Double knockout blows

By Gavin Staindl
THE Cranbourne Cavaliers’ slim finals hopes have been dashed after they were dealt a double blow on the weekend.
Sitting last on the ladder with two wins, the Cavs needed to win one of their two matches to keep in touch with the leaders, but a double loss has knocked the Cavs out of finals contention.
Cranbourne’s fourth quarters were its undoing in both matches as it lost to Warrandyte by 14 points on Saturday night and McKinnon by 11 points on Sunday.
Against Warrandyte, the Cavs trailed by six points heading into the final quarter but went 4-from-27 as the Venom pulled away for a comfortable victory.
It was a similar scene on Sunday, as the Cavs went 4-for-32 in the final quarter.
At the final change, the Cavs led by 10 points but a 30-9 blitz by the travelling Cougars put the game, and Cranbourne’s season, to rest.
Jayden McMillin and Michael Troyahn were the two standouts for Cranbourne.
Over the two matches, McMillin put up a combined 32 points and reeled in 14 rebounds, while Troyahn sunk 33 points including six three-pointers at a shooting percentage of 50 per cent.
Although admitting finals is a lost cause, coach Corey Smith said his side will use the remainder of the season to work towards next year.
“We have been improving each week and apart from our last quarters we played pretty well,” Smith said.
“If we stick together for the rest of the season, and stick together for next year, we will do much better.”