Youth League Men 87 defeated Bendigo Braves 79
|
Werribee
|
17
|
14
|
25
|
31
|
87
|
|
Bendigo
|
16
|
28
|
16
|
19
|
79
|
TJ Remy 21 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
Mitch Alush 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals
Jesse Harberger 15 points, 9 rebounds
Josh Tang 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
Bubby Luxford 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
Kodi Opetaia 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Josh Zamperoni 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2
stealsIn Round 10, the Werribee Devils Youth League Men hosted the Bendigo Braves.
After a couple of losses, the lads would have been keen not to let this game slip, and the match started tentatively, with both sides trading baskets early on. TJ Remy, Jesse Harberger and Mitch Alush got on the board for the Devils, but then they didn’t score for three minutes through the middle stages of the quarter. Bendigo were pretty quiet as well, and they held a narrow lead for most of the quarter. With 3.39 remaining, Remy sparked an 11-2 Devils run and was joined by Josh Tang and Alush, as the home side went from four down to five points up with a couple of minutes to play. Jacob Seears hit four unanswered points in the last 90 seconds to get the Braves within one point at quarter time. Remy led the Devils with seven points and three rebounds, while Alush had five points, four rebounds and two steals. Other contributors included Mangar Manyang (two blocks, three rebounds), J Harberger (three rebounds) and Josh Zamperoni had two steals.
In contrast to the opening term, both teams made a quick start to the second quarter. When play resumed Bendigo started better, with Lloyd Needs and Seears adding seven points in the first couple of minutes. J Harberger countered for the Devils and when Bubby Luxford scored as he was fouled and converted the bonus free throw, there was one point in it. This was the start of another three-minute Devils scoring drought, while the Braves scored nine unanswered points, stretching their lead out to double digits at the halfway mark of the quarter. J Harberger and Kodi Opetaia did their best to stem the flow, but Aidan Brohm got on a streak, scoring eight points in 90 seconds for the Braves and consolidating a double digit lead, which they held for the majority of the last four minutes. The 31 point total was the Devils second-lowest first half of the season. J Harberger and Opetaia both added four points, and Opetaia was lively with three rebounds and three steals.
It’s safe to assume that coach Darren Hindle would have had some stern words for his charges at the main break after an ordinary first half. Remy, Tang and Dylan Harberger combined for the first five points as they set out to erase the deficit. Braves Kyle McMullan and Tanner Rayner fired back with seven points and were answered by Zamperoni and J Harberger. When Jake Willcocks scored, the margin was back out to 12 after four minutes of play. The Devils proceeded on an 11-3 run over the next four minutes, including 7 from Tang, and all of a sudden it was just four points the difference inside the last two minutes. Willcocks and Brohm scored for the Braves, but four points to Remy in the last minute brought the margin back to four points at three-quarter time and it was ‘Game On’! Tang stood up with nine points and three steals, supported by Remy (six points, four rebounds) and J Harberger (four points). Zamperoni (four) and D Harberger (three) grabbed seven rebounds between them.
The stage was set for an exciting final quarter, and there would be many twists and turns in the next ten minutes of basketball. Rayner nailed a long bomb which extended the Braves lead but then Bubby Luxford and Mitch Alush spearheaded an 11-3 run over the opening four minutes of the quarter which saw the Devils snatch back the lead for the first time since the start of the second quarter. Another three-pointer from Rayner with 5.26 to play gave the Braves the lead back, but it was shortlived. 12 seconds later Remy replied and the Devils wouldn’t concede the lead for the rest of the game. The next three minutes saw the Devils go on a 12-1 run, and with a nine point lead with two minutes to play, the game looked safe.
However, the Braves still weren’t done. McMullan, Willcocks and Brohm all scored in the space of 30 seconds, and when Rayner hit another three-pointer with 40 seconds remaining, the margin was just two points in favour of the Devils. As brave as they were, foul trouble ended up costing the Braves dearly. They committed four fouls in the last 38 seconds and Luxford, J Harberger and Alush converted six out of eight free throws to put the game beyond reach and escape with an 87-79 victory. The Devils had a massive last quarter and several players made big contributions. Alush (10 points, two steals) led the scoring, supported by Remy (eight points, four assists), Luxford (seven points, four rebounds, three steals) and J Harberger (five points, six rebounds).
In Round 11 the Devils (3rd, 9-4) face a road-trip double header. On Saturday afternoon they are up against the Keysborough Cougars (12th, 0-14), then on Sunday they head to the Mars Minerdome to play Ballarat (11th, 3-9).
Last time against Keysborough: Round 4, Eagle Stadium, Win 100-79
Last time against Ballarat: Round 3, Eagle Stadium, Win 108-62
Werribee v Bendigo - Box Score and Stats
Werribee v Bendigo - LiveStats and Play-by-Play
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