Giant road-trip ends on sour note
SKILLED Goldfields Giants have wrapped up a largely unsuccessful three-game road-trip with a tough 94-85 loss to Total Connections Perry Lakes Hawks.
The Giants beat the winless Slammers on Sunday but defeats to East Perth and Perry Lakes saw them slump to seventh spot on the men's State Basketball League ladder with a 9-8 record, just one less loss than the ninth-placed Eagles.
Goldfields fought back from 14 points down to tie the scores with 4:42 left in the game, but the Hawks regained control in the final minutes to hand the visitors their sixth loss from nine road games this year.
Perry Lakes was in control early in the match and established its 14-point lead before quarter-time, but the Giants rallied to cut the margin to six at half-time.
A strong third period saw Goldfields cut the margin to one and it stayed close until the scores were tied late in the game. But Anthony Lee scored eight points in the final four minutes to carry his side to victory.
Lee (31 points and 16 rebounds) starred for the Hawks in their second straight victory, which saw them establish a four-point gap over fifth-placed Willetton. Young forward Ben Purser was also impressive, finishing with 16 points and 21 rebounds.
Despite the win, Hawks coach Dion Dagostino said his side's performance was disappointing at times.
"We had six turnovers in the second quarter and our guys clearly thought they had it won ... it was frustrating," he said.
"We had all weekend off and it was tough to get motivated after a four or five day break, but it was still good to get it done.
"To get the Giants at the end of a triple-header was one we really should have won. It was a tough weekend for them. And if we'd played them at the start of the weekend and performed like we did today, it might have been a different result."
Giants import Darnell Dialls had eight points and six rebounds in the first quarter, but was kept relatively quiet after that, finishing with 21 points and 11 boards. Matthew Rosinski (20 points) was their next best performer.
Goldfields face Kalamunda at home next Saturday, while the Hawks head down to Bunbury to face the Slammers.
Article by Jacob Kagi at the WA Basketball Centre
Photo by Travis Anderson (Andmedia/Sports Vision)
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