Saturday April 2nd: Werribee Devils 89 lost to Altona Gators 101
Werribee
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21
|
14
|
27
|
27
|
89
|
Altona
|
16
|
26
|
25
|
34
|
101
|
Mitch Alush, 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals
Cam Hutton, 18 points, 3 rebounds
Jesse Harberger, 12 points, 3 rebounds
Josh Tang, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals
Mark Luxford, 9 points, 3 assists
Josh Zamperoni, 6 points, 9 rebounds
TJ Remy, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals
Dylan Harberger, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
After their big Round 1 victory over the Geelong Supercats, the Devils returned to Eagle Stadium to take on their western suburbs rivals, the Altona Gators. There was also a sibling rivalry in play, with the Devils #35 Josh Tang up against his brother Paul. The Tang family was there in numbers, with both brothers getting a good cheer when the line-ups were introduced.
The Devils started the game better and skipped out to a 20-10 lead thanks to seven points from Mitch Alush and six to Cam Hutton. However, the Gators slowly worked their way back into the match and went on a 6-0 run to sneak back within four points, before a Kodi Opetaia free throw made it 21-16 at quarter time. Alush was also hot on the defensive end, taking advantage of 10 Gator turnovers by grabbing four steals.
The second term belonged to the Gators, as Sam Rocker scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a dominant display. The visitors outscored the Devils 26-14, to take a seven point lead into half time. The Gators got the lead back within two minutes and kept it for most of the quarter as the Devils shot 6-of-23, led by Alush with five points. Josh Zamperoni grabbed five rebounds and Dylan Harberger was sharp defensively, with three steals.
Gator Montel Ween came out of the locker room and started the third quarter in a flurry, with five points, two steals, a rebound and an assist within the first three minutes. Four Devil turnovers in quick succession proved costly as the Gators jumped to a 14-point lead. Coach Darren Hindle called a timeout with 6.53 remaining to allow the Devils to settle things down and reset their plan and structure.
Over the next few minutes, the Devils worked their way back into the game. While they couldn’t snatch the lead back, the deficit remained in single-digits and there was always a feeling that this game would go down to the wire. TJ Remy (four points, three steals) and Jesse Harberger (six points, two rebounds) stepped up and played an important role in keeping the Devils in the game. After being held scoreless and getting in some foul trouble in the first half, Bubby Luxford also came to play, driving the ball several times and chipping in with six points and Alush had seven points and a couple of rebounds. The Devils won the high-scoring quarter 27-25, which meant they went into the last break down by five points, 62-67.
After a slow start to the final quarter, Cam Hutton got the Devils going with a long three and Dylan Harberger was showing some good energy and hustle. However, the Gators were sharper in transition and continued to make the Devils pay for even the slightest mistake. A missed tip-in up one end went straight up the other end for a basket, and the Gators offensive rebounding resulted in several scores. Jesse Harberger was again prominent with a couple of baskets and when Hutton landed another three-pointer, it was a six point game at the halfway mark.
The Gators got away again thanks to some sharp defence, but five points to Josh Tang followed by a classic Bubby Luxford drive plus the “and one” brought the Devils within two points. The next couple of minutes were score-for-score as both the tension and the volume at Eagle Stadium increased. An Alush long bomb with 1.58 to play once again brought the Devils within two, and led to excited cries of “Defence! Defence!” from the young ones in the crowd.
In the end it was fouls that cost the Devils dearly. Montel Ween was fouled while attempting a three-pointer and made two of the three shots. Sam Rocker was fouled while shooting, made the basket and converted the bonus shot. Ween was then the beneficiary of an unsportsmanlike foul call in the back court, giving him two bonus shots.
While Altona was probably the better side on the day and seemed to have an answer to everything the Devils threw at them, the final score of 89-101 was certainly no reflection on the closeness of the contest.
Werribee v Altona Box Score and Stats
Werribee v Altona LiveStats and Play-by-Play
Werribee v Altona Full Game on YouTube
Sunday April 3rd: Werribee Devils 91 defeated Camberwell Dragons 85
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Werribee
|
21
|
20
|
21
|
29
|
91
|
|
Camberwell
|
26
|
21
|
18
|
20
|
85
|
Jesse Harberger, 19 points, 15 rebounds
Mitch Alush, 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Mark Luxford, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Cam Hutton, 12 points, 5 rebounds
Josh Tang, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Dylan Harberger, 8 points
Kodi Opetaia, 6 points, 4 rebounds
Travis Dale, 6 points
Josh Zamperoni, 5 rebounds
The Devils backed up their 12 point loss to Altona with a road trip to the eastern suburbs to take on the Camberwell Dragons.
The Devils were trailing at each break, albeit by single-digits, and produced a 29-20 final term to come over the top and win by six, 91-85. James Guley played a lone hand for the Dragons with 32 points including eight three-pointers, and while they had ten individual scorers, no one else scored above nine points.
For the winners, Jesse Harberger had a huge game with 19 points (including three from beyond the arc) and 15 rebounds. Mitch Alush joined him with 19 points and seven rebounds. Bubby Luxford found some of his shooting touch to land 13 points and a couple of assists, while Cam Hutton had 12 points and five rebounds.
The next match-up for the Devils is against Ballarat (1-1) at home on Saturday night.
Werribee v Camberwell Box Score and Stats
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