Farewell to 'The Rec' State Champ Men: Werribee v Hume City, May 23rd

The State Champ Werribee Devils men’s team played their final game at ‘The Rec’ against the Hume City Broncos, a team with three former Werribee players on their roster. The game was also refereed by two local officials, Jason Kelly and Michael Phillips.

The Devils have suffered some heavy losses in recent weeks and came into the Broncos showdown on a ten game losing streak. They quickly fell behind 17-4, thanks largely to the imposing figure of Jamal Brown, and it looked like another long night. However, once the dust settled on the opening onslaught the Devils worked their way back into the match, thanks to Jordan Hughes (eight points, three rebounds) and youngster Cameron Hutton (five points), whose big three-pointer toward the end of the quarter brought The Furnace to life and put the Devils within 9 points.

The game quickly got away from the Devils in the second quarter, thanks initially to two big three-pointers to Lee Jeka. The Devils didn’t play badly, but missed scoring chances were compounded as the Broncos made the most of theirs and shot at over 50% for the quarter. They led by as much as 23, before a couple of late baskets from Andrew Johnston gave the Broncos a 50-31 half time lead.

The Broncos continued to control the game early in the third quarter, stretching their lead to 26, before Darcy Harding stood up for the Devils with nine points for the quarter, including a spectacular put-back slam which brought the crowd to life. Once again the Devils fought back and actually won the quarter, but still faced a 16-point deficit heading into the final stretch.

The final period was an enthralling contest. The Devils started better and quickly cut the margin to single figures through contributions by Jordan Hughes and Andrew Johnston. They spent most of the quarter within 10 points and got as close as six with two minutes to play. The Werribee crowd held their breath, wondering if the lads could pull off something special. When Johnston hit a three-pointer with 1:15 to play the score was 73-80, but two quick baskets sealed the win for the Broncos.

Final score: Werribee 73, Hume City 84