The LTU Eagles finals campaign is over after a stunning performance for Horsham by ex-LTU student, Peter Brack (pictured). The former Intervarsity player and Glenn College legend played one of the games of the season to lead Horsham Hornets to a narrow victory over the LTU Eagles in the Big V D2 Elimination Final played in Horsham on Saturday night.

Both teams went into this game knowing that it was make or break. LTU were riding a 2 game winning streak and the Hornets finished the season with a fizz to leave the 2 teams tied on the ladder. The fact that Horsham had beaten LTU twice during the season gave the Hornets head to head advantage and home court advantage for the final.

The Eagles looked relaxed despite the 4 hour bus ride to Horsham. A pregame meal and chat at the local Italian Restaurant gave the Eagles the ideal opportunity to focus on the big game. However, finals affect players in strange ways, and this match was to be no different.

Both teams looked nervous on the court and silly turnovers were committed early before some rhythm was established. The Eagles appeared to regain their composure before Horsham and led by Paul Di Marzio, attacked the basket early and were able to build a 5 point lead going into the 2nd quarter. Devin Sturdy was doing a stellar defensive job on Brack and the Hornets were forced to rely on some of their lesser lights to keep them in the game.

The 2nd quarter saw the Hornets rally. A great defensive effort by Neill McCormack saw Horshams weapon, Rhys Phillips, benched early and in foul trouble. Dave Cannan and Josh Croall had their hands full with the league's leading rebounder, Ben New, and Horsham coach, Owen Hughan, was struggling to find answers. Enter Brack. After being forced out of his comfort zone by Sturdy, Brack relied on his instincts to find the basket. With hands in his face, Brack started dropping shots that really had no business going near the ring. Brack hit 3 of 4 3 pointers for the quarter and helped give Horsham a 1 point lead at half time.

During the half time address, coach Andrew Whelan challenged the Eagles to continue attacking the basket and to cut out the silly turnovers. The Eagles were inspired and came out firing in the 3rd quarter. Fantastic perimieter shooting from Peter Leimonitis and steady decision making by point guard, Dean Sutton helped La Trobe Uni outscore Horsham 21-15 going into the final minute of the 3rd quarter. What happened next, no one can really explain.

Two unforced turnovers by the Eagles allowed the Hornets to score 4 unanswered points. With 9 seconds to go, a half court heave was rebounded by Horsham's Mark Dorward who promptly ran down the court and drained an uncontested 3 on the buzzer. What could have been a 5 point lead had suddenly become a 2 point deficit at 3 quarter time.

Entering the final quarter, the Hornets had the momentum and the crowd in their favour. The Eagles stuck to their guns and continued attacking the basket. Funnily enough, the Eagles could not buy a call from the referees. The Eagles were quickly in foul trouble, 5 team fouls to 0 in the first 5 minutes. Leimonitis and Arben Tairi were not to be denied and kept hitting long range shots. However, Horsham countered with Ben New continuing to polish the boards and Brack staying hot despite Sturdy's "in your face" defence.

The score continued to see saw. LTU kept drawing close and then undid their good work by turning the ball over or missing foul shots. With a minute to go, the score was still close thanks to a Tairi 3. Horsham went to the line and missed some important free throws except the LTU players weren't switched on and allowed the Hornets to grab the offensive rebounds.

Unfortunately, the Eagles did themselves no favours and eventually were defeated 101-96. Interestingly, it was the first time in the season that a team had scored 100 points against the Eagles. Despite great shooting performances by Leimonitis and Tairi and fantastic defence by Sturdy, the Eagles were just not good enough. Hurt by some poor decision making and a lack of respect for Horsham's younger players in Graham Adams and Mark Dorward the Eagles season is now over.

Will the LTU men be back next season to show the league that they really are contenders? That is now the question.

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