Men's Game Review - Forestville v Southern

Riley Luettgerodt

Riley Luettgerodt had 35 points and 11 rebounds, Brad Sullivan scored 22 points, and Scott Arnold finished just 3 rebounds shy of a triple-double as Forestville held off Southern 92-83 in their Round 13 clash at Wayville. The Eagles led exclusively, building a double-digit lead early, and led by as many as 22 during the third quarter. Tristan Braithwaite scored 13 of his 26 points during the fourth quarter as the Tigers clawed to within 5, but Southern couldn't come up with the goods down the stretch as Forestville secured a crucial victory. Michael Florance was also brilliant for the Tigers, scoring 20 points on 67% field goal shooting, whilst Shane Boal had 17 points.

Brad Gerlach started on the bench for the Eagles after missing the win against North through injury. The opening play was reminiscent of last week's fourth quarter, with Adam Doyle and Scott Arnold combining for the game's opening points. Forestville was on fire early, starting off in their traditional man-to-man defence, deferring from the zone that was so successful against the Rockets. The Tigers looked in trouble early, with Braithwaite their only real hope offensively, knocking down a couple of 3-pointers. However, Brad Sullivan was holding his own at the other end, finding Arnold twice in the space of ten seconds as the Eagles' lead blew out to ten. However, a switch to a zone defence in the last two and a half minutes of the quarter saw the Tigers stem the Eagles' flow, and a couple of late baskets saw Southern somehow be just five points behind at quarter-time.

Boal started the second as he finished the first, knocking down a jumper as the Tigers closed to within three. However, the Eagles then exploded with a 13-1 run to build a fifteen point lead with 5.40 to go in the half, with Luettgerodt and Gerlach prominent. In the final minutes, the teams traded baskets, with Forestville able to build a lead of no greater than thirteen points, and Southern unable to get closer than nine. Luettgerodt continued his strong play, constantly getting to the foul line and forcing Tigers Centre Brandon Brine (14 points, 8 rebounds) to the bench with three fouls. At half-time, the score was 47-34, after the Eagles won the second quarter 24-16.

Forestville had been outscored 51-28 in their past two third quarters, but there were no signs of another third-quarter fadeout as the Eagles outscored Southern 19-10 in the first 6.45 of the half to build a 66-44 lead. With Braithwaite now being kept in check, and Brine on the bench after picking up another foul inside 17 seconds, things looked grim for the Tigers, with Shane Boal the shining light, scoring 8 of their 10 points. Coach Andy Simons began to rest some key players for their Sunday match at Mt Barker, as well as applying a 3-2 half-court trap. In doing so, however, Forestville allowed Southern back into the game, as the Tigers used a 12-4 run to get within fourteen by the end of the quarter.

Southern had not given up hope of an upset victory, as evidenced by their ultra-aggressive effort on the boards which led to numerous second and third chance opportunities. Two Braithwaite 3-pointers inside the first two minutes saw Forestville's lead dwindled down to nine, before Luettgerodt steadied the ship with a layup at the other end. Luettgerodt had the chance to really kill off the Tigers following a technical foul, but missed both free throws. Brine got the deficit back to 8 with a 3-point play, before a 3-pointer from Nick Blair and four quick points from Luettgerodt forced Leaver into a time-out with 4.09 to go, and the Eagles looking safe with an 84-72 lead.

However, Braithwaite knocked down his third 3-pointer of the quarter (his sixth for the game) as the Tigers refused to succumb to defeat so easily, getting with in five before Forestville pulled away to an 11 point victory.




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