Perth bites back
The Perth Redbacks have fought back from their Saturday night loss to ATD Stirling Senators with a 15-point win over Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers, reaffirming their place in the top eight.
The Redbacks won 100-85 to put a major dent in Geraldton's already slim playoff hopes.
The first quarter saw the Redbacks battle against a driven Buccaneers side, with the play appearing evenly matched until Perth scored a few late baskets in the final minutes to take the lead 34-24.
Geraldton put on the pressure in the second quarter, tightening the gap to just one point at the end of the first half.
Buccaneers forward Todd Brown helped to get his team back in the game, scoring eight field goals from 15 attempts, and two three-pointers before half time.
Speedy Geraldton point guard Michael Lay also did his part, scoring 17 points overall, but the Buccaneers couldn't avoid a second defeat from their three-game road-trip.
Redbacks coach David Harris said the Redbacks defence had let them down in the first half of the match.
“Defensively we weren’t good enough, which has been a bit of a problem for us...and in the first half we gave up 55 points,” he said.
“The guys got a massive spray at half time, we just focused on going to work defensively in the second half, we did a good job and we kept them to 30 points in the second half.”
Harris praised the efforts of forward Adrian Majstrovich, who tallied up 21 points for the team, and 20-year-old centre Michael Vigor, a recent addition to the Redbacks starting five.
Guard Ryan Neill’s shooting skills also heavily contributed to the Redbacks’ lead, with the vice-captain notching up 27 points for the side, including seven three-pointers.
Even a three-pointer by Buccaneer Michael Lay late in the match – narrowing the Redbacks’ lead to 13 points – could not pull the Buccaneers from behind as they missed several crucial attempts to score.
The final minutes of the match saw an improved Redbacks defence take the Buccaneers out of contention.
Article by Hannah Jenkins at Belmont Oasis
Photo by Marg Prior
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