WARRIORS SOAR TO THE TOP
The Pakenham 'Compare Quotes' Warriors have soared to the top of the BIG V standings after they stunned arch rival and then top side Casey Cavaliers by 25 points in front of a packed crowd at the Colosseum on Saturday night.
The Warriors got off to a fast start opening up a 9-2 lead but the visitors came with a rush closing the gap to trail 19-15 at quarter time.
In the second neither team could gain the ascendency and some mental lapses on the defensive end proved costly for the Warriors as their lead was trimmed back to a single basket (40-38) at the main break.
The third continued in the same vein as scoring dried up and both teams looked for a spark to ignite them on the home stretch.
It came in the form of a ruthless defensive approach from the Warriors as they wore the Cavaliers down outscoring them 28-6 in the final ten minutes and holding court to take a commanding 80-55 win with recent arrival Jeff Reid leading the scoring tally and youngster James Magrath showing his maturity with the game on the line.
Leading Scorers:
J.Reid 24pts & 6rebs
J.Ferriere 15pts, 6rebs & 5asts
J.Topp 12pts, 7rebs & 6asts
J.Magrath 9pts
Final Scores:
Warriors: 19, 21, 12 28 (80)
Casey: 15, 23, 11 6 (55)
Coach’s Comment:
Last night was the reason I accepted the challenge of turning the club around, to have 200+ people in the stands cheering with smiles on their faces and players standing tall is what it's all about. We have a special group of guys together who have formed a close bond and played with a real purpose from start to end.
The most encouraging thing was that we stayed with the process and continued to chip away even when Casey came at us several times. We've been putting more of an emphasis on our structures at the defensive end and to the boys credit they stepped it up and locked down when it mattered most.
The great thing with the group is all the guys keep eachother in check and in a very competitive league understand there's no time for complacency. It's a long season and with every win brings greater expectation from opposition teams so we will continue to take each week as it comes and be prepared as best we can.
Thanks to everyone who attended the game, hopefully you can make our home games a part of your weekend ritual as the boys are greatful having such great support.
Catch you this upcoming Saturday for the 6pm tip-off against Shepparton.
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