Goldfields bounce back with big win against Slammers
The second game of a three-game road-trip proved to be a successful one for the SKILLED Goldfields Giants as they recorded a comfortable 97 – 77 win against the South West Slammers.
The win consolidates a place in the top eight for the Giants, while the Slammers remain winless at the bottom of the men's State Basketball League standings.
Déjà vu from the Slammers’ previous game against Lakeside seemed to set in as early turnovers helped the Giants run out to an early lead. The combination of big men Dwayne Radcliffe and Darnell Dialls proved to be a handful inside for the Slammers, despite the best efforts of Nick Freer.
Freer had 22 first half points for the Slammers, who struggled to keep within range of the Giants. The outside shooting of Matthew Rosinski and Ryan Hulme helped Goldfields’ lead reach as much as 18 in the first half.
In a physical third quarter, Dialls picked up his fifth foul early, but unfortunately for the Slammers, their inside game just wouldn’t click as they missed numerous shots in the paint.
Although it appeared at times tempers were going to boil over, Hulme steadied the ship for the Giants with some key three point baskets to give the Giants a 16 point lead at three quarter time.
The Slammers did however manage to find some energy at the start of the final term. After a fast break alley-oop from Anton Fimmano to Nick Freer, and Dialls fouling out, they seemed to gain slight momentum.
Alas, turnovers were the Slammers worst enemy once again as the Giants managed to take back control to finish the game with an easy 20 point victory.
“We expected the Slammers to come out a lot more aggressive after last night’s heavy loss,” Goldfields coach Wayne Creek said.
“Today we played a full 48 minutes. In previous games we seem to be able to string together three good quarters and have one poor quarter, but we lifted our defensive intensity and seemed to be able to play well from start to finish."
Freer led all scorers for the Slammers with 35 points, which was a repeat of his effort in their previous game against the Lightning. Hulme was the Giants leading scorer with 20 points, while Radcliffe had a solid all around game with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
The Giants head to the WA Basketball Centre to face the Perry Lakes Hawks on Monday, which concludes their three-game trip. The Slammers host the Hawks next Saturday at home.
Article by Nathan Winch at Eaton Recreation Centre
Photo by Ashley Pearce (Vision Inspired Photography)
Comments
Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.