BASKETBALL

CBL

BY BLAKE METCALF-HOLT

LATROBE Valley sides Moe and Morwell remain in good stead in each of the men’s and women’s competitions respectively in the Country Basketball League.

The Meteors continue to keep closely with top-seeded Warragul on the men’s ladder, with their latest win at the weekend over Korumburra at Latrobe Leisure Newborough resulting in a seventh straight victory since a Round 1 loss to the Warriors.

Moe had no difficulties with the Wildcats, winning by 26 points at home, blowing the margin out of the water after the first quarter ended relatively close.

Austin Shelley was at his very best, finishing with a game-high 35 points, including four three-pointers on the day.

Prior to that, the Meteors claimed the double in Round 5, beginning with a defeat of Maffra by 19 points at Cameron Sporting Complex on Saturday, November 1.

A back-and-forth first quarter showed signs of a close contest to be played throughout, however Moe lifted its intensity, knocking down outside shots with ease to increase the margin.

The Eagles were never able to break past that certain threshold, only getting as close as eight points in the second half, as the Meteors pushed past their home opponents significantly.

Shelley top-scored with 24 points, followed by Josh Parkinson (21) and Rohan Demczuk (14), while Byron Sandeman led the way for Maffra with 21.

Typical Latrobe Valley rivals Moe and Traralgon then duelled on Sunday, November 2 at Latrobe Leisure Newborough, with the Meteors claiming bragging rights, 99-93.

While the home side opened out of the gate with a solid 11-4 start, the T-Birds had little worry in reversing that margin, and entered the first break ahead by six points off the back of some nice interior scoring and transition play.

Moe also began to pack the paint by slicing into the lane routinely, which began to present some open players, and Demczuk was the primary antagonist for Traralgon, finishing the first half with 12 points for the Meteors.

Returning from the main break with a slim two-point lead, Moe continued to attack, but the visitors answered each time.

Traralgon’s Brooklyn Fue was dominant on the offensive glass, snagging countless rebounds and second chance shots from the T-Birds, which continued to be an issue for the smaller Meteors line-up.

As Traralgon began to appear to have momentum, Fue received his sixth foul, thus eliminating him from the game, which also evened out the exit of Parkinson for Moe, who was ejected from the game with two technical fouls earlier.

With the Meteors in the bonus, they continued to put pressure on their opponents and the referees by attacking the rim, and more times than not, getting to the free throw line late.

Even still, Traralgon managed to sneak back into the lead, with Kody Tibballs finishing inside plus the foul, pushing the T-Birds ahead by a point with less than 90 seconds remaining.

Shelley then rose, as he often does for Moe, despite not getting on the end of his perimeter shots most of the game, sprung up for his first three-pointer of the day when it mattered to clinch victory for the Meteors.

Moe had five players score 12 or more points, with Shelley best with 24 and Demczuk (20).

Despite struggles in the lead up to the weekend, Morwell got back on the winner’s list tenfold, with two monster victories in Round 6.

Against battlers Bairnsdale on Saturday, the Magic rode home 29-point winners from Bairnsdale Aquatic and Recreation Centre, despite some early worries.

Morwell led by just seven points at the main break against the side with just two wins to their name from their last two seasons back in CBL, but the Magic procedurally dismantled the Bullets when it mattered most.

Kelvin Austin (27 points) and Nick Sedley (21) were top scorers for Morwell, with the Magic also having six of their seven available players notching double digits.

Morwell then had an even more emphatic victory on Sunday, leaving no stone unturned against Lakes Entrance, winning by 54 points at Lakes Entrance Youth and Recreation Centre.

A 34-12 first quarter already turned the game toward one direction, but the Magic never let up throughout the game, posting 16 triples from beyond the arc.

William Tankard led the charge with a season-best 36 points, while Jordan Canovan (27) and Austin (26) also got in on the fun.

The Magic couldn’t keep up with Warragul on Saturday, November 1 however, falling by 22 points at Warragul Leisure Centre in Round 5.

After scoring just 14 points to open proceedings, Morwell fought back to under double digits before halftime arrived, but that’s the best they could do.

The Warriors outscored their opponents by 14 points in the second half to keep them at bay.

AS for Morwell women’s, they are riding high as CBL favourites heading towards the last three weeks of the regular season.

Following a seismic victory over Bairnsdale by 41 points on Saturday, the Magic sit comfortably at the top of the CBL ladder with an unbeaten record of eight wins.

Holding the Bullets to just 13 points through the first half at Bairnsdale Aquatic and Recreation Centre, Morwell served poise to see out the game at their absolute best.

Shantelle Thorburn led the way with 27 points , followed by Carmen Albrecht with 18.

The Magic also didn’t find much trouble coming up against Warragul in the round prior, defeating the Warriors by close to 30 points on Saturday, November 1 at Warragul Leisure Centre.

Morwell held Warragul to just five points in the opening quarter, eliminating any hope of an upset from the Warriors on its home court.

The hosts responded marginally following that blistering, but it meant very little toward the end result.

Five Magic players reached double digit scoring, with Jordan Pyle leading the way with 17 points, followed by Olivia Ouchirenko (15) and Thorburn (13).

Moe are attempting to keep in close company with the top two (Morwell and Warragul), but an eight-point loss to Korumburra at the weekend kept them closer to the middle order.

The Wildcats ended the first half ahead by six points at Latrobe Leisure Newborough, but the Meteors fought back through the final turn, trailing by three.

Alahna Arnason scored a crucial bucket with under two minutes to go in the final term to stave off the home side’s comeback.

Caitlin Demczuk led the way for Moe with 14 points, followed by Tahni Hodgens with 12.

The Meteors went two-for-two in Round 5, taking down Maffra closely by eight points and then making light work of Traralgon, 87-51.

A second quarter 10-point blitz by Moe allowed them to hold on against a strong Eagles side, while they did all their work early against the T-Birds to carry through to their fourth win.

Demczuk and Brooke Hunter each scored 18 points in the Sunday, November 2 win against Traralgon.

Traralgon men and women both had the bye.