By Marcus Uhe
A successful weekend at home for the Casey Cavaliers saw them register their first wins in the new NBL1 campaign, lifting their win-loss record to 2-3.
The Cavs bookended the first contest of the weekend with huge first-and-last quarters on Friday night to record a thumping 92-60 win over the Bendigo Braves.
They moved the ball quickly in the half court and pushed the pace on the back of aggressive defence, outscoring the visitors 28-13 in the opening quarter.
It was the Preston Bungei show in the first term, filling the box score with 12 points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist in the opening 10 minutes of action.
Their scoring dropped-away in the second period as Bendigo began to make better decisions with the ball and limit the opportunities to score on the fast break.
The exception came late in the quarter when Dylan Baker’s block led to Sidy Djitte and Mason Perry combining as they ran the floor, with Djitte finishing the play with a two-handed dunk.
Bendigo managed to cut the margin to just nine points during the third quarter as the Cavs’ offence began to slow.
But try as they might, they were unable to outscore the Cavs in the second or third period, and trailed by 19 at the final break.
The last quarter was much like the first as Casey completed the rout with a dominant 10 minutes of basketball, scoring 24 points to Bendigo’s 11.
Malcolm Bernard showcased his extreme athleticism with a thunderous one-handed dunk off an out-of-bounds play that put an exclamation mark on the contest in the final few minutes.
Bungei finished the contest with a double-double, totalling 22 points and 10 rebounds, as did Sidy Djitte with 13 and 16.
Casey’s far-superior three-point shooting (38 per cent to 13) and rebounding (+15) proved the major differences in the contest.
The Cavs winning momentum continued the following night when they rendered Geelong’s trip across town redundant, with another comfortable victory.
A 51-26 first half put the game long out of reach for the visitors, who eventually succumbed by 27, 90-63.
Bungei had his side on the board in the opening four seconds of the contest after an aggressive forward tap from Djitte at the jump ball.
Djitte was busy early in the opening quarter with two massive blocks, including one that led to another Bernard dunk on the fast break.
Bernard had another that injected life into the crowd at Casey Stadium, shaking the rim with his intensity as he slammed the ball home with one hand.
The second term saw the Cavs lengthen the gap between them and their opponents, looking for the three ball on numerous occasions.
Jack Perry had the hot-hand, scoring four threes of his own and 14 in the quarter as they outscored the Supercats 29-11.
So strong was their dominance that the Cavaliers even doubled Geelong’s score at one point when they reached a 66-33 scoreline, with fatigue not appearing to be a factor for the home side despite playing 24 hours earlier.
Six players finished the game with double figures in their points tally, led by Perry’s 20 on 87 per cent shooting and Nathan Frost’s 13 off the bench.
The Cavs next face Knox at the State Basketball Centre on Saturday night.
