USQ sets up potential title defence with clutch wins
BASKETBALL: USQ has kept its hopes of winning back-toback titles in the Heathley Big Q League alive following a preliminary final defeat of the Saints yesterday.
Starting strongly, USQ was able to race out to a 22-15 lead in the first quarter before Jason Ebneter completed a fourpoint play, and a technical foul on Matt Cox saw scores tied at 24 after the first.
The Dragons again started the second quarter with intent, with a Jack Gallagher three stretching the lead out to nine and forcing a Saints timeout.
Despite the rough start, Saints were able to compose themselves to cut the deficit to four at half-time.
A back-and-forth third term saw USQ’s lead stretch to double digits, but again the Saints were able to keep the margin to five points.
The two teams traded blows deep into the quarter as USQ led by four with under two minutes remaining, before a clutch Joe McConnell triple put the game out of reach of their rivals.
They now have the chance to defeat the Wildcats in the grand final for the secondstraight year when they meet in Warwick on Saturday night.
USQ 88 (Malek 35, Mitchell 21) defeated SAINTS 79 (Reimann 19, Seaby 14, Kitapindu 14)
FINALS NIGHT ONE
On Saturday night in Warwick, USQ kept their season alive with a come-from-behind 7065 defeat of Harristown.
Trailing by 10 points heading into the last term, the momentum shifted heavily towards the Dragons after Charles Dickerson picked up his fifth foul.
From that point on QBL forward Manylok Malek was able to take command as he powered his way to a game high 30 points.
USQ captain-coach Gallagher said the defensive effort of the side was a standout.
“The defence was really good, from my standpoint I shot bad and Joe (McConnell) shot bad,” Gallagher said.
“We just couldn’t hit a shot from the outside.
“135 points was by far our lowest scoring game of the season, usually it’s up around the 100 points range (per team).
“But it was great for our defence to keep them to 65 points. Our offence struggled but we managed to get that little bit ahead in the fourth.”
USQ 70 (Malek 30, Mitchell 12) defeated HARRISTOWN 65 (Johnson 22, Charles Dickerson 13)
Warwick earned the right to host the grand final for the second successive season with another tight battle against the Saints.
It was the third week in a row the teams had met and again produced a tight result, with the Wildcats edging clear late for a 99-92 victory.
After leading by five at the break, James Legan (32) and DJ Cremsco (15) combined for 35 after the break to continue their undefeated season and push on for revenge against USQ on Saturday.
WARWICK 99 (Legan 32, Kuon 30) defeated SAINTS 92 (Ebneter 27, Adler 23)