Heat piles on the pain for Ipswich

T O W N S V I L L E b o y s ’ under-18 coach Hayden Lynam says his squad was using the hurt of last year’s campaign to spur them to the state title after maintaining their unbeaten run on the Gold Coast yesterday.

Townsville thrashed Ipswich 106-73 thanks to strong games from Richard Peachey (22 points) and Boston Mazlin (19) to ensure they kept their perfect record through five round-robin games.

The results have set up a semi-final showdown with Logan Thunder today.

Despite losing just one of eight games, the Heat had to be content with fifth place last year, which they’re using as motivation.

“We’ve got a few back from last year’s group and it’s a sore point for a few of the guys that we only lost one game by seven points and it knocked us down that far,” Lynam said.

“They've really used that motivation to take care of business this year and we’ve put ourselves in the best position we can. We’ve also got half the under-16s group here that won last year’s state title.”

Townsville Flames are also in the hunt to defend their girls title with their own unblemished record after accounting for North Gold Coast Seahawks 70-50 yesterday, Anahera Tuhega top scoring with 21 points.

Townsville has made a habit of punching above their weight at state and national level in juniors, and Lynam said it’s a product of hard work.