BASKETBALL
CBL
By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
MOE led the charge of Latrobe Valley sides in Round 7 of Country Basketball League action.
The Meteors moved back into the hunt for finals, while Morwell continued on a disappointing trend.
Sale 80 def by Moe 101
PLAYING away against Sale, Moe’s men’s side made it look easy overcoming a three-game lull dating back to Round 2 – winners 101 to 80 at Gippsland Regional Sports Complex.
The Meteors were definitely revitalised having only played two games in four weeks.
Any test the Sonics hoped to present to the reigning premier proved unlikely, with Moe getting to their spots whenever and wherever they liked, leading to a 49-36 opening half.
Even they probably thought their lead should have been more considering how stable they’d been, punishing Sale in the winning third quarter by 15 more points to convincingly secure the win.
Ben van Dyk was all over the court with 30 points, followed by four other double digit scorers including older brother Jayden van Dyk (21) and Rohan Demczuk (19).
Following that performance, the Meteors came out just as locked-in on Sunday afternoon on their home floor, besting Lakes Entrance 90-65.
Moe set the tone in the first quarter with 30 points, which began with a 12-3 run to start.
Veteran guard Simon Vannapraseuth ran back the clock with nine points in the opening term.
The Pelicans kept the Meteors at bay for at least one quarter during the second term, but were unable to get it under seven points.
Both contested strongly when play returned, but the Meteors weren’t about to give any slither of hope the way of Lakes Entrance, outscoring them 14-8 in the final four minutes of the third quarter to push their lead to 17 points.
Jayden van Dyk finished with 24 points and four three-pointers in the win, followed by Demczuk (20) and Vannapraseuth (18).
Korumburra 90 def Morwell 70
MORWELL travelled to Korumburra, only to be done, 90-70, at the hands of the Wildcats.
After sustaining a seven-nothing start, Morwell ran the table with Korumburra thanks to a 10-2 finish to the opening term due to the trio of Jordan Canovan, Nick Sedley and Ashton McAllan.
That would be the highest point of the Magic’s night however, as the Wildcats flipped the switch midway through the second quarter; down 10 points to end the first half with only a three-point deficit.
Momentum sure looked to have swung the way of Korumburra, but to Morwell’s credit, they stuck by for a majority of the opening portions of the last half right behind by two points.
That was all she wrote however, as the Wildcats went on an impeccable run while the Magic fell into an abysmal hole, scoring just eight points the rest of the way as the lead ballooned to 20 by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Sedley finished with 21 points and five threes for Morwell, followed by William Tankard with 17.
Traralgon – BYE
Women’s
Sale 55 def by Moe 93
THE women’s competition was also led by Moe, who secured an impressive victory over Sale, winning by 38 points on the Sonics’ home court to begin their weekend.
After a 43-17 opening half that included holding Sale to just seven points in the first quarter, the Meteors had already done all they needed to secure the win.
Tahni Hodgens finished with 21 points in Moe’s seismic victory, followed by Michelle Clarke (13) and Danielle Davies (12).
Moe 116 def Lakes Entrance 15
ANYONE showing up early to Sunday’s round of games early in Moe would have been gobsmacked to see what played out.
The Meteors defeated Lakes Entrance by 101 points, 116-15 giving them an almighty percentage boost on their way to an unblemished five wins throughout the season so far.
Moe set the tone with a 25-7 opening quarter that did nothing but show who the winners were more than certainly going to be.
The Meteors held the Pelicans to just two points through the second and third term, while scoring 69 points themselves through the period as they went ahead 94-9.
Everyone on Moe’s roster scored at least four points, headlined by Macey McGlead with 17.
Korumburra 63 def Morwell 52
MORWELL went down to Korumburra on Saturday night, 63-52.
The Magic led at quarter time but where outscored 31-20 in the middle quarters, putting them to a win-loss record of 3-3 on the season but still tied for a finals berth as it currently stands.
Abbey Noblett led Morwell with 15 points on the night.
Round 6 Men’s
PREVIOUS to this, Round 6 saw games go down to the final seconds.
Traralgon continued on their merry way in the men’s, nailing another victim, while Morwell missed their opportunity to climb ahead two games in a row.
The T-Birds were the first to send Pakenham packing, beating them 100 to 83 away from home.
Morwell didn’t have the same luck, losing by just one point, 73-72 against Wonthaggi.
Tempers flared and fouls became the name of the game as both sides entered the bonus after Wonthaggi’s Angus Kemper hit a crushing three to send the Coasters ahead for the first time since the second quarter with 90 seconds remaining.
Magic forward Jordan Canovan would find the basket with 50 seconds left to tie the game up which followed crucial stops at either end for both teams.
The Coasters finished with the ball in their hands for the final possessions, only as Jacob Winen took a costly foul which sent Wonthaggi’s Vincent Monaghan to the line and gave them the game.
Morwell hoped to avenge themselves on the Sunday afternoon when they travelled over to Sale.
The Sonics managed their first win of the season however, in an in-the-end convincing 101-87 victory at Gippsland Regional Sports Complex.
It was Sale’s first win since October last year.
Round 6 Women’s
THE Women’s competition returned for Latrobe Valley clubs, with Morwell entering the court against Wonthaggi.
Both sides kept it close through the first half of play at Latrobe Leisure Morwell, before the Coasters climbed ahead by seven points with a quarter remaining.
Although outscoring their opponents in the final term, Morwell succumbed 58-54.
Olivia Ouchirenko finished with 17 points for the Magic.
Moe had the bye across both competitions.
