State Champ Men 72 lost to Knox Raiders 88
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Werribee
|
14
|
27
|
13
|
18
|
72
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|
Knox
|
26
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19
|
21
|
22
|
88
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Fred Hunter 24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists
Jeremy Smith 17 points, 4 rebounds
Jordan Hughes 8 points, 4 rebounds
Dion Jewell 8 points, 3 assists
Jack Macdonald 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Jonathan Sonda 6 points, 5 rebounds
After falling just short in their 113-114 overtime classic against Hume City, the Werribee Devils State Championship Men faced a road-trip double header in Round 10. Their first stop was against 1st-placed Knox Raiders on Saturday night.
The Devils start was not ideal, conceding a 12-0 lead in just over two minutes. Jeremy Smith (seven points, two rebounds) and Jonathan Sonda (four points) did their best to get the Devils back in the contest, combining for the visitors first nine points before Fred Hunter also got on the board. Having got the margin back to six points late in the quarter, the Raiders finished with a 9-3 run to lead by 12 at quarter time. Jack Macdonald chipped in with two assists.
In contrast to the first quarter, when play resumed the Raiders took over two minutes to get on the scoreboard and in that time Hunter scored twice for the Devils. Hunter then scored the next three Werribee baskets before Dion Jewell chimed in. Hunter was trying to keep his team in it, but the Raiders had all the answers as the two teams went goal-for-goal in the middle stages. Smith, Hunter and Justin Ward finally put together some unanswered points, getting the Devils within two with four minutes left in the half. The Devils kept coming in the last three minutes with two Macdonald baskets whittling the margin to one point, but they were unable to take the lead. An Aaron Munday-Rashid three-pointer in the final minute giving the home side a four-point lead at half time. Hunter had a huge quarter with 14 points and five rebounds. He was supported by Smith and Macdonald (four points each), while Smith added two rebounds and Jewell had two assists.
The Raiders scored the first six points of the third quarter before Macdonald and Jordan Hughes got the Devils going with a couple of threes. Brandon Polk hit a hot streak, keeping the Devils at bay with eight points in 90 seconds. Mike Rose added five unanswered points of his own and the margin was back out to 12. The Raiders then went scoreless for three and a half minutes while the Devils added five points through Hunter and Sonda. Mitchell Unwin and Rose replied with five unanswered points of their own in the final minute and the margin was again out to 12 at three quarter time. Hughes led the Devils with six points for the quarter, while Hunter grabbed four rebounds.
The Devils were unable to get any momentum going in the last quarter, nor were they able to make any inroads on the scoreboard. The margin did not drop below double figures and at one stage was out to 19 points before a late Smith three-pointer brought the final difference to 16 points. Jewell and Smith both had six points for the quarter, while Hunter had four points and two rebounds.
Werribee v Knox - Box Score and Stats
Werribee v Knox - LiveStats and Play-by-Play
Werribee v Knox - Full Game on YouTube
State Champ Men 88 defeated Hawthorn Magic 80
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Werribee
|
19
|
17
|
27
|
25
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88
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|
Hawthorn
|
25
|
20
|
14
|
21
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80
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Fred Hunter 28 points, 15 rebounds, 3 steals
Jeremy Smith 26 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists
Jonathan Sonda 16 points, 7 rebounds
Jordan Hughes 6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals
The second leg of the Devils Round 10 road trip was against the Hawthorn Magic. Fred Hunter made sure there would be no repeat of the previous night’s 0-12 start when he scored in the first 30 seconds of the match. The early stages of the contest were goal-for-goal and scores were level at 12-12 with 4.57 left, before the Magic pulled away and outscored the Devils 13-7 over the remainder of the quarter. Hunter led the Devils scoring with six points, while Jack Macdonald, Jordan Hughes and Jonathan Sonda all scored four. Hunter also grabbed four rebounds, Hughes snatched two steals and Jeremy Smith gave away a couple of assists.
The second quarter saw Smith (six points, three rebounds for the quarter) and Hunter (11 points, five rebounds, two steals) do all the heavy lifting for the Devils, from a scoring point of view. The Raiders had more options, so they gradually got on top. The contest was even in the opening minutes but two quick, unanswered threes from Kirk Smith and Jack Barry pushed the margin out to double figures. They didn’t score for another two and a half minutes but the Devils didn’t really take advantage, only managing to get back within seven points. Two more consecutive threes from Raiders Smith and Jonathan Lindhe gave the Raiders another double-digit buffer with three minutes remaining. Scoring was scarce from both teams in the last three minutes. After Smith’s three-pointer, the Raiders didn’t score again until Barry hit a jump shot with 0.19 left. Hunter shot the Devils last field goal with 2.13 on the clock and from there it was just free throws. The Raiders took a nine-point lead into half time. Justin Ward had 2 blocks, Hughes grabbed two rebounds and two steals, and Sonda grabbed three rebounds.
A Smith three-pointer kickstarted the Devils, who began the third quarter with a 11-2 run in the first four minutes. This allowed them to draw level, but two quick Raiders scores allowed the home side to take back the lead. Smith, Sonda and Hunter continued to chip away, but the Raiders held on to their narrow advantage. It wasn’t until a Dion Jewell three-pointer with 1.49 remaining that the Devils actually hit the front, for the first time since three minutes into the opening term. A Kirk Smith long bomb put the Raiders back in front, but five Devils points in the final minute gave the visitors a four-point lead at three-quarter time. It was Smith’s turn to have a dominant quarter and he posted 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Sonda added seven points, Hunter grabbed three rebounds and Macdonald had two assists.
Once the Devils got the lead back, they were determined not to let it slip. Sonda, Jewell and Hughes all nailed three-pointers in the opening two minutes and the Devils held their advantage for the rest of the quarter. Sonda, Hughes and Ward then combined through the middle stages to lift the margin to double digits. Raiders Barry and Smith got the Raiders back within seven points with a minute to go before Hunter and Smith put the result beyond doubt. Main contributors in the final term were Hunter (eight points, three rebounds), Hughes (five points, two rebounds) and Sonda (five points, three rebounds).
In Round 11, the Devils (9th, 4-10) host the Bulleen Boomers (12th, 0-11). Their last meeting was in Round 8 and the Devils came away with an 85-74 victory.
Werribee v Hawthorn - Box Score and Stats
Werribee v Hawthorn - LiveStats and Play-by-Play
Werribee v Hawthorn - Full Game on YouTube
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