By JARROD POTTER
BIG V – ROUND 4
SLAYING Dragons on home court, the Casey Cavaliers made light work of the visiting Camberwell.
The Cavaliers’ juggernaut didn’t need to get out of second gear against Camberwell in the 77-56 triumph on Saturday night.
Cavs’ coach Stewart Baird had plenty of opportunities to test his bench and rotate the entire roster through in the 21-point triumph.
Resting all of his starters, trying new combinations – Baird was like a kid in a candy store circulating his team through the basketball barrage.
Starting from the second term – putting Camberwell to the sword with a 27-point quarter – Casey was able to coast to victory from there as Matt Witherden (22 points, 17 rebounds) continued his opportune run of form alongside James Deneefe (11 points) and Dean Johnson (five points, 11 rebounds).
“The first half was really pleasing – more so for the fact that I started to see at both ends of the floor the stuff we’ve been working on and I’ve been harping on, really starting to show through.
“Defensive talk and rotations were fantastic and offensive structures were really good – everyone we put in the game stayed with it and it all it worked well.”
Baird praised his playing-assistant coach Witherden, who has stepped up in Brent Hobba’s absence … but couldn’t let him go a game with nothing but praise.
“Like a new man out there – the irony is he’s only playing the minutes he’s playing because Hobba is injured,” Baird said. “We didn’t expect him to be playing more than 15 or 20 but he’s up and about and showing that he’s still got plenty of game left.
“Obviously the year off he had last year – while masquerading as a player – has helped him out.”
Such is Casey’s roster strength and ability to close out games early this season that only five 30 minute games have been recorded for the playing group in 2016’s first five matches.
It makes for an impressive opening month of the season as Casey has shone against the regular faces of the league.
“I’m really happy – the only loss was that Melton game and they were stacked with NBL players and haven’t won a game since,” Baird said. “Good solid win last week, solid win tonight, scratched out a win against Melbourne Uni and had a great win to open up down at Latrobe, so first month of the season I think we’re in a pretty good place.”
In the biggest clash of the round – Casey and Shepparton will lock horns on Sunday afternoon, as one of the newest, but most heated, rivalries in Big V enters its next chapter.
The unbeaten start for Casey’s women was smashed apart by Blackburn in a 58-73 defeat. The Cavaliers’ efforts fell apart in the last term as the Vikings charged through 22-10 to put the match beyond question, after a gutsy fight-back from the hosts to knock in 24 points in the third. Ruchelle Mccracken (13 points, 13 rebounds) continued her elite start to 2016 alongside Tarryn Wilkin (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Jess Szalek (seven points, eight rebounds). Casey’s women are off to Wodonga to battle the North East.
