By JARROD POTTER
BIG V – ROUND 11
SLAYING the Dragons with an emphatic last-term lockdown, Casey Cavaliers stormed past Camberwell in a 71-62 victory.
Camberwell had contained Casey well enough through the first three terms, before Father Time himself – Matt Witherden (23 points, 12 rebounds) – continued his monster 2016 with his fifth double-double of the campaign. His inside-outside presence gave Camberwell too many headaches to deal with.
An extraordinary piece of fourth quarter defending had Casey hold the hosts to five. Two field goals and a free throw was the tally of Camberwell’s efforts down the stretch as the Cavaliers built a fortress around the defensive basket with Dean Johnson (12 points, eight rebounds), Brent Hobba (12 points, seven rebounds) and Mitch Chapman (eight points, seven rebounds).
Camberwell’s go-to tall Jovan Bojanic (20 points, 15 rebounds) was kept silent in the fourth as Johnson and Hobba took the direct challenge while the Cavaliers’ total defensive effort across the board shut down the momentum.
“We actually didn’t defend too badly in the first three quarters, but they knocked down some shots,” Casey coach Stewart Baird said.
“It wasn’t like the Shepp and Melton games where they were hitting them from everywhere – Bojanic was getting open from 12-15 foot and he kept knocking them down.
“We just had to find ways to make sure he wasn’t getting open and at the end of the day was just the usual team D, which is good to see as it’s been an area we’ve struggled with over the last few weeks.”
While the winning form is still there for Casey – sitting third with an 11-3 record – Baird thinks the side is still going through a rough patch and hopefully the weekend off will help them bounce back.
“The interesting thing is we started really well, we’ve hit a bit of what we’re describing it as a ‘funk’,” Baird said. “Not knocking down some of the shots that we were, our defence hasn’t been as good as it was – we wanted to set ourselves as the number one team defensively and until two weeks ago we probably were.
“It’s probably more mental to be honest (than injuries) – Lester is still out and Stevie has a bit of an ankle issue, so that will help him.
“Everyone else is fit, but having Wednesday off and the weekend off means they should be refocused when we get back on the track next week.”
Big V has a bye this weekend with Casey returning on the Saturday 18 June for a triple header at home – youth men against Mornington, women against Pakenham and the men battling Warrnambool in a two v three epic.
“This competition is incredibly close and Warrnambool – despite sitting second – is probably the outstanding team at the moment and probably the team to beat,” Baird said.
In a canter, the Division 2 women’s team brushed aside Sherbrooke 94-50. Sharing the minutes around, Casey coach Michael Davies threw in his entire roster to have a run at the severely depleted Suns’ line-up. Bec Magdich (17 points), Ruchelle Mccracken (16 points, 18 rebounds) and Tarryn Wilkin (14 points, 10 rebounds) led from the front while up and coming dual-sports star Jordanne Dyer (two points) made her senior debut.
Casey’s Youth Men did what was necessary to overcome Pakenham in a 67-57 victory. Nathan Dodgson (20 points) and Sam Pike (18 points, 17 rebounds) led the charge.
