BALLARAT Miners have won a nail-biting four-point game against Geelong United to remain undefeated from full games completed in the Championship Division. The Miners were forced to forfeit one game, and re yet to play their clash with Sandringham Sabres, but won their second full completed match to move to 2-0 in the Division.

The match was a see-sawing contest from start to finish, with the third quarter the real difference between the sides. Geelong had the upper hand in the opening half, leading by a point at quarter time, and had stretched the margin to three by half-time. Ballarat came out to play after the main break, slamming on 20 points to 11 to score one third of the Miners’ full-time score in the quarter. Yet again United came hard to win the final term 18-16, but it would not be enough, falling four points short despite winning three of the four terms.

Ned Renfree was particularly influential for the Miners, dropping 18 points to be the top scorer in the match, while Fletcher Burger finished with 15 in the win. Ollie McCarthy nailed two triples to finish with that total of six points, while Riley Dunn (eight) and talented dual sportsman Alex Molan (seven) were ale to contribute. Geelong had a triple threat on the scoring front with Leo Burgess (13 points including two triples), Ethan Hickey (13 points) and Bailey Bruce (12) all hitting double-figure points.

Melbourne Tigers also picked up a good win over the weekend with an 18-point win over Casey Cavaliers. The Tigers won every quarter, and like the Miners, dominated the third with a 23-11 term. Eitan Ben-Moyal knocked down 21 points, with Jack Whitbourn (16) and Jack Tapungao (10) also busy. Ethan Bolton managed 10 points for the Cavaliers.

The unbeaten Knox Raiders showed no mercy against Sandringham Sabres storming to a 38-point win. After a smashing 20-4 first term, the Raiders never looked like losing, and piled on 20-plus points in every quarter on their way to a 98-60 victory. Luke Fennell (24 points), Austin Rapp (22) and Fraser Roxburgh (21) were all dominant, while Aiden McCarthy was a standalone contributor for Sandringham in the loss, knocking down a massive 33 points.

Third placed Bulleen Boomers have proven too strong for Keilor Thunder, recording a 12-point win at Mullum Mullum Stadium. The Boomers raced out to a 14-point quarter time lead, and held a 17-point advantage at the main break. The Thunder did reduce it back to 12 by the last change, but could not bridge it anymore and the Boomers won 80-68. Joel Foxwell scored 28 points and Amos Harvey had 24 in the win, whilst Jai Prince (18) and Phillip Tawil (16) were the best for the Thunder.

In the final game of the round, Nunawading Spectres crushed the winless Frankston Blues by 34 points. Comfortably winning three of the four quarters, the Spectres had too much depth when it came to shooting, storming away with the match in the second half, scoring 45-25 and running out 81-57 winners. Lucas Koch (22 points), Tristan Devers (18) and Billy Hicks (14) were all busy for the winners, while Brennan Dick, Lachlan Dines and Ryan Lane shared in 11 points apiece for the Blues.

ROUND 4 VJBL CHAMPIONSHIP U18 BOYS RESULTS:

Bulleen Boomers (80) defeated Keilor Thunder (68)
Nunawading Spectres (81) defeated Frankston Blues (57)
Casey Cavaliers (51) defeated by Melbourne Tigers (69)
Ballarat Miners (60) defeated Geelong United (56)
Knox Raiders (98) defeated Sandringham Sabres (60)