By JARROD POTTER
BIG V – ROUND 12
OVERCOMING the first high-ranking obstacle in a treacherous June schedule, Casey Cavaliers held on against Warrnambool in a 77-75 thriller.
The second placed Seahawks was Saturday night’s challenge and the Cavaliers exploded out of the blocks.
Literally – they would block anything the Seahawks could muster and charge back up the court to drop buckets left, right and straight down the centre.
After breaking away to a 15-4 lead – on the back off a spectacular Brent Hobba (11 points, 15 rebounds) screen on Xavier Blount (28 points) to let Ben Louis (15 points, nine rebounds, four steals) take a free lay-up – the Casey effort continued in the second.
Matt Witherden (15 points, 10 rebounds) started nailing some treys, Louis’ battle against Blount took another step
Louis and Blount went toe-to-toe on both ends of the ball in a captivating battle throughout the night as the pair copped foul-trouble at similar times and generally had one another on a short leash.
Not to be outdone, Dean Johnson (eight points, eight rebounds), Hobba and Witherden stormed the Seahawks’ key and plucked anything off the backboard – making for a back and forth rollercoaster through the middle terms.
Warrnambool didn’t lie down though; hopping on Blount’s coattails to pull the gap back in the third and fourth.
The final seconds were the most chaotic though; shots flew everywhere after James Deneefe nailed the eventual match-winner from down town.
From there tempers frayed as both sides erupted on non-called fouls, but when the dust settled Casey had claimed another big scalp on the road back towards Big V finals.
“They’re a quality team obviously – sitting second and going really well – despite the fact they didn’t have Nathan Sobey, we knew they were going to be tough as they have so many options,” Casey coach Stewart Baird said. “I’m really pleased with how the guys hung on and the way they made stops.
“Four weeks ago we probably would’ve coughed that one up I think, so it’s a good sign.”
The third ranked Cavaliers have their biggest battle of the season on Sunday when they travel to battle ladder leaders Blackburn – who are led by tearaway trio Michael D’Agostino, Brendan Trewella and Nicholas George.
“I see them as being a lot like Warrnambool – they’ve got talent across the board – probably more evenly spread than Warrnambool, Baird said. “They’re clearly playing for each other and teams like that are always hard to beat.
“The week before the long weekend break we set ourselves for these two games – we knew we hadn’t been playing as well as we should have and going to have to be at our best to even get one of these two.
We’re really excited – totally focused and really focused about the challenge this Sunday – what it means for us if we can get another W.”
Life was a whole lot easier for Casey’s women in the second match of the triple-header, smashing Pakenham 85-44. Ruchelle Mccracken (24 points, 16 rebounds) toyed with the opposition alongside Tarryn Wilkin (15 points, eight rebounds) and Jess Szalek (14 points, eight rebounds).
Casey’s women are at Coburg on Saturday night while the youth league men – who were thumped 35-73 by Mornington – will travel to Craigieburn.
