Matt Aquino and Shinshu had a late game collapse, suffering a 66-65 loss at the hands of Gunma in the 2021-22 B.League season, Sunday at Ota City Athletic Park Citizen’s Gymnasium.
The Brave Warriors held a 65-60 lead with 2:23 left after a Reo Maeda trey.
Michael Parker though was able to answer right back to give the Crane Thunders a one-possession ballgame.
Misses from deep by Maeda and Yang Jaemin led to an Aki Chambers bucket with 34 seconds left. Another miss by Yuta Okada led to a crazy sequence that saw Kyle Barone score on a nifty find by Justin Keenan with six ticks left.
Shinshu had a chance to salvage a win but Maeda missed on his attempt from downtown as time expired.
Gunma, who raised their slate to 10-8, had a balanced attack with Parker and Chambers leading the way with 13 points each. Parker also had eight rebounds while Chamber grabbed seven.
Keenan had 11 points while Barone notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
On the other hand, Shinshu’s losing streak continues, dropping to 9-9.
Anthony McHenry lead the charge with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Maeda and Okada got 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Aquino logged a season-high eight minutes, tallying three rebounds and a block.
Aquino and Shinshu will next face Dwight Ramos and Toyama on Wednesday at Toyama City Gym.
