Defence best for winning Supercat side

GEELONG Supercats coach Leon O’Neill has lauded his side’s “team defence” after placing a stranglehold on Albury-Wodonga in the 93-76 victory.

For the second time this weekend, Geelong kept its opponents to less than 80 points through forcing them play outside their comfort zone on offence.

“Our defence was exceptional — they really bought into the way we wanted to play,” O’Neill said.

“The attention to detail was fantastic from the whole group. We always put points on the board but the difference between us being good and bad is the way that we defend.”

Albury’s Rashad Hassan was the only player to reach 20 points in a team that can be very potent at times, according to O’Neill.

O’Neill said the focus coming into the game was to apply a high level of defensive pressure to try to curb Albury’s offensive rhythm.

“We try to make teams do things a bit differently,” he said.

“They want to do certain things and we want them to different things.”

On the offensive end, Michael Luxford found more scoring opportunities than usual, putting up 17 points highlighted by five three-pointers.

“Michael made four or five big shots down the stretch. He played a lot of minutes and got hot at the right time for us,” Herbert said.

“He made a couple of threes with the shot-clock winding down and it really broke the other team’s back. We certainly know he’s capable of doing it and it was just a matter of time before he had one of those games.”

Geelong’s imports were impressive, with DeMarcus Gatlin scoring 24 points and John Davis putting up 21 points and 14 rebounds. Liam McInerney played an important defensive role for O’Neill off the bench, chipping in with eight points and five assists.

“DeMarcus (Gatlin) was fantastic once again leading from the front. His attack on the basket and was efficient at the free-throw line,” he said.

“John Davis was huge again with another double-double. Liam McInerney didn’t stat very well but played massive minutes against two very athletic forwards.”

The Supercats sit seventh on the SEABL ladder going into a winnable game against second-bottom Frankston next week.