Basketball: Late errors costly for Slammers

The South West Slammers slumped to their 15th straight defeat at the weekend, a 99-93 loss at the hands of Stirling Senators in Perth on Saturday night.

American recruits Nick Freer (28 points) and Matt Smith (29 points) both starred for the Slammers at the Warwick Leisure Centre, who went into the game without co-captain Jason Smith and utilities Tyler and Jordan Hickert.

South West led by a point at half time and went neck-in-neck with their hosts until the dying stages, but ultimately it was the same old ending for South West, who were left to rue costly turnovers in the final minutes of the game.

In 15 starts this season, the Slammers have lost six by 10 points or less.

Freer, who was himself guilty of a late turnover on Saturday night, said crucial mistakes late in the game were beginning to frustrate players.

‘‘It just comes down to mental mistakes at the end of games,’’ he said.

‘‘The first couple of times it was the young guys.

‘‘But this past game I had a turnover when it was a five point game with two minutes left — it was a really bad turnover at a really crucial time.

‘‘It’s just stuff like that, the little slip-ups that the other teams aren’t doing.’’

His sentiments were echoed by coach Carl Catalano who said the club were doing their best to address the side’s inability to finish off games.

The Slammers’ women’s side also suffered a loss, going down to the Senators 86-73 in their clash at the weekend.