A LAST-quarter fadeout has cost the Stirling Senators the scalp of a finals-bound team, with the Lakeside Lightning defeating the Senators by six points.
Lakeside have been one of the form teams and currently are second on the SBL ladder, just behind Wanneroo, while the Senators have lost their last six games to languish 12th with no chance of reaching the finals.
However the Senators put their current form behind them from the opening whistle, and despite Lakeside outscoring the Senators 32-21 in the second quarter, they replied with a 31-17 third term to head into the final stanza with a slimmest advantage, 70-69.
The Senators then went on to shoot themselves out of the game, landing just four baskets from 21 attempts to hand Lakeside a narrow victory, 88 to 82.
In the WSBL, Lakeside defeated the Senators by six points, 58 to 52.