State Champ Men 72 d Knox Raiders 67
Werribee
|
21
|
20
|
14
|
17
|
72
|
Knox
|
22
|
13
|
18
|
14
|
67
|
Jeremy Smith 25 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists
Fred Hunter 13 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals
Jordan Hughes 10 points, 5 rebounds
Jack Macdonald 9 points, 2 assists
Jonathan Sonda 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, 3 steals
Nick Morda 7 points
It was another special weekend at Eagle Stadium, as we celebrated 20 years since the State Championship Men's team won back-to-back titles in 1995-1996.
A week after collecting two wins in a successful double header against Whittlesea and Diamond Valley, the Werribee Devils State Championship Men came up against 3rd-placed Knox Raiders. Knox had an 88-72 victory when the two teams last met in Round 10.
Knox scored first through Rose, then Jack Macdonald and Fred Hunter got the Devils on the board three minutes into the match. Only one basket separated the two teams for the first six minutes, before Raiders Rose and Nyok combined for six consecutive points, giving the visitors a slight edge. With three minutes to play Jeremy Smith heated up, scoring 10 of the Devils 12 points, but he was answered up the other end by Rose, Unwin and Polk. Smith (12 pts, 4 rebs, 2 ass) got the Devils the lead with twenty seconds remaining, but a three-pointer from Hare put the Raiders in front by one at quarter time. Aside from Smith, other contributors for the Devils included Hunter (three rebounds), Macdonald (two assists) and Sonda (two steals).
Knox's Polk was proving hard to stop, scoring the Raiders first six points of the second term. Morda (five points) and Hunter were keeping the Devils in touch, and with 4.50 to play Hunter (seven points, three rebounds) gave the Devils the lead which they wouldn’t give up for the rest of the quarter. He, Smith (two assists, two rebounds) and Macdonald contributed to a 6-0 Devils run, giving them some breathing space. Hare and Tomada fought back late for the Raiders, before a Macdonald (five points) jump shot in the last thirty seconds gave the Devils a 41-35 advantage at half time.
The Devils lead was erased in the first two minutes of the third term, thanks to ten unanswered Raiders points. Smith (four points, four rebounds) finally got the Devils on the board four minutes into the quarter. The Devils shooters finally came to life, with Smith, Hunter (four points, two rebounds), Macdonald and Hughes all firing well to get the Devils back in the game. The last four minutes were goal-for-goal and a Hunter basket in the final thirty seconds put the Devils in front by two points at three-quarter time. Sonda chipped in with two rebounds and two blocks.
It was clear that whoever won this game was going to earn it. Hughes (five points, two rebounds) scored the first five points for the Devils, giving them some breathing space. Sonda (four points, two rebounds) and Smith (six points, five rebounds) both added baskets, and a Smith free throw with 4.37 remaining gave the Devils an eight-point lead. The Raiders then crept within two points with thirty seconds to play, as the Devils didn’t score for about three minutes, but free throws from Morda and Sonda put the game out of Knox’s reach, giving the Devils their third win in a row, and eighth of the season.
There are now just two games remaining in the Devils 2016 season and they are at home on Saturday night for both matches. Round 17 sees them up against the Eltham Wildcats (6th, 11-8), and they finish off against the Ringwood Hawks (3rd, 14-5)
Werriee v Knox - Box Score and Stats
Werribee v Knox - LiveStats and Play-by-Play
Werribee v Knox - Full Game on YouTube
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