BASKETBALL

CBL

By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT

 

Men’s

ROUND 2 of Country Basketball League action opened at the weekend, with mixed results from a local lens.

Moe went one of two in their first doubleheader of the season while Morwell led a demolition.

Despite being the defending champion, the Meteors play their opening three games on the road and must wait until Round 4 to see themselves on their home floor with their 2023 banner hanging above.

They began Saturday night with a testy matchup out at Korumburra, coming home 77 to 65 winners.

The Meteors held a clear edge in terms of depth of ability, but the Wildcats didn’t make it a cakewalk by any means.

Moe’s starters got off to a hot start but with three minutes to go in the opening term, it still sat at a one-point ball game.

A combination of Stephen O’Brien and Ben and Jayden van Dyk taking it to Korumburra’s set defence kept the Meteors’ lead at four points by the end of the first quarter.

Korumburra wouldn’t have liked the way the next five minutes played out however, as Moe sprinted out to a 14-point lead off the back of a unanswered nine-point run to begin the second term.

The Wildcats did their best to soften the blow, but halftime arrived with the scoreboard sitting at 45-33 Moe’s way.

By the return of play, the Wildcats entered with an added grunt and chipped the margin back to six points primarily off the back of star Joel Winderlich.

But just as Korumburra came, Moe’s Rohan Demczuk answered the call with seven points through to the end of the third quarter including a vital three-pointer with two minutes left in the term that kept their lead above double digits.

Winderlich once again got to work with only a quarter remaining to decide a winner again chipping their deficit back to seven points before Demczuk arrived back on the scene, cape and all, to nail another tough three-point attempt pushing it back to 10 points.

The Wildcats uncovered a primal yet simple tactic in the final stages of play – relentlessly attacking the paint, drawing as many fouls on the Meteors’ backcourt as possible – equalling points at the free throw line and getting to the closest point since the opening term.

The approach cumulated in a 10-2 run with just minutes remaining and the score sitting 66-63 with Korumburra still needing to make up a little more ground.

But Moe flipped the switch in the direst of moments, getting themselves to the free throw line a handful of times to ice the game.

Demczuk dropped a game-high 25 points, dominating in the second half, including four threes with Ben van Dyk finishing with 20 points.

Moe then travelled again, this time to Pakenham on Sunday, offering less than similar results at Cardinia Life.

The Meteors only managed nine points in the opening term and continued to be punished on the perimeter through to halftime, with the Warriors crashing the offensive glass and succeeding with second-chance buckets time-after-time.

As Pakenham’s lead ballooned to over 30 points after halftime, the game was well and truly a wash before the final buzzer sounded.

O’Brien and Ben van Dyk finished with 15 points as best for Moe with a rested week ahead of them in Round 3.

IN their second game at Latrobe Leisure Morwell, the Magic took apart Lakes Entrance to the tune of 22 points.

The entirety of their work was done in the first half with a combination of sickening defensive strength and an inability for the Pelicans to make a shot, leading to a 36-17 score line by halftime.

Lakes Entrance finally notched a quarter score above 10 points, but were still outscored by 11 in the third term.

They did pour in 26 points to 18 in the final quarter but it was too little, too late.

The Magic completed a full score sheet with everyone finding the two points at least that was headlined by William Tankard with 17 points and Jordan Canovan with 16.

TRARALGON had the bye.

 

Women’s

LATROBE Valley finally entered the court for Round 2 of CBL with both Moe and Morwell getting the chocolates at the weekend in the women’s competition.

The Magic ran home an eye-popping 56-point win thanks to astoundingly holding Lakes Entrance to just seven points through the middle two quarters.

Morwell featured four players with north of 10 points and six with eight or more that included Micaiah Judilla with 23 and four three-pointers.

Moe began with a hard-fought 69-53 defeat of Korumburra on Saturday night.

The Meteors held a nine-point lead upon halftime, but it still wasn’t etched truly especially after a stalemate 16-all third term.

Moe ran home due to a 17-10 final quarter performance that gave them their first win of the season.

Returning Meteor, Ellie Coutts poured in 18 points including three from long range and a further six players dropping five or more points.

Backing up their inaugural victory of 2024, Moe came to Pakenham’s court and subsequently snatch the game 77-67.

It was an early domination for the Meteors, mounting a 17-5 lead in the first seven minutes of play as Caitlin Demczuk and Tahni Hodgens caused headaches for the Warriors.

Things mellowed with the margin sitting at nine points in time for the first break in play, only for Emma Sculley to go on her own little run to boost Moe’s lead back to 15 points.

The Meteors continued to control the game through the middle quarters, that was significantly helped by their opening 19-10 start with Pakenham never truly allowing themselves back into it.

The only reason the game sat as close as it did was due to the Warriors nailing 10 three-pointers including five from one player – but it’s an all-around game, not reliant on one specific area.

All Moe players contributed with every single player getting on the scoreboard, led by Piper Albert and Carly Wood top-scoring with 16 points.