Cavs steal a thriller

By Justin Robertson
CRANBOURNE Cavs won a thriller in overtime on Sunday afternoon against the highly-ranked Warrandyte.
With the scores tied at 85 at the end of regulation time, the Cavs made the most of an opposition that continued to draw fouls and held on to clinch a 99-96 win at the Cranbourne Basketball Stadium.
Cavs coach, Cory Smith, said it was tense the whole game.
“It was pretty exciting actually,” he said. “To pull off a win like that was a great effort.”
With finals out of the frame for the Cavs and nothing to lose, Smith said he noticed Warrandyte forced Darebin into 38 turnovers the night before, so he was expecting a high pressure game from them.
“We came prepared and thought they might play a high intensity game, so we addressed that before the game and it seemed to get everyone going.”
The scores ebbed and flowed all game during a tense third quarter that saw Cavs tall, Jayden McMillin fouled out along with some key Warrandyte players. The Cavs trailed by seven points at three-quarter time, and it was a last-ditch field goal by Justin McMillin with two seconds remaining that pushed the game into overtime.
With only one turnover in the extra period, the Cavs simply outplayed the visitors and hit the important free throws when it mattered most. Smith said Matthew Marshall stepped up in the heat of the battle.
“He shot some important points when it counted,” he said. “We pulled off a really good win.”
Justin McMillin topped the scorers list with 31 points and six rebounds, but it was Jonathon Hawes who drew most praise with his stunning game (27,20). Matthew Marshall was also a valuable contributor (14,5).
On Saturday night, the Cavs lost a lacklustre affair by 11 points to arch-rivals Pakenham at Cardinia Recreation Reserve.
A flat start meant the Cavs were playing catch-up basketball all evening. Facing a 14-point deficit at halftime (36-50), the Cavs did their best to chip away at the margin, but Pakenham’s damaging first half was enough to keep the visitors at arm’s length for the remainder of the match as they secured the 82-71 win with a polished performance.