Hornets prove the team to beat
Horsham Hornets passed a test of nerve in a pair of hardfought road games at the weekend, stamping themselves as the team to beat in Country Basketball League’s south-west conference.
The Hornets claimed top spot on the conference ladder with a come-frombehind 76-72 win against the previously undefeated Mount Gambier Lakers on Saturday night.
They backed up the performance with a 78-67 win against Portland Coasters on Sunday.
Saturday’s game against Mount Gambier pitted arguably the two best teams in the conference against each other and lived up to its billing.
Horsham playing coach Cam Bruce has been trying to rectify his team’s slow starts for much of the season, but watched as the Hornets fell into a 2513 hole at quarter time.
The Lakers were missing several role players and had only one man on the bench, but had their four leading scorers on court.
It was all they needed to build an early lead, with playing coach Kane De Wit and big man Lachie Hunter SLOLQJ RQ SRLQWV LQ WKH ¿UVW TXDUWHU
Hornets captain Tim Pickert said the start had been disappointing, but the way the team responded was fantastic.
“We’ve been trying to work on our starts and we’ve got to keep working I guess, but to get out of that was a great effort,” he said.
“I think we lifted our defensive intensity in the second quarter and in the last quarter.
“When we lift our defensive intensity the offense seems to work a lot better, so we’ve got to try to do that in WKH ¿UVW TXDUWHU ´
Horsham fought back to within three points at half-time, before letting the margin slide back out to nine points by the end of the third quarter.
Pickert, guard Mitch Martin and forward Matt Lovel were instrumental in getting the team back in the game in the fourth quarter, and Jeremiah Mckenzie tied the scores at 68 with about two minutes remaining.
Pickert gave his side the lead by making a pair of free throws with little over a minute left, and more clutch free throws by Pickert and Martin down the stretch preserved the fourpoint win.
Pickert said he was pleased by the WHDP¶V FRPSRVXUH LQ WKH ¿QDO IHZ minutes.
“We were all really calm down the stretch, which was good to see,” he said.
“We can play out a really close game DQG EH FRQ¿GHQW JRLQJ WR WKH IRXO OLQH and hitting a shot when we have to.”
Perhaps fatigued after their nail-biter against Mount Gambier, the Hornets again started slowly against Portland on Sunday.
But the team hit the lead late in the second quarter and did not relinquish it.
It was a balanced scoring spread that got Horsham back in the game, with Pickert, Martin, Lovel and Mckenzie DOO QHWWLQJ GRXEOH ¿JXUHV ZKLOH FHQWUH Damien Skurrie and forward Jordyn Burke chipped in with eight points apiece.
“A good thing about our side is that ZH¶YH JRW ¿YH EORNHV ZKR FDQ JHW \RX 20 points in a game, and it’s pretty hard to defend that,” Pickert said. “It’s pretty scary for other teams.” The Hornets will hit the road again at the weekend for a round eight double-header, with a Saturday night game against Terang Tornadoes and a Sunday match-up against Hamilton Hurricanes.
Pickert said Burke, Skurrie and Ben Lakin would be unavailable for both games.
,W ZLOO DOVR PDUN WKH ¿QDO RQ FRXUW appearance of the season for Cam Bruce, who is scheduled to undergo knee surgery.
Lady Hornets
Horsham Lady Hornets came painfully close to emulating their male counterparts with a comeback win in a top-of-the-table clash, losing 9085 against Portland in overtime on Sunday.
The Lady Hornets also got off to a slow start, trailing 21-10 at quarter time.
Caitlin Story, Georgia Hiscock and Faith Mckenzie brought Horsham back into the game in the second and third quarters, and the Lady Hornets took the lead on a pair of Mckenzie IUHH WKURZV MXVW EHIRUH WKH ¿QDO EUHDN
Horsham looked to have the game in hand when Hiscock buried a threepointer to give her side a 12-point lead with six minutes remaining, but Portland refused to go away.
Trailing 80-77 with the shot clock turned off, the Coasters called timeout WR GUDZ XS D ¿QDO SOD\
Rather than attempt a three-pointer, playing coach Cherie BeckingKDP GURYH WR WKH EDVNHW DQG ¿QLVKHG through contact to earn a trip to the line for a potentially game-tying free throw with six seconds left.
She slotted it, and the game went to overtime when Horsham could not hit a last-second shot.
Portland immediately got on top in the extra period and Horsham was unable to counterpunch, going down E\ ¿YH SRLQWV
It was the second time the Lady Hornets have lost narrowly to the Coasters this season, but they remain third on the ladder.
They will look to bounce back with road games against Terang on Saturday and Geelong on Sunday.
Ararat Redbacks
Ararat was competitive but ultimately winless in its two matches at the weekend.
The Redbacks have played shorthanded during the past two rounds, with guard Zac Dunmore and forward Jayden Wright still out injured.
Ararat struggled against the in-form Geelong Supercats after scoring the ¿UVW VHYHQ SRLQWV RI WKH JDPH RQ 6DW urday, going down 80-56.
The Redbacks looked more comfortable back at Ararat Fitness Centre against Terang on Sunday, jumping out to a 21-10 quarter-time lead on the back of a strong performance from forward Toby Smith.
The Tornadoes got back into the contest in the second quarter before establishing a 13-point lead at threequarter time.
Ararat tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter but was held at arm’s length by the Tornadoes, who eventually triumphed 74-62.
6PLWK ¿QLVKHG ZLWK D WHDP KLJK points, while forward Adan Wisby and centre Jason Cameron contributed 12 and 10 points respectively.
Ararat will play one game this weekend – a road match against Hamilton on Saturday night.