ROUND 9 of Big V Men’s went off with a bang as the top of the table McKinnon notched up a thumping win as Wyndham also left their mark on the competition. The round had a mixed bag of results as a number of games were decided by less than 10 points and others by 40 plus showcasing the wide range of results.

Western Port (82) defeated by Casey (101)

Casey toppled Western Port to secure their fifth win of the season, while Western Port linger at the bottom of the ladder. Western Port got the head start on Casey as they established a four point lead at quarter time and then added to that buffer at half time to boast a seven point lead. but Casey were not done with yet, as they rallied in the third quarter to halt Western Port’s attacking momentum and go on the attack themselves piling on 26 points to 14. But their best was yet to come as they starred in the final stanza credit to their 34 points to 20 term.

Daryl Corletto was in ripping form for Western Port leading the troops with 22 points while also managing five rebounds and eight assists in the loss. Bevan Camilleri made an impact on the scoreboard with 17 points in 19 minutes nailing two triples at 50 per cent. Camilleri reeled in eight rebounds with only Matt Turner beating him on that front thanks to his 10 boards all of which were defensive and 19 points. But Casey had stars of their own with Matt Donlan upping the ante to produce 26 points at 50 per cent from the field. Keith Robinson was the next best with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists as Anthony Williams Jr also got involved in the action sinking 16 points at 46 per cent accuracy from the field. Ben Waterhouse and Brendon Head were the only other players to make it out of single digits scoring 15 and 13 points respectively.

Wyndham (87) defeated Chelsea (73)

It was another strong showing from Wyndham as they produced a convincing win over Chelsea. Wyndham monopolised the play from the first quarter as they poured on 28 points to 19 and they kept their foot on the pedal in the second, well and truly outscoring their opponents by 11 points. Up by 20-points at half time, Wyndham looked to extend their lead in the third and that they did as they sunk 21 points to 14. With the game all but over in the final term, Chelsea came out with a real point to prove, attacking the basket and working their way back into the match to send the home side into panic stations. In the end Wyndham did enough to hold on and win.

There were three main players for the victors as Stefan Pomasan, Cameron Hutton and Makur Jongkuck all managed double-figure scores. Pomasan was the most prominent of the lot walking away with 25 points and flexing his muscles from down town credit to his six triples from 13 attempts. Jongkuck recorded 14 points while Hutton got busy with his 11 and seven rebounds. Kaelan Matejin was not the most prolific given he only managed six points but he showcased his strength in defence picking up eight rebounds and two steals. For Chelsea both Callum Guillot and Corey Standerfer were dominant sinking 21 points apiece. The duo impressed from three-point range with five and four triples each while Nathan Frost also chimed in with a handy 18 points and whopping 17 rebounds.

Keilor (70) defeated Blackburn (55)

The Thunder made it two wins straight, overcoming Blackburn by 15 points on Saturday. Keilor made all the running early, skipping out to a five point lead at the first break before the Vikings snapped back in the second to eat into the deficit. Only down by one point at the main break, Blackburn were pushed even further onto the backfoot by an inspired Keilor outfit as they piled on 19 points to nine. With a real pep in their step, the Thunder ground out the game to put the nail in the coffin and notch up a hard-fought victory.

Charleston Long dominated the play with 16 points for the eventual winners as he also accumulated 11 rebounds, two assists and three steals. He received plenty of support from Mitch Lukey who also chimed in with 15 points in his 37 minutes out on court, while Jeremy Edwards made his presence felt sinking 11 points and three rebounds. Nicholas Masunda plied his trade with nine points and six rebounds. Bul Niop led the charge for Blackburn registering 14 points despite only being on court for 11 minutes with his accuracy proving to be the key difference given he shot at 63 per cent from the field. Neal Mueller and Nodia Odigie were other main contributors as they tallied eight points respectively with the latter amassing six rebounds to go with his points.

Sunbury (75) defeated by McKinnon (105)

McKinnon remains on top of the table after defeating Sunbury by 30 points to take their tally to seven wins and two losses. It was all one-way traffic from the moment these two sides stepped out on court with McKinnon wasting no time to heap on the scoreboard pressure. The intensity level lifted even further in the second quarter as both sides upped the scoring quantities sitting on 28 and 31 points apiece. McKinnon maintained that pressure and high level output in the third as they stacked on another 30 points and even with the game winding down in the fourth they still outscored the Jets.

Cory Bellman worked tirelessly for the Jets producing 18 points at 58 per cent from the field. Teammate Trevon Clayton was still impressive despite being down on his usual lofty standards producing 15 points and 10 rebounds, yet another double-double to his name. Jayce Beasley was also influential in the loss nailing 14 points and three rebounds. When looking at McKinnon it is hard to go past the services of Nic Laycock who had a day out thanks to his 28 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Teammate Luke Shelley was not far off the pace producing 20 points of his own as Jordan Geer stepped up to the task with 25 points at 56 per cent accuracy from the field. It did not stop there for Geer who actually finished the match with a triple-double credit to his 13 rebounds and 12 assists.

Hume (99) defeated Hawthorn (91)

The final game went right down to the wire as Hume just snuck past Hawthorn. It was a fast start for both sides as neither of them struggled to find the basket, with Hume sinking 31 points and Hawthorn hot on their heels with 30. Evenly poised, Hawthorn hit back in the second to steal the lead from the Broncos and maintained that narrow buffer in the third term. But the Broncos were determined to not let this game slip upping the ante both in offence and defence in the final quarter to score 23 points while keeping the Magic to a mere 13.

Joel Rimes was at his damaging best producing 26 points at 43 per cent from the field while he did some of his best work from beyond the arc thanks to his six triples. Jake Martin was another solid contributor for the winners registering 23 points and seven rebounds while Shayan Mahboobi did not skip a beat with 18 points and four assists. Mackuei Puondak was the other main target for the Broncos finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds to his name. although Hawthorn did not get the win, the effort of Jarrod Molan was unquestionable as he piled on 29 points and five rebounds. Kirk Smith and Xavier Evans managed 30 points between them with Evans proving to have a hot hand when it came to assists racking up six in the loss.

Round 10:

The next round of Big V will see Hawthorn and Sunbury fight it out while the lowly Western Port play host to Wyndham who will have their tails up after a hard-fought win. Hume will have their hands full when they take on McKinnon as Chelsea and Keilor lock horns. The final game sees Casey and Blackburn go head-to-head in what is set to be a thriller.

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