THE Hume Broncos just got the job done in the Big V Men’s Basketball competition on Saturday night, claiming a thrilling two-point victory over the Western Port Steelers at Somerville Recreation Centre.

For a while, it looked as if the Steelers were going to produce a terrific upset in front of their home crowd. Taking a three-point lead into the final term, Western Port was looking a real chance of edging home, but instead, it was the Broncos who seized the moment in the last 10 minutes, grabbing momentum and powering home to take the lead in the dying stages.

The Broncos were led by the damaging duo of Bul Niop and Chris Elder, with the pair both registering over 20 points in the win. Elder poured in 20 points and six assists, while Niop had 24 points. He also sunk what proved to be the match-winning bucket with just over a minute to play.

Troyce Manassa led the way for the Steelers, with his 32-point showing helping them get out to a near match-winning lead. 13 of his 19 field goal attempts found the bottom of the net, and he was the most impactful player on the court for much of the game. Aiding him in boosting Western Port’s score was Naaman Hightower, who had 25 points on 12/18 shooting.

The stars that got involved early, with Niop, Elder and Hightower all getting going in the opening couple of minutes. It was a see-sawing affair for the first half of the first term, but the Broncos broke away in the final five minutes and took a four-point advantage into quarter-time, after a high-scoring beginning to the game.

Behind Hightower and Manassa, the Steelers managed to chip away at the deficit to start the second term, keeping up with the explosive scoring of their opponents. Western Port even took the lead late in the half, but Niop’s lay-up saw the Broncos retake the scoreboard advantage, and head into the main break with the slimmest of margins.

Western Port’s momentum continued in the third quarter, as they pushed past Hume on the scoreboard thanks to some impressive work inside the arc. The Steelers controlled the paint for the entire quarter, with most of their buckets coming from two-point territory. They headed into the final period with a three-point lead, and plenty of momentum.

Despite how the previous two quarters played out, Hume was the dominant side in the last part of the game, completely outplaying the Steelers and closing out the contest in style. After the Broncos tied it up, Niop nailed a lay-up with 67 seconds left to play, and when the home side could not conjure an answer, it was game over.