Sunday, 15th August, 2010

Poor patches of play proved costly in both games against the Victorian Dandenong Rangers this weekend. Yesterday's contest saw the home team narrowly defeat the WheelKings 71-67, and now today's 74-63 loss puts a severe dent in Wenty's finals prospects. However, in the good news column, 17 year old CJ Grogan showed that he's a rising star.

Game 1 Report

Wenty always knew it was going to be difficult to beat Dandenong on their home court due to the absence of WheelKings big men Koen Jansens and Jeremy Van Asperen who were unavailable for the trip. On a positive note, 5-time Paralympian Liesl Tesch was there to add her skills and experience in her first WheelKings game of 2010.

The game started tentatively with neither team playing well and the score was a miserly 6-4 halfway through the quarter. Still, Wenty was right in there until under 4 minutes to go when the Rangers put on a 10-4 run to end the term up 20-11. It was Australian Roller Dylan Alcott who broke open the game as he scored 8 points in 1 minute including 2 three-pointers!

It was looking bad for the WheelKings as their shots weren't falling and Dandenong seemed well in control when leading 24-13 early in the second quarter. It was then that Kylie Gauci and Keegan Oh-Chee put together a quick 8 points, combined with some great defence and rebounding (5 boards at the half) from Tesch, to get Wenty back in the game. The rejuvenated WheelKings took it to Dandenong for the rest of the quarter and went into half-time down just 2 points, 34-32.

The game remained tight in the third quarter with Dandenong unable to get more than 4 points in front and Wenty unable to make the crucial basket that would draw them even. With 5 minutes remaining, the Rangers held a 40-38 lead but then put on a layup and free throw clinic to close the quarter on a 14-2 run. Not only were the WheelKings missing their shots but they also had an extraordinary 8 turnovers in that 5 minute spell as they struggled to deal with Dandenong's full-court pressure defence.

Down 54-40 going into the last quarter, Coach Hewson looked to his veterans Kylie Gauci and Craig Cannane to get them back in the game. Gauci used her speed to draw early fouls and create havoc against the Rangers defence as she scored 6 points from free throws and layups. Cannane was rebounding superbly and tallied 10 points as the WheelKings charged back from 16 points down. Even though they had all the momentum, Wenty simply ran out of time as Dandenong were able to hold on for the 4 point win.

Coach Hewson was pleased with the comeback effort of his team, "we fought hard and should have been right in the game except for that third quarter lapse. CJ (Grogan) and Keegan really showed that they can play at this level, and it was great to have Liesl back with us for her first game in 2010."

Dandenong 71 (Shaun Groenewegen 24 pts, 10 rebs; Alcott 14 pts; Daniel Deltoso 10 pts, 13 rebs)

WheelKings 67 (Cannane 19 pts, 11 rebs; Gauci 18 pts, 6 assists; Grogan 12 pts, 8 rebs; Oh-Chee 12 pts, 7 rebs)

Game 2 report

Overnight, Wenty were feeling confident that they could cause an upset in today's game but that confidence took a hit when they opened the match with 5 turnovers and 1 of 7 shooting. Luckily, the Rangers weren't exactly playing great basketball either as they managed just a 9-2 advantage before the WheelKings got back in the contest, down 9-6 with 2 minutes left in the first quarter. Then, just like yesterday, Dandenong got a 6 point jump to go into the first break up 15-6.

Wenty was able to narrow the gap to 5 points early in the second quarter before Dandenong again surged to to take a commanding 39-26 half-time lead. CJ Grogan (11 points) and Craig Cannane (8) were the only WheelKings to get it going offensively. On the other hand, the Rangers had 9 players contributing to the scoreboard in a very balanced attack.

After the main break, Dandenong had complete control of the game as they built a 21 point lead. The WheelKings didn't score until Cannane hit a shot 6 minutes into the third quarter! It was the Rangers relentless full-court pressure and up-tempo game pace that were creating numerous Wenty turnovers and rushed shots. Then something remarkable happened - CJ Grogan lost his mind as he scored 13 of the WheelKings 15 points to close the quarter. The rangers had no answer as he almost single-handedly pulled the score back to a managable 14 points going into the last period.

Liesl Tesch slotted the first basket of the final quarter and CJ pumped in a further 7 points to narrow the deficit to 10 with 6 minutes remaining. However, as in the first game, Wenty couldn't find that little bit extra to really close the gap. The turnover plague returned and some missed inside shots ruined their chance at an upset win. However, nothing can be taken away from Dandenong who thoroughly deserved the 2 wins. They controlled the boards all weekend, were relentless on defence, and played an unselfish brand of attacking basketball, best exemplified today by 30 of their 33 made shots being assisted.

After the game, Coach Hewson acknowledged that the Rangers were the better team but was lamenting his side's 28 turnovers, "with Dandenong always hustling and pressuring us the length of the court, we were often rushing things faster than we were capable of. When we controlled the tempo and played at our pace, that's when we were successful. It's a young team and they'll learn from this. And congratulations to CJ on a terrific game!"

Dandenong 74 (Shaun Groenewegen 21 pts, 10 rebs, 7 assists; Brook Quinn 12 pts, 12 rebs, 5 steals; Billy Ferguson 12 pts, 6 rebs)

WheelKings 63 (Grogan 31 pts, 10 rebs; Cannane 16 pts, 13 rebs; Oh-Chee 8 pts, 5 assists)