Game Review by James Woite

Webcast

The Forestville Eagles clinched their second straight Anzac double against the Centrals District Lions with convincing wins from both the women and the men’s games at Wayville Saturday night in front of a good crowd.

After struggling to get their running game going against stubborn Sturt last week, the Eagles made a point early of pushing the ball and getting into the paint. Minus Luke Hoban and Doug McDonald-Taylor (fourth straight miss) due to injury Centrals entered the game with a clear height advantage, giving them some hope of an upset victory against a team they were resoundingly defeated by on both occasions last year. The Eagles made a point of getting everyone involved early, showing much more flare than they did in their disappointing display against the Sabres. Despite this, Centrals stuck to their guns, and led 11-10 after the first few minutes with big man Wade Pidock (15 points, 12 rebounds) a handful for Scott Arnold early. However, Forestville outscored Centrals 19-6 over the remainder of the quarter, taking the ascendancy when Centrals resorted to a smaller line-up.

Forestville continued their fast-pace game in the second period and despite Riley Luettgerodt unable to exert himself in the same way he had over the first six rounds, the Eagles had the Lions at their mercy, leading 58-36 at half-time. Eagles sixth man Nick Blair was a handful for the visitors igniting fast breaks when most teams would have been content to hold the ball up and set up a half-court offence. Blair had two 3-point-plays for the quarter, and finished the game with 8 points (all in the first half), 8 boards and 6 assists, numbers which did not truly reflect his influence on the game.

The Eagles continued to dominate the second half, despite some competitive play from the Lions. Forestville always appeared to be in control, helped by Brad Gerlach knocking down back-to-back threes, just as Centrals began to make a challenge. Gerlach finished with a season high of 19 points which included 5 rebounds and 4 assists. The Eagles led 79-55 at three quarter-time and looked set for a convincing win. Centrals showed some heart late, with Matt Atkins piling on 11 points in the last period. The Lions narrowed the margin late adding some respectability to the scoreboard when their last three converted shots of the game were all three pointers.

Eagles coach Andrew Simons should be satisfied with the win with two key players unavailable. His team finished with five players in double figures with two other players scoring eight. Forward Zane Reeves for the Lions was the game high scorer for the night, he finished with 35 points and 13 rebounds, both season highs, however, key Guard Matthew Clarke had a quite game with just the one field goal. American import Wade Pidock again found himself in foul trouble as he did against the Mavericks when he was forced to sit out extended minutes in the second half when he picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter.  Forestville is now half a game clear of Norwood and North and the team currently sits in third position. Centrals have tumbled to the foot of the table with just one victory.