Bandits beat fourth-placed Sutherland with Lochlan Cummings hitting 38 points

In a shoot-out at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre, the Bandits let slip a 12-point last-quarter buffer to scrape home 119-117.

Bandits coach Haydn Kirkwood said Saturday's night game was an entertaining one for the crowd, if not for the coach.

"We shot the ball extremely well. There was a couple of defensive issues as well, which is why they managed to score up there as well. It was an exciting game for the crowd and the boys got the win, which is all that matters in the end," he said.

"I think just the way the boys kept on battling, it's always tough at the end of the season when you are one game out of play-offs and there is only two games left. Some players can tend to go missing. But they're all sticking together, they're all still communicating really effectively and they've still got the focus."

The result keeps the Bandits' season alive and they sit a game behind eighth with two matches remaining. But the Albury-Wodonga club beat eighth-placed Hills Hornets earlier in the year so will get to the play-offs if the two sides finish on equal wins.

Lochlan Cummings (38 points) was huge for the home side, passing 30 points for the third time in five games, with the Bandits enjoying a good spread of scorers including 14 points off the bench from Eric Miraflores.

"Lochie had a blinder, they really had troubles defending him in either way and when they gave him too much space he was just able to hit shots in their face. It's really pleasing to see him playing this way at the end of the season," Kirkwood said.

"Eric Miraflores stepped up and managed to hit a couple of big threes when we needed them. Dylan Wilkie had a bit of a purple patch, where he lit up and managed to keep us in front late in the game with some deep threes."

Meanwhile, the women's side went down in a close one against an Opal-led Sharks.

The Bandits came up against Lauren Nicholson returning from Australian duties in the Asian Cup, and the Opal was the difference with 39 points in the 100-94 result.

The home side started well but the Sharks worked back in the second term to take a seven-point lead into the main break.

The second-half was an even affair, with the Bandits at one stage putting on 11 straight points but the Sharks held on to leave Albury-Wodonga just one game clear in eighth.

ALSO IN BASKETBALL:

US import Malury Bates was a star with an accurate 28 points alongside a haul of rebounds, blocks and steals while Ashlee Hannan added 20 points.

American Mikayla Pivec showed her class with a triple-double made up of 15 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds.

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