Werribee Devils State Champ Men (9th, 2-7) 91 lost to McKinnon Cougars (6th, 4-3) 92
Werribee
|
23
|
22
|
23
|
23
|
91
|
McKinnon
|
24
|
19
|
26
|
23
|
92
|
Fred Hunter, 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, 4 assists, 5 steals
Jeremy Smith, 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Jonathan Sonda, 15 points, 6 rebounds
Jordan Hughes, 14 points, 5 rebounds
Jack Macdonald, 10 points
In Round 8, the Werribee Devils hosted the McKinnon Cougars. They were looking to bounce back from a narrow 83-86 loss against the Hume Broncos the previous week.
McKinnon scored first inside the opening 10 seconds of the game but then the Devils went on a 13-2 run over the next few minutes to set up a nice early lead. The second half of the quarter was a flurry of scoring, as both sides went goal-for-goal. The Devils held the upper hand and led for all but 30 seconds of the quarter but the Cougars scored the last eight points, including a half court buzzer-beater from Dillon Stith, and they went into quarter time with a one point lead. Jeremy Smith and Jonathan Sonda both had six points and three rebounds; Jordan Hughes scored 5 and Fred Hunter contributed four points and four rebounds.
Dillon Stith extended the Cougar’s lead with the first basket of the second term, but for the next seven minutes it was all Devils, with Hunter (six) and Jack Macdonald (four) spearheading a 16-5 Devils streak. Nick Morda and Dion Jewell also joined in with three-pointers of their own. The Cougars fought back in the final minutes, outscoring the Devils 10-6 thanks to four points each from big man Axel Dench and Neal Mueller. Hunter led the way with six points, Morda had five and Macdonald scored four. Justin Ward chipped in with four rebounds. Stith had a huge impact for the Cougars, with 17 points and eight rebounds in first half.
Cougars centre Dench, a head taller than anyone else on the court, started to dominate, scoring the first five points and ten for the quarter, as well as four rebounds. Whereas the Devils had led for most of the first half, the third term was more evenly split and there were seven lead changes. The Cougars took the lead with a 10-3 run over the last four minutes, before a Hunter basket in the closing seconds brought the Devils back within one point at three-quarter time. Sonda led the Devils with seven points, Hunter put in six points and three assists, while Smith and Hughes had four points each.
The Devils had been through a three point loss to the Broncos the week before, and it was clear this one was also going down to the wire. The Devils led for over six minutes of the quarter but there were several lead changes early on, and neither team led by more than five points. Ward got the Devils going early with a three-pointer and Hunter kept up the home side’s momentum in the middle stages, scoring six points in under a minute. The Devils entered the final minute down by two, after a Stith three-pointer. Ward and Hughes both had chances, but a pair of Sam Ayre free throws with ten seconds remaining put the Cougars four points up and the game was out of the Devils reach. The Devils had the final play and Hughes sank a three-pointer on the buzzer, much to the crowd’s delight, but unfortunately it left the Devils one point short. Ward and Hunter both had six points for the quarter and Smith added four.
Werribee v McKinnon - Box Score and Stats
Werribee v McKinnon - LiveStats and Play-by-Play
Werribee v McKinnon - Full Game on YouTube
Werribee Devils State Champ Men (9th, 2-7) 85 defeated Bulleen Boomers (12th, 0-7) 74
Werribee
|
25
|
14
|
20
|
26
|
85
|
Bulleen
|
16
|
20
|
22
|
16
|
74
|
Jeremy Smith, 37 points, 11 rebounds (Big V Blue Carpet)
Jonathan Sonda, 15 points, 7 rebounds
Dion Jewell, 10 points, 2 rebounds
Fred Hunter, 8 points, 6 rebounds
Jack Macdonald, 6 points
Jordan Hughes, 6 points, 6 rebounds
Nick Morda, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Justin Ward, 5 rebounds
After their narrow loss to McKinnon the night before, the Devils travelled to Bulleen to tackle the winless Boomers.
Jack Macdonald started the ball rolling for the Devils, but the Boomers struck back twice in quick time to take an early lead. Jonathan Sonda and Jeremy Smith got on the board, and when Smith scored again, the Devils took the lead and wouldn’t give it up for almost another quarter. Regular baskets from Smith, Sonda, Jordan Hughes and Fred Hunter got the Devils out to a double-digit lead, but a free throw from Wilson Arob in the final seconds gave the Devils a nine-point lead at the first break. Smith (8 points, 2 rebounds) and Sonda (8 points, 4 rebounds) were the standouts, supported by Hunter (4 points, 3 rebounds).
The Boomers scored the first seven points of the second quarter and it took the Devils four minutes to get on the board, through Dion Jewell. The margin continued to hover around one or two baskets and the Boomers finally hit the lead with a couple of David Schaffert three-pointers with three minutes remaining. It was a two-man show as Smith and Schaffert both scored their teams last nine points and when the half-time buzzer sounded the Devils had their noses in front by three points. The rebounding department was truly a team effort, with Hughes, Hunter, Morda, Ward and Smith all grabbing two each.
The Devils kept their lead for most of the third quarter and when Jewell nailed a three-pointer with three minutes to go, they were up 56-52. From that point the Cougars got back on top, scoring six consecutive points and reclaiming the lead. The Devils did not score again until Smith hit a three with thirty seconds left and gave the Devils a one-point advantage at the last break. Smith led the visitors with six points and three rebounds, Macdonald had four points, while Sonda and Jewell both contributed three points and two rebounds for the quarter.
Jewell showed some leadership at the start of the final quarter, scoring the first four points and giving the Devils some breathing space. Then Morda hit a long-bomb and from there it was the “Jeremy Smith Show.” Smith scored 14 points for the quarter, including 6/8 free throws, as the Devils pulled away for an 11-point win. The Cougars scored consecutive baskets to sneak within five points with a couple of minutes left, but an 8-2 Devils run ensured the victory. Sonda added four points and Hughes had four rebounds.
In Round 9, Werribee (9th, 3-8) will host Hume City (5th, 7-3) at Eagle Stadium on Sunday. Their previous meeting was just last week (Round 7) and the Broncos got up 86-83.
Werribee v Bulleen - Box Score and Stats
Werribee v Bulleen - LiveStats and Play-by-Play
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