AT the end of Round 16 of the Big V Men’s competition, there were a number of surprise wins and losses that unfolded over the weekend.

Chelsea (84) defeated by Hawthorn (121)
Chelsea was overpowered and came unstuck as they were unable to hold off a dominant Hawthorn side. Hawthorn immediately took the lead in the first term, and while Chelsea crawled their way back slowly to gain the lead, they had it stolen from them as Hawthorn once again was back out in front. Hawthorn cruised through the third term despite numerous attempts from the opposition to sway the lead, but to no avail. A 19-point deficit saw Chelsea struggle to keep up with the dominant force of the Magic. Despite an ignited spark from Chelsea, it seemed to be too late as Hawthorn hit triple digits in the fourth term. As the game continued, Chelsea was forced to trail as the margin 34 points helped Hawthorn to bag the win.

Joe Furphy was unstoppable for the winning side, collecting 26 points and six rebounds against Chelsea. Alongside Furphy, teammate Jarrod Molnar pocketed a healthy 23 points with four rebounds and three assists. Xavier Evans got fired up with a whopping 20 points. For Chelsea, three players combined for 60 points between them. Josh Watt was one of the trio who scored 20 points throughout, with the other two to cap off the 20-point scoring trio, Corey Standerfer and Nathan Frost. Standerfer amassed five rebounds and four assists. Meanwhile, Frost had 15 rebounds and two assists.

Blackburn (85) defeated by Western Port (92)
Following on from their win last week, Western Port managed to secure another one in the bag. Blackburn held the lead for much of the game and were determined to take out the win. But a reinvigorated Western Port is where things started to deteriorate for Blackburn during the final period, as Western Port powered on for an upset victory.

Bevan Camilleri made his presence clear in Western Port’s victory, slotting 29 points in the 19 minutes he was on the court and also contributing five rebounds for his side. Dynamic duo Jack Gaze and Chris Taylor also stepped up for Western Port with the two both scoring 20 points each. Neal Mueller put in work for Blackburn with his 17 points while Matthew Scammell scored 16 points and Bul Niop was the next best with 14.

Wyndham (64) defeated by Keilor (73)
Keilor came out on top as they dismantled Wyndham during their clash last Saturday. It was a game of easy cruising for Keilor who took advantage of the game right from the opening jumpball. Although Wyndham showed promising signs early on and were hot on the heels of the home side, it was not enough against the Thunder who were ferocious, applying pressure to prevail by nine points.

Nelson Kirksey came through for the winning side with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. Luke Sist dropped 14 points as Matt Spencer dominated with 10 points, along with three rebounds and assists. Tomi Ayilara pulled out all the stops with 16 points for Wyndham as Stefan Pomasan was the next best with 15 points, four assists and three rebounds. Meanwhile, Kane Hynes scored a solid nine points, impacting off the board with a rebound and an assist to his name.

Casey (74) defeated by Hume (76)

Rather than a win, it seemed heartbreak was on the cards for Casey as they fell short of a victory in their clash against Hume City with the margin just two points during the final term’s last moments. Both teams were on the heels of the others in a bold attempt to get the win. A golden opportunity had arisen for Casey towards the end of the final term but a missed shot at the basket proved costly for Casey with Hume snatching the win away from them.

Joel Rimes showed out with 18 points in Hume’s two-point win against Casey. Rimes also impressed with seven rebounds and four assists. His teammate Jake Martin was all class on court with 14 points and 10 rebounds. So too was Mackuei Puondak who delivered 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists for Hume. It was a day to remember for Matt Donlan as he scored a remarkable 31 points alongside seven rebounds and seven assists, contributing greatly to his side’s scores but was not enough for Casey to get over the line with the win. Anthony Williams Jr reeled it in with 16 points, whilst Calvin Enge rounded out the best of Casey with 10 points.

Sunbury (70) defeated by McKinnon (93)

McKinnon capped off the final game of the round with a win against Sunbury. Right from the opening term, McKinnon took every opportunity they could to topple their opponents. McKinnon immediately took the lead in the first period and clutched on tightly to it as they got to the very end. Sunbury attempted to hold down the second-placed McKinnon but came undone as a result of McKinnon’s pressure. In the end, Sunbury were unable to overpower McKinnon’s strong force.

James Malvaso was in striking form and best on court for McKinnon scoring 17 points, with six rebounds and two assists to his name. Jordan Geer was at the top of his game as he pocketed 16 points alongside a healthy five rebounds and six assists. Luke Shelley played a respectable game in 24 minutes he spent on court. 14 points and three rebounds to his name rounded him as the final part of the trio that dominated for McKinnon. Jayce Beasley was on fire producing 31 points for Sunbury. He also had two rebounds and two assists. It was double the dominance for Nathan Baker and Nathan Marshall with the pair both scoring 10 points each. Baker had 10 rebounds while Marshall had seven rebounds and one assist.