Warwick claws out win
Legan’s 35 propels the Wildcats
BASKETBALL: Warwick has sent a statement to the rest of the Big Q at the weekend, moving a win and a half clear of the rest of the pack.
On Saturday the Wildcats again had the measure of Harristown, recording a 110-105 victory on their home court.
Again James Legan came to the fore in the fourth, dropping a game-high 35 points to maintain Warwick’s perfect start to the season after falling behind by double digits in the opening term.
“James inspired us in the fourth. He came out all guns blazing and hit a heap of threes,” Wildcats coach Duncan McKenzie said.
“We hit the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter after being down by 15 in the first. We chipped away at it towards the end of the game.
“Charles Dickerson and Josh Cremasco were battling it out underneath the basket which was great to watch.
“Kobe Robinson is one of our fringe players who lives in Ipswich, and he had a fantastic game. He’s starting to control the game and he was hitting everything when shooting. It takes a lot of pressure off James when he’s hitting from outside.” They rounded out the home double with a comprehensive 50-point defeat of the Toowoomba Mountaineers Development side.
Against an understrength side, McKenzie said he was able to give a few younger players game time, including Sam Wall who made the step up from reserve grade to drop 16 points.
The two sides will meet again on Sunday as the rural town of Woodenbong gets its first taste of Big Q action.
“It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a while,” McKenzie said.
“Numerous players used to come up and play from the indigenous community down there, and we’ve wanted to pay them back for their efforts.
“From all reports it’s going to be a pretty packed house and the guys are looking forward to it.”
The Saints picked their second win of the season by defeating Mountaineers Development 99-70, and Harristown recovered from their loss on Saturday by edging out USQ 101-96.
Mt Crosby forfeited both fixtures at the weekend (against USQ and Saints) with the immediate future of the Ipswich club in the competition remaining uncertain.