Cavs end season with convincing loss

By Justin Robertson
CRANBOURNE Cavs were unable to finish the season off on a winning note, losing by 11 points to Camberwell at Waverley Stadium on Sunday.
Despite winning three of their past five games, the Cavs squandered a spirited first quarter effort to trail most of the game and eventually going down 75-64.
Cavs coach Cory Smith was disappointed with the end result, but rapt with the year his chargers produced.
“The last six weeks we started to really click a bit more, it takes half a season for the boys to figure out what their roles are and what we as coaches are doing each week,” he said.
“We were slowly starting to get there towards the end and you can tell by the results.”
This season the Cavs beat every team except Mildura (undefeated) and Melton, and had close games against both of those sides.
“So there is a bit of confidence there heading into next season,” Smith said.
At quarter time the Cavs trailed by one point (19-18), but saw that margin leak to an 11-point deficit at the main break (40-29). In a horrid third term, both sides struggled to score and hit their shots and gain any momentum.
The Cavs again trailed the quarter 10-5 and had to overcome a 16-point margin in the last quarter to claim the win.
A much better final quarter saw the Cavs shoot a massive 30 points, but Camberwell also inflicted accurate shooting with 25 points of their own, securing the win heading into finals next week. Justin McMillin finished the year off well with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Matthew Marshall (12, 5) and Jonathan Hawes (10, 8) also contributed to the scoreboard and had solid games. “Matthew had one of his better games for the year and was our best shooter for the match,” Smith said.
“But, really, everyone chipped in and I think Camberwell was a bit better on the day and keen to get a win heading into finals.”
Looking towards next year, Smith was delighted with the enthusiasm shown by his young squad.
“The boys have got a lot fitter this year and are keen to keep going over the next few months’ break,” he said.
“I’m really happy with that , that they are almost ready to go next year.”