Lancashire was punished for committing a season high 23 turnovers in its 78-66 road loss to second-placed Derby on Saturday.
“We backed away from the challenge in the first quarter and as soon as it became a chase, that was it,” said the Spinners head coach Neal Hopkins, whose team averaged 13.2 turnovers entering the game.
The visitors leapt out to a 7-0 lead before four-straight possessions ended by giving the ball carelessly back to Derby (24-5, 17-5 NBL1). Hopkins then called a timeout ahead 7-2 to remind his players what had put them in that position.
But Derby, who is undefeated at home on the season, pushed itself back into the game behind 21 points, including five 3-pointers, from David Watts.
The Trailblazers limited the Spinners to just five points the remainder of the first quarter and led 26-12 after 10 minutes.
“I think we lost focus and allowed them [the Trailblazers] to get into a rhythm and that meant we had to work hard to try and regain it. But it didn’t happen,” said Lancashire guard Cian Hickey.
Mark Rangeley and Kyle Carey scored 13 points each for the Spinners (21-11, 12-9), and Mike Bernard added 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Sydney Donaldson had 14 points as Derby’s starters contributed to 64 percent of the offence.
“It’s too late to continue saying, ‘We need to do better next time’,” said Rangeley. “We are in must win situations from here on out.”
NOTES
Lancashire is 9-6 on the road this season and 3-2 over the last five. … The team finished 15 of 38 from inside the arc (39.5), which is the lowest in league play and the second worst percentage since shooting 34.5 on the opening day of the season. The Spinners outrebounded Derby 53-33, including 18-5 at the offensive end. … 12 first quarter points is the least since scoring 11 at Northumbria on Jan. 24. … Lancashire shot below 30 percent from 3-point range for the 13th time, whilst allowing its opposition to shoot over 40 this season – Derby was 11 of 24.
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