Shorthanded Shoalhaven Tigers come up short against Goulburn Bears in rival clash

Down both of their biggest players the Tigers were fiery and relentless but the size of the rival Bears proved too much to handle for the defense.

Goulburn got out to a strong lead, fuelled by a strong crowd presence at Goulburn Basketball Stadium, but the Tigers fought back on several occasions, cutting the lead to single digits in the fourth.

However the Bears would stave off the hungry Tigers to blow the margin back out to double digits to secure the win.

This loss marked the Tigers' fifth straight, and their 11^th on the season, sitting in ninth place, just beating out the Moss Vale Magic for the wooden spoon.

This doesn't reflect however the effort and play of the Tigers who have lost a number of close games this season, all while being heavily hit by the injury bug.

A number of players stepped up for the side on the weekend, none more so than Mitch Falcke who went off for a team and season high, 33 points.

READ MORE:

Falcke has been the team's most consistent player on the season, with his athletic drives and willingness to put his body on the line, netting him a strong scoring average of 15 points per game.

His running mate, shifty guard Eli Matic also had a big game for the Tigers, securing 21 points, which marked his third 20 point outing of the season.

Some good news for the Tigers was the return of guard Rory Shepherdson, who has missed the majority of the season due to a knee injury suffered in round two against the Bulls.

In his return game he chipped in 7 points and looked ready to give it his all in the team's final games of the season.

For Goulburn, Jack Pocock dominated, putting up 30 points and taking full advantage of the small Shoalhaven lineup.

Reflecting on the win, Goulburn head coach Eddie Teague was impressed with his team's composure when fighting off a strong Tigers comeback.

"We managed to get out to a 10 to 12 point lead, but when they came back and got it really close, we settled down, showed some poise and extended our lead back to double digits," he said.

The Tigers and Bears have been each other's rivals for many seasons and said wins against one another always mean a lot more than against other teams in the competition.

"We've been rivals for 30 years, so anytime we get a win against them, we're happy with it," Teague said.

"You can have a losing season, but if you beat them, it makes it better."

Shoalhaven will look to end their losing streak this weekend in a clash with the last place Moss Vale Magic in Moss Vale.

That match will tip off at 5pm on Saturday, July 1.