State Championship Men, Round 6 - Werribee 82 v Eltham 100
Werribee
|
23
|
13
|
24
|
22
|
82
|
Eltham
|
24
|
21
|
23
|
32
|
100
|
Jeremy Smith, 24 points, 5 rebounds
Jordan Hughes, 20 points, 5 rebounds
Fred Hunter, 16 points, 13 rebounds
Jack Macdonald, 12 points, 3 rebounds
After a confidence boosting win over Whittlesea in Round 5, the Werribee Devils State Championship Men’s team (8th, 2-4) would have considered themselves a good chance for two in a row when they travelled to Eltham to take on the Wildcats (10th, 0-6).
The first quarter was an even contest, in which neither team led by more than four points. The home side found themselves one point up at the first break. Jordan Hughes and Jeremy Smith led the Devils with six points each, while Jack Macdonald added five and Fred Hunter chipped in with four points and four rebounds.
The second quarter did not start as the Devils would have hoped. They missed their first ten shots in the space of five and a half minutes, and in that same timeframe the Wildcats went on a 12-0 run to break the game open. Smith finally got the Devils on the board with 4.30 remaining, and Hunter scored the next six Devils points to help stop the game getting away from them. A Justin Ward three-pointer close to the buzzer brought the deficit back to single-digits at the main break.
The Wildcats scored the first of the second half inside the first ten seconds to extend their lead, but a bucket to Macdonald and a three-pointer to Hughes brought the game to life as the Devils crept within six points, The rest of the quarter was a bit of a stalemate, as the margin hovered between 8 and 11 points. A “Dion Jewell special” right on the buzzer helped the Devils win the quarter and made the difference eight points in favour of the home side at three-quarter time. Macdonald and Hughes led the Devils with seven points each for the quarter and Smith contributed five.
In basketball it really doesn’t take much for a contest to be over, and this one was done in the first two minutes of the last quarter, making the rest of the quarter effectively ‘junk time.’ In this period Eltham came out and scored 11 points, including two three-pointers from James Malvaso, taking the margin from eight points to 19 and out of the Devils reach. Smith and Hunter did what they could for the Devils, combining for the next six points, but the Wildcats had all the answers and with three minutes remaining the margin was out to 20. Malvaso popped up again late in the quarter and shot the Wildcats to the magical '100' with 38 seconds remaining and Smith finished off with a trey of his own for the Devils, resulting in an 82-100 final scoreline. Smith finished with 11 points and three rebounds for the quarter, while Hughes had seven points and two rebounds.
Werribee v Eltham - LiveStats and Play-by-Play
Werribee v Eltham - Full Game on YouTube
State Championship Men, Round 6 - Werribee 86 v Corio Bay 99
Werribee 26 22 16 22 86
Corio Bay 25 25 25 24 99
Jeremy Smith, 29 points, 7 rebounds
Dion Jewell, 14 rebounds, 4 assists
Jordan Hughes, 11 points, 2 assists
Jonathan Sonda, 11 points, 2 rebounds
Jack Macdonald, 10 points, 3 rebounds
Fred Hunter, 9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists
After their loss to Eltham on Saturday night, the Werribee Devils State Champ Men returned to Eagle Stadium on Sunday to take on the Corio Bay Stingrays (3rd, 6-1)
The opening quarter indicated this would be a good close contest. There were several lead changes and neither side led by more than a couple of baskets; at the buzzer the Devils found themselves up by a point, 26-25. The Devils only made one sub for the quarter, allowing the starting five to get into a rhythm, and they all got on the scoresheet. Jack Macdonald started with seven points, followed by Jordan Hughes with six and Jonathan Sonda scored five. Fred Hunter led all big men for the quarter with four boards. For the Stingrays, Dondray Walker (10) and Maalo Hicks were proving hard to stop with 16 points between them.
The Stingrays got on top early on, and halfway through the quarter held an eight-point lead. However, at this point former Stingray Dion Jewell subbed in and within 20 seconds had nailed a three-pointer to keep the Devils in touch. When he scored another one a couple of minutes later, scored were tied at 42. A tech foul from Stingray Jason Reardon gifted Jewell with a free throw which briefly gave the Devils their only lead for the quarter. The final minute was like a three-point shootout, with Jeremy Smith trading long bombs with Reardon and Lewis Varley. Two Jonathan Sonda free throws brought the Devils back within one point and he had a chance to draw the Devils level in the dying seconds but missed, leaving the home side adrift 48-50. Along with Jewell, Smith led Devils scorers with seven points for the term.
In the third quarter, the Stingrays big men started to assert themselves, out-rebounding the Devils 15-4 and scoring 16 of their 25 points for the quarter in the paint. Once again it was free-flowing, end-to-end basketball, with fouls and turnovers at a minimum. With two minutes remaining the Stingray lead was out to 14, but a three-pointer from Hughes and a basket to Sonda brought the deficit back to single-digits. Dondray Walker scored late, giving the Stingrays an 11-point lead at the last break. Smith once again led the Devils with eight third-quarter points.
Despite scoring seven points in the second quarter, Jewell didn’t take any part in the third. When the final term resumed he immediately made an impact, scoring a three-pointer to keep the Devils within striking distance. Two consecutive jumpshots from Smith brought the home side within six points. The Stingrays got back out to double digits, before a bizarre tech foul on the Corio Bay coach gave Jewell a free throw, then a Smith dunk on the following possession gave the Devils some momentum and brought the crowd to life. However, just as quickly as the hope had come, it disappeared as the Stingrays scored seven points in the next 30 seconds, including four to Walker, to effectively put the game out of reach for the Devils. Jewell nailed his fourth three-pointer for the game to reduce the margin to nine, but that was as close as the home side got. Smith finished the game strongly with 10 points and a couple of steals in the final term, while Jewell added seven points and three assists.
In Round 7, the Devils (8th, 2-6) will travel to Broadmeadows to face the Hume City Broncos (5th, 6-2) on Saturday night. This will be their first meeting for the 2016 season.
Werribee v Corio Bay LiveStats and Play-by-Play
Werribee v Corio Bay - Full Game on YouTube
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