The Forestville Eagles have wrapped up second spot on the CABL ladder, thanks to a 94-88 victory over the Central District Lions at Wayville on Saturday.

Player of the Game Rashad Tucker (19 points, 21 rebounds, 9 assists) finished one dime shy of a triple-double, and was particularly prominent in the first and fourth quarters.

Brad Sullivan registered 16 of his team-high 22 points in the first half, connecting on all four three-pointers.

John Wernham, Adam Doyle and Brad Haydon all scored in double figures, while Majok Deng continued his impressive run of form with seven points and four blocks, as well as shutting down Lions Centre Daniel Carlin for most of the fourth quarter.

Carlin had a game-high 24 points, including 10/12 from the foul-line.

However, despite taking almost all of his shots from in the paint, Carlin only shot 7/19 from the field.

Josh Kollasch (20 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 8/13 FG) was in sensational touch for Centrals, completing his first triple-double in this competition.

After scoring 39 points in the corresponding game with Forestville, Kollasch, surprisingly, rarely looked to score himself in the first half, instead setting up his teammates.

In the final 20 minutes, Kollasch was much more aggressive and it paid dividends.

Luke Frost had 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Matt Atkins scored some excellent buckets in the second half and finished with 10 points.

The key to the Eagles’ victory was a blistering 33-17 first quarter,

The Lions appeared to be holding their own in the first few minutes, leading 12-9 after 4.10, after Kollasch converted a three-point play.

However, Tucker’s second trey of the year initiated a 24-5 run from the home side.

Two early fouls to Lachlan Parker did not help the visitors’ cause, who were already undersized with him on the floor.

Tucker added nine more points (including a one-handed jam on the break), two rebounds and a steal during the run, while Neil Mottram, returning to the line-up after a two game absence, knocked down a nice jumper.

The second quarter was all Sullivan, who scored 11 points, including three straight jumpers to end the period.

Fortunately for the Lions, some strong perimeter shooting saw them stay within 19 by the intermission.

In the third quarter, Centrals came out much stronger, led by Kollasch and Carlin, with the latter feeding off of some intelligent play from the former and getting on top of his opponent Wernham.

A couple of good moves from Atkins kept things interesting when it looked as though the Eagles might break away again, before two free throws from Kollasch with just over a minute remaining got the deficit back to single figures for the first time in almost 22 minutes.

That was the way it stayed for the remainder of the quarter, with Forestville holding a 72-63 advantage at the end of three.

Kollasch scored 2 for himself, before assisting Carlin and Daniel Wilson, as Centrals piled on six unanswered points to commence the final period.

Tucker and Deng combined to end the run, but the Lions were not done with; a 3 from Atkins reducing the gap to three with still more than seven minutes remaining.

After a miss from Sullivan, Kollasch got the rebound and steamed down the court.

One-on-one with Doyle inside the three-point line, the defender chose the right way, stepping in to take a charge.

On the Lions’ next offensive possession, Frost attempted a shot that was off the money, with Doyle running the floor to score an important two for the Eagles.

Centrals got the next basket through Frost, before Forestville scored 5 straight points to gather some breathing space.

The Lions scored just two points in the space of over four minutes, with the Eagles’ defence highlighted by a couple of spectacular blocks from Deng on Carlin.

Forestville led by nine with 1.38 remaining and appeared home, but some unsteady play gave Centrals a chance to get within one.

However, Kollasch’s three-pointer with six seconds remaining was well off the mark, as the Eagles held on.

 

Forestville verdict: Certainly not a performance to commemorate, but a win nonetheless. The Eagles again showed they can turn it on in an instant, but will need to maintain their intensity for four quarters if they are to go deep into the finals. With second spot sealed, a home Qualifying Final against either Sturt or West awaits. The final regular season game for Forestville is at Hillcrest against fifth-placed North.

Centrals verdict: Backing up after three straight wins, the Lions would have been disappointed with their first quarter, which ultimately cost them the game. The rest of the match was much better from their perspective, again demonstrating their improvement in the last part of this season. Centrals will complete the season by hosting the Warriors. 

By James Woite