CHURCHILL’S rich vein of Country Basketball League Gippsland form continued on Saturday as the Blue Devils handily accounted for Bairnsdale 92-67 on the road.
The reigning premier strung together its third consecutive victory to move into second on the competition ladder behind Warragul.
Jordan Canovan backed up his double header heroics last weekend, when he nailed 70 points against Maffra (40) and Moe (30), with another 23-point haul second only to partner in crime Andrew Petrou (24).
The pair now share the competition lead for total points with 154 each at an average of 25.67 per game.
After trailing by two at quarter-time, the Blue Devils turned up the heat to take an eight-point lead by half-time.
A 30-19 third quarter set up the win while a 25-19 final term was the icing on a polished team performance.
Fifth-placed Traralgon kept in touch with the leading quartet with a seven-point win over a resilient Korumburra Wildcats.
The T-Birds flew to the early advantage on the wings of a 23-11 opening quarter, but the Wildcats clawed back bit by bit to ultimately reduce the margin to 70-63 by the final siren.
Ben Barlow’s 19 points led the scoring for the victory with support from Brad Watson (15), Frazar Brouns (13) and Chris Sutton (10).
Churchill was equally impressive in CBL Gippsland women’s action with a thorough 95-43 annihilation of Bairnsdale.
Five Blue Devils made double figures led by Tanarly Hood’s 22, with Allison Petrou (20), Samantha Labros (17), Jessica Bates (14) and Tayler Brouns (12) all firing.
Traralgon retained its top four position despite going down to Korumburra 38-74.
Bairnsdale Bullets lt Churchill Blue Devils 67-92
Traralgon T-Birds d Korumburra Wildcats 70-63
Western Port Steelers lt Warragul Warriors 70-88
Bairnsdale Bullets lt Churchill Blue Devils 43-95
Traralgon T-Birds lt Korumburra Wildcats 38-74
Western Port Steelers lt Warragul Warriors 42-67
Bairnsdale Bullets d Southern Peninsula Lady Sharks 62-56
