IN a terrific individual showing, McKinnon’s Sharif Black was the standout performer in Round 10 of the Big V Men’s championship. His side took on the Western Port Steelers at Somerville Recreation Centre on Saturday night, in a game that they were expected to win given the standings. McKinnon are one of the front-runners for a spot in the finals, sitting in third coming into this matchup, while the Steelers were sitting a bit lower with a record of just three wins and eight losses from their first 11 outings. However, the result did not go as planned from a McKinnon perspective, as Western Port delivered a barnstorming second half to overwhelm the visitors and sneak home in the dying minutes to claim a four-point triumph. It was a win that was set up by the pure offensive volume of the victors, as they had three players score 29 points or more, which is essentially a winning formula every time, even against a better side like McKinnon.

Despite the result from a team perspective, the most dominant player ended up being Black, who was magnificent and did just about everything as he tried to get McKinnon to a winning position. In just under 38 minutes of play, he recorded an impressive statline of 31 points ,17 rebounds and eight assists, and was seemingly everywhere despite his side falling short of holding on to the win.

Western Port Steelers (113) def. McKinnon (109)

Sharif Black (McKinnon) – 31 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, one steal, one block

The guard kicked off the game with a dime, finding teammate James Malvaso, who hit a contested three to register the first score of the game. Another assist came a couple of possessions later, with a nice bounce pass along the baseline to Mitchell Barry. Black was also able to pull down a number of defensive boards after Western Port misses, before hitting the scoreboard with a seriously tough and-one, which he converted. He continued to attack the paint and deliver some tough finishes inside the paint, before pulling down the final rebound of the term.

With the Western Port defense looking to protect the paint at any cost, Black was still able to hit the scoreboard within the first minute of the second term, this time nailing a three and extending his side’s lead to eight points. The assists and rebounds continued to pile up, as McKinnon maintained control of the contest. After a quiet period in the middle fo the term scoring-wise, he finished the quarter strong with a couple of lay-ups in the last two minutes of the half, as the visitors took an 11-point advantage into the main break.

In a mirroring of the first term, Black opened the second half with a dime to Malvaso, who once again hit the shot from behind the arc. The McKinnon offence dried up, but he was still able to crash the boards as he notched up an eye-catching double-double. Black still looked to attack the paint, and while it resulted in a lay-up and a pair of free throws, his side was suddenly on the back foot, and the margin was reduced to just one point heading into the last 10 minutes of action.

As the game got away from McKinnon in the last term, Black never stopped trying. Whether it was pulling down big boards, finding open teammates or attacking the hoop, he was still showing plenty of energy when many of his teammates dropped off. With 90 seconds on the clock, Black nailed a big three to bring the margin back to seven and give McKinnon a slight chance, but unfortunately the Steelers were deadly at the line. The guard finished the game with another shot from behind the arc in the dying seconds, and while it was not enough to secure the win for his team, he can still be proud of his remarkable solo effort.