Buccs dash Cougars finals hopes
Cockburn’s ninth loss in its last ten games saw it fall four losses outside the top eight with only eight games left, with its hopes of sneaking into the playoffs unrealistic at best.
Geraldton moved back to the top of the ladder despite losing to Lakeside earlier in the round, one win ahead of Willetton and two ahead of the Lightning, despite all three being equal on four losses.
The Cougars stayed in the game until midway through the third quarter, when the margin was just one point, but a strong finish to the period saw Geraldton lead by 10 at the final break.
Geraldton finished the game on a 31-10 run to win comfortably despite showing signs of fatigue from its three-game road-trip earlier in the game.
Buccaneers guard Ryan Zamroz stood out with 26 points and nine assists, while former NBL centre Ben Pepper played an important role off the bench, also finishing with 26 points.
Bryce Burch top-scored for Cockburn with 34 points, while Gavin Field (18 points, 10 rebounds) also put in a strong performance.
Buccaneers coach Ray Evans said he was content with the way the tough road-trip went.
“It was disappointing to lose the first game against Lakeside because we really put a lot into it but in the end two out of three isn’t too bad,” he said.
“There’s a long way to go and we’re still working on a few things but we’ve put ourselves in a great position.
“In the second half of this game our defence really stepped it up and made it tough for them to score and we changed a few things on offense which gave us more opportunities and was promising.”
Zamroz said his side’s performance was pleasing.
“It was tough to lose on Saturday to Lakeside and we knew we had to bounce back and get two wins, so this was a good one for us,” he said.
Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Mick Cronin
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