ROUND 2 of Big V Basketball action was dictated by major wins as Casey and Sunbury collected their second win of the season. Keilor Thunder made amends for last week’s shortcomings with a victory of their own against Western Port while results from the other two matches are yet to be released.

Western Port (58) defeated by Keilor Thunder (68)

A fast-starting Keilor side were able to hold off Western Port who simply had no answers going down by 10 points. The win marks the Thunder’s first victory of the season while Western Port suffered their second loss of the year. Keilor won three out of the four quarters with their 21-point to 13 opening term all but setting them up for the win.

Although they did not collect the “W” Matt Turner lit up the court with a scintillating 25 points and 10 rebounds to walk away with a double-double for Western Port. Teammates Darryl Corletto and Matthew Theobald contributed to the scoreboard with 10 and seven points apiece. Corletto also found his groove off the boards with eight rebounds and three steals as Theobald produced 10 rebounds. For the victors, Luke Sist did the most damage amassing a game-high 26 points but his night did not stop there pulling down a staggering 28 rebounds with 21 of them defensive. He single-handedly controlled proceedings for Thunder but the efforts of Matt Spencer did not go unnoticed as he managed 10 points, 10 assists and four steals. In his 25 minutes on court Joel Bellman produced eight points while Nicholas Masunda was strong off the boards with eight rebounds to get his side over the line.

Casey (87) defeated Hawthorn (67)

After bursting out of the gates Hawthorn’s hot start came to an abrupt end with Casey turning the tables in the third term to claim some much needed ascendancy. Posting 28 points in the first quarter of play Hawthorn set up a strong foundation but could not maintain that output of effort with Casey working in overdrive to not only match their intensity but rise above it. A flurry of points in the final term well and truly sealed the deal as the side managed 20 points to 13 to leave them undefeated.

Five players from Casey registered double-digits showcasing the number of options they have going to the basket. In the end it was Anthony Williams Jnr that starred in the victory with 20 points, five rebounds, seven assists and three steals. He was ably assisted by Matt Donlan who sunk 16 points and four rebounds while Michael McInnes knocked back 13 points and three rebounds in the win. Calvin Edge and Ben Gaspar were the other two players to hit double-figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. It was a different story for Hawthorn as Joe Furphy dominated for the Magic converting 21 points at 50 per cent while also dragging down six rebounds all of which were defensive. Kirk Smith made his presence felt in the loss putting up 12 points and six rebounds as Daniaell Herbert produced 10 points.

Wyndham (58) defeated by Sunbury (81)

Sunbury made it two wins straight with a strong showing against Wyndham on their match on Sunday. A blistering first quarter of play all but setup the win for Sunbury as they notched up 22 points and kept Wyndham to a mere seven points. The Jets kept their foot on the pedal throughout the contest, applying scoreboard pressure at every turn and using their slick ball movement to cause chaos for their opponents. Although both sides drew level with points in the final term the damage had already been done as the Jets walked out with a 23-point win.

All but two players from the Sunbury side managed to hit the scoreboard while there were four players with a similar fate for Wyndham. Trevon Clayton and Nathan Marshall could not be separated with both piling on 14 points apiece in the win. But it was the effort of Clayton in defence and  on the rebound that made the difference dragging in 16 for the game. Ivanne Loncaric found his groove producing 12 points and nine rebounds as Nathan Baker finished with 10 points to his name. For Wyndham Aaron Dolny was a pillar of consistency amassing 17 points while teammate Brandon Watkins also chimed in thanks to his 15 points and four rebounds. Cameron Hutton was the only other player to really make a splash for Wyndham with 11 points.