoop whenever their two stars had the ball.

Maloney poured in five shots from beyond the arc and Day managed a couple himself, all in the matter of four minutes. 

They finally started to miss a handful of shots late in the quarter.

The Goldminers weren’t especially bad in offence, scoring 18 themselves, but their manageable three-point half-time deficit had become 19.

To their credit Bathurst fought the game out as well as they could. They got the margin back into single figures briefly with a couple of minutes remaining, but had to settle for a 10-point loss.

Daye finished with 41 points for the match and Maloney 27.

Kieran Osborn was a stand-out for the hosts with 27 of his own, while Matthew Gray (17) and Keiren Rodwell (13) also managed double-figures for Bathurst.

“Maybe I need to speak to Basketball NSW and tell them to play thirds, not quarters. Or just call the whole second half the fourth quarter because whenever that third quarter rolls around, we just lose it. It is becoming a mental thing,” Chapman said.

“If we play four quarters tonight, I think we win the game. We won the last by nine, but lost the third by nearly 20, you can’t afford to do that against good teams.

“We did put up a good effort in the last quarter, getting within 10 of a side like that is good. 

“But I still believe we can do better and that’s what we have to be aiming for.”

WAGGA WAGGA HEAT 96 (Gage Daye 41, Zach Maloney 27) defeated BATHURST GOLDMINERS 86 (Kieran Osborn 27, Matthew Gray 17, Keiren Rodwell 13)