The Werribee Devils State Champ men have put in a solid performance in
their penultimate game of the season against ladder leaders Ringwood. Although
the final margin was 16, it was basically three minutes of basketball in the
third quarter, in which Ringwood went on a 13-0 run, that cost the Devils any
chance of a victory.
One positive from this game was the consistency in offence, with the Devils
shooting at least 20 points in each quarter, and at least four players getting
on the scoresheet each quarter.
Ringwood led early, but four minutes into the game Werribee grabbed the lead
thanks to seven points in a minute from Nick
Morda (nine points, four rebounds) and wouldn’t let it go for the rest of
the quarter. The game was free-flowing, with minimal fouls or turnovers, and
Werribee was ahead in the rebounds thanks to the work of David Cobb (15 points, 14 rebounds, four steals). Jordan Hughes (28 points, six assists,
six rebounds) led the Devils with eight points, while Darcy Harding (22 points, five rebounds) scored five. Although the
24-23 lead was minimal, Ringwood knew they weren’t going to have it all their
own way.
Andrew Johnston (nine points, three rebounds)
opened the second quarter for the Devils but Ringwood hit back with the next
five points to take back the lead. Darcy
Harding then scored six points in 50 seconds as the game continually
see-sawed throughout the quarter. Shooting percentages were high on both sides,
and Ringwood came out on top at half time thanks to six successful free throws
compared to zero from Werribee. Harding
(10 points) and Hughes (nine) were
the main contributors for the Devils, who trailed 49-52 at the main break
thanks to a Jonathan Sonda (10 points,
eight rebounds) bucket with three seconds remaining.
The third quarter is where it all came unstuck for the Devils. They scored the
first two baskets through Cobb and Hughes, and when Hughes nailed a three-pointer
90 seconds in, the margin was one point. During the next seven minutes,
Ringwood outscored the Devils 28-8, thanks largely to four three-pointers from
Tate Unruh, who finished with 36 points for the match. While the Devils scored 22
points themselves, the defence leaked and allowed Ringwood to pour in 33 for
the quarter. Though trailing by 21 with 1:16 remaining, the Devils scored the
last seven points of the quarter thanks to Harding,
Morda and Andrew Johnston, to
add some respectability to the three-quarter time scoreboard which read 85-71
in favour of the ladder-leaders.
Trailing by 14 against the top team is never a good position to be in and Werribee
were unable to make up any ground on the scoreboard in the last quarter. The
margin hovered between 12 and 18 and once again fouls and turnovers were not a
factor, resulting in another high scoring display. Ringwood just managed to win
the quarter 24-22 thanks to a couple of extra three-pointers, to take a 109-93
victory. David Cobb (nine points)
and Jonathan Sonda (six) were good
for the Devils in the final quarter.
The Devils final match for the season is at home on Saturday night against Eltham.
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