A GRITTY fightback and tenacious effort were not enough to help the Taipans past the playoff-bound Crocs in their NBL clash in Townsville on Saturday.

The Taipans’ already miniscule playoff chances also evaporated in the 89-76 loss.

Pictures: Cairns Taipans 2009-10

Cairns had needed to win its remaining games and hope Wollongong lost all of its matches, with Melbourne also entering the race for fourth place allowing the Taipans to slip through on a three-way win count.

But the Hawks also upset the apple cart with their 100-88 win against the Gold Coast, officially ending the Taipans post-season hopes.

Taipans coach Aaron Fearne praised the "great effort" of his players to get themselves back in the game in the third quarter, their fightback edging them to within three points of the Crocs at the final break.

But they were unable to edge closer in the final term.

Although the buffer remained under 10 points for most of the term, the Snakes were unable to exert the scoreboard pressure necessary to stay in the contest, with the couple of late turnovers pushing the margin into double figures.

"We fought really hard," Fearne said. "Even though we’ve lost the last couple of times on the road, we’ve fought really hard which is a big improvement on (earlier in the season).

"But we can’t turn the score over enough to put the pressure on."

While their scoring problems do not evaporate at home, the Taipans are able to feed off the energy of the convention centre crowd to stay in the contest.

"On the road, it’s different and that’s why we’ve probably come up short.

"The bottom line is we’ve got the third-best record in the league at home but you can’t expect to find yourself in the playoffs unless you get something done on the road."

While disappointed with the result after wins against playoff-bound Townsville and Perth in their previous two starts, the Taipans will not allow Saturday’s stumble to impact on their last game against New Zealand this weekend.

"We know we can’t make the playoffs but we don’t want to finish with the wooden spoon," Fearne said.

There were bright spots for the Taipans despite the loss. Dusty Rychart finished with 17 points and a match-high eight rebounds in another gritty effort.

Tony Rampton also earned praise for his eight points and four rebounds in just over 18 minutes, while Ian Crosswhite was able to take the court for just over nine minutes in an encouraging sign recovering from a wrist injury.

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