Big V State Championship Men Round 5 – Werribee Devils 89 d Whittlesea Pacers 69, Sunday April 24th, 2016

State Championship Men, Round 5 - Werribee 89 v Whittlesea 69

Werribee	23	11	22	33	89
Whittlesea	14	19	19	17	69

Jack Macdonald, 23 points, 5 assists

Fred Hunter, 20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists

Jordan Hughes, 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals

Jeremy Smith, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assist

Dion Jewell, 7 points, 3 rebounds

Jonathan Sonda, 6 points, 5 rebounds

Justin Ward, 5 points, 4 rebounds

In Round 5, The Werribee Devils State Championship Men’s team (8^th, 1-4) collected a much needed win against the winless Whittlesea Pacers (11^th, 0-5).

The Devils controlled the opening term, gradually building a lead which reached 11 with 1.33 remaining thanks to a Jeremy Smith jump shot. The Devils shot 10-of-18 compared to 3-of-11 from the Pacers, with only 6 of 9 free throws keeping the visitors in the game. Smith looked set for another big game, contributing eight points, four assists and three rebounds for the quarter, while Jack Macdonald started well with seven points.

Dion Jewell got the Devils off to a great start to the second term with a three-pointer inside the first 30 seconds, to extend the Devils lead to double digits. However, a 9-0 Pacer run in the space of two minutes brought the visitors right back in the game. The Devils held their lead as the two teams traded baskets, before two in a row to the Pacers put them ahead on the scoreboard with 1.33 remaining. However, this advantage was only short lived, as two free throws from Fred Hunter gave the Devils a 34-33 lead at half time. Jewell was the Devils leading scorer for the quarter with three points, while Hunter grabbed three rebounds. Christopher Kaba had a great quarter for the Pacers with 10 points and six rebounds.

After being outplayed in the second term, the Devils were determined not to let it happen again, and controlled the game in the early stages. They led by six but by the halfway point the Pacers had drawn level again. Once again the two teams traded baskets, and a Macdonald score close to the buzzer gave the home side a narrow 56-52 lead going into the last quarter. Macdonald led the Devils with seven points and was supported by Jonathan Sonda with four, while Justin Ward had three rebounds.

The Devils kept the Pacers at arm’s length in the early part of the quarter but the visitors did not go away, a Chris Kaba jumpshot making it four points the difference with 4.19 to play. From this point, however, it was the “Fred Hunter Show.” The Devils new recruit ended up taking over the game and as his confidence grew, everything started going in and there was little the Pacers could do to stop him. Hunter lit up for 13 points and four rebounds in the final four minutes to help the Devils run away with a 20-point victory, 89-69. Macdonald and Jordan Hughes also contributed seven points each.

Werribee v Whittlesea Box Score and Stats

Werribee v Whittlesea LiveStats and Play-by-Play
Werribee v Whittlesea Full Game on Youtube