Big V State Championship Men Round 2 – Werribee Devils v Waverley Falcons and Ringwood Hawks

 

Saturday April 2nd: Werribee Devils 68 lost to Waverley Falcons 80

Werribee	14	21	15	18	68
Waverley	17	21	22	20	80

Jeremy Smith, 25 points, 17 rebounds
Jordan Hughes, 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists
Jonathan Sonda, 9 points, 3 rebounds
Anthony Luxford, 6 points, 2 rebounds
Justin Ward, 6 points
Dion Jewell, 3 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Nick Morda, 5 rebounds, 1 steal



The depth of the Werribee Devils State Championship Men’s team has already been put to the test, with three absences from the 10-man squad making it a tough weekend for the Devils.

Newcomers Evan Matthews and Jack Macdonald, as well as mainstay Corey Wright, were all missing, resulting in a call-up for 200-game veteran Andrew Johnston to fill the big man role.

The Devils began the weekend as the third match in an Eagle Stadium triple-header up against Waverley, and it was clear from the start they were in for a challenging night, down 9-0 inside three minutes. However, they fought back well, keeping the deficit in single digits and getting back within three points at quarter time thanks to import Jeremy Smith (six points, five rebounds) and Jordan Hughes (eight points). Nick Morda also helped out in the air, grabbing three rebounds.

The home side continued to chip away in the second, staying with the Falcons and when Anthony Luxford hit a three-pointer with 4.42 remaining, the Devils found themselves with a four-point lead! The Falcons wrestled the lead back through Sedale Threatt and Ivan Platenik and took a three point advantage into the main break. Smith (10 points, four rebounds) and Hughes (five points) again shouldered most of the load, while Justin Ward chipped in with a three-pointer and captain Dion Jewell played the whole quarter, working hard defensively and grabbing three rebounds.

While there is no doubt that Smith and Hughes will need to play well most nights for the Devils to be competitive, the third quarter was a perfect example of the ability of the ‘supporting acts’ to step up when needed and play an important role for the team. While Smith and Hughes shot a combined 3-of-12 for the quarter, Jonathan Sonda scored nine points to keep the Devils in the contest. The Falcons went on a 10-0 run early on to get the lead out to double digits and that’s where it hovered for most of the quarter, ending with a 60-50 game at the final break.

Smith opened the scoring in the first ten seconds of the final term, getting the Devils within eight points, but that’s as close as they got. While the undermanned home side committed themselves admirably and were never out of the game, the Falcons simply had all the answers and were able to keep the Devils at arm’s length, finishing with an 80-68 victory. The Devils had a good spread of scorers in the final term with Jewell, Luxford and Ward all nailing three-pointers, supporting Smith (five points) and Hughes (four).

Werribee v Waverley Box Score and Stats

Werribee v Waverley LiveStats and Play-by-Play

Werribee v Waverley Full Game on YouTube

Sunday April 3rd: Werribee Devils 64 lost to Ringwood Hawks 112

Werribee	14	17	11	22	64
Ringwood	39	24	26	23	112

Jeremy Smith, 29 points, 7 rebounds

Dion Jewell, 8 points, 2 rebounds

Jordan Hughes, 7 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists

Justin Ward, 7 points, 2 rebounds

Anthony Luxford, 6 points, 3 rebounds

Jonathan Sonda, 4 points, 4 rebounds

Nick Morda, 3 points, 2 rebounds

After their admirable showing against Waverley the night before, the Werribee Devils State Championship Men’s team played their first away game for the season, travelling to Ringwood to take on the Hawks.

The Devils competed well for the first five and a half minutes. After that, there is no easy way to describe what happened for the rest of the game. Quite simply, they were lit up. Logan Lyle scored 38 points, including 12-of-18 three-pointers in an incredible display.

With the score at 17-14 in favour of the Hawks, the home side then went on a 24-0 run, including five from beyond the arc, to set up a 39-14 quarter time lead. Things did not get any better for the Devils the longer the game went on, shooting 2-of-15 in the third quarter while the Hawks landed another six three-pointers. The whole game was like one big shootout, with 77 three-pointers attempted.

The Devils managed to square up the final quarter but it was of little consolation, as they suffered a 64-112 defeat. Jeremy Smith played a lone hand with 29 points and seven rebounds, while Dion Jewell chipped in with eight and Jordan Hughes and Justin Ward contributed seven each. Hughes had a big night on the boards with 11 rebounds.

Round 3 sees the Devils travelling to Bentleigh on Saturday night to take on the winless McKinnon Cougars (10^th, 0-2).

Werribee v Ringwood Box Score and Stats

Werribee v Ringwood LiveStats and Play-by-Play

Werribee v Ringwood Full Game on YouTube