OLYMPICS LONDON 2012: Fourth quarter collapse sees men out

By Andrew Greaves, Sportsbeat, London 2012

GREAT Britain basketballer Drew Sullivan says his side need to learn fast after a second-half collapse against Australia ended their hopes of progressing at London 2012 Olympics.

MELTDOWN: Great Britain men's basketballers are out after a fourth quarter collapse against Australia

Despite a superb start, in which Dan Clark, Luol Deng and Joel Freeland all racked up points to hand the hosts a 46-36 half-time lead, Great Britain slumped to a resounding 106-75 defeat.

The second-half meltdown, which allowed the resurgent Australians – most notably Patrick Mills who was top scorer with 39 – to score points at ease.

“We played really well first two quarters. They made their scoring shots and we missed a bunch,” Sullivan said.

“We're learning to fight; we need to learn quickly. We're a close group and we've really tested ourselves in these games."

Team GB play their final London 2012 game against China and Nate Reinking knows that they need to perform better if they are to exit the group stage with a win.

"They're a great defensive team and we just didn't respond. We had a game plan, were playing at a pace we wanted and they picked up the pressure," he added.

© Sportsbeat 2012