A massive three point shot from Michael Lay has pushed the Geraldton Buccaneers into the top eight and left the Perry Lakes Hawks in tenth in a crucial clash at the WA Basketball Centre today.

The 87-85 victory is the Buccs fourth win in a row and leaves five teams fighting it out for just two remaining playoff spots.

With the Hawks slow start and great play from Aaron Ralph and Daniel Thomas the Buccs got out to a 13 point lead halfway through the first.

After a timeout, Fletcher Creelman and Chris Nolan closed the gap slightly for the Hawks with the gap closing to 25-17 in favour of the Buccs at the first break.

The first 10 minutes of the second quarter didn’t prove much better for the Hawks, with impatient passes and turnovers to the Buccaneers, giving them plenty of offensive chances.

Buccaneers Matt Wundenberg, Morgan Sabia and Michael Lay came out strong with perfectly executed plays, passes and shot combinations, but the Hawks fought back with a hard defence and closed the quarter at 45-52 in favour of the Buccaneers.

Seven minutes into the third and the Hawks were yet to score against the Buccaneers 12 points, resulting in a timeout called as the Hawks regrouped.

Jesse Dixon, Josh Garlepp and Tim Kailis upped the offensive pressure and brought the margin back to seven points at the end of the third.

Both teams came out fighting hard in the fourth with everything on the line in a crucial game for both teams finals chances.

The Hawks Ben Purser, led his team with his assists, rebounds, shots and defence, tying the game for the second time at 85 a piece with 21 seconds remaining.

Lay made a massive three-point shot in the final six seconds and the Buccaneers went into defensive lock down.

As the Hawks tried for a final score on the ending siren but couldn’t seal the deal, the Buccaneers celebrated their win and a potential playoffs spot that seemed unlikely just a few weeks ago.

Article by Courtney Madigan
Photo by Helen Theoharakis (Hop Shots)