A gutsy performance from Suns 14 Men’s final round at State Championships.

Coffs Harbour 14 Men went into their last weekend of representative basketball - the NSW State Championships, with many injured players and dug deep to finish their season with pride.

Our photo shows coach Connie Wood during a time-out, last weekend in Maitland.
L to R: Cody Woods, Noah Dalton, Tim McGinniskin, Ethan Smith, Noah Stevens, Levi Jones, Coby Heffernan, Nathaniel McGrath, Cody Polkinghorne and Mitchell Cumming.

The boys were up against Sydney Comets, Bankstown Bruins and Illawarra in their State Final Pool and started their campaign without 2 valuable guards, Ethan Smith and Tim McGinniskin who were ruled out through injury. 


With last minute positional changes to the team to compensate for injuries, the Suns Men certainly showed character and stepped up immediately with a great start against Sydney Comets. They played a running transition game to lead at the end of the 1st quarter by 5.


Because other players carried injuries into the weekend, the Suns started to run a little flat in the second period and by half time were down 30-28. Both teams battled it out in the 3rd quarter with the lead changing many times and eventually being tied up 46 all at the third quarter break.


The Suns handled the physical aspect of the game and were relentless in defence which held them in good stead until unfortunately foul trouble saw key players on the bench in the last vital minutes of the game.

The Suns went down 54-57 but did themselves proud.
Nathaniel McGrath 24, Cody Woods 11, Noah Stevens 9.

In the second game, Sydney's Bankstown Bruins dominated right from the start which made it very difficult for the team as they went straight into catch-up basketball.

The team lacked their normal intensity and enthusiasm as injuries were starting to take their toll.

Down 21 – 49 at half time, the boys regrouped and showed what they are made of, matching Bankstown Bruins in the second half on the back of a strong defensive effort.

Nathaniel McGrath 19, Noah Stevens 9, Coby Heffernan 5.

The last pool game was against Illawarra - the leading Country team, who dominated other teams by 20 – 30 points all season long.


Another slow start certainly didn’t help the Suns campaign however they did remain in contention until the last quarter through sheer determination and once again aggressive defence lead by Mitchell Cumming and strong rebounding by Noah Stevens.

Cody Woods 8, Levi Jones 7, Nathaniel McGrath 7.

Playing off in our crossover against Gosford Rebels, defence was definitely the key to winning their last game in style.


Leading the way, Cody Polkinghorne and Noah Dalton were relentless in their pressure defence which saw the boys leading at half time 19-14. The 2nd half performance by the remaining uninjured players was inspirational. Coby Heffernan 10, Mitchell Cumming 9 and Cody Woods 9 all combined to help the winning margin 56-43.


The Suns U14 boys finished their season as the 7th best team for their age in NSW.

For the Championship, Nathaniel McGrath finished 6th in the top 10 scorers with an average of 14.3 points per game.


Coffs Suns 14 Men had a tough season through injury and showed tenacity, resilience and maturity above their years, to perform with integrity and sportsmanship.

A rewarding season and a true team effort from all to reach their goals set at the beginning of the year.


Well done boys, you have done Coffs Harbour Association proud.

-ends-



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