By Marcus Uhe
The Casey Cavaliers’ losing streak has grown to seven matches after a 80-95 loss at home to reigning NBL1 South champions Hobart on Saturday night.
A slow first quarter in which Hobart scored 20 of the first 24 points created a gap between the two teams that the home side were never able to reel-in.
Patrick Emilien took flight for a thunderous one-handed dunk early in the game to electrify the home crown at Casey Stadium, but the highlights were few and far between for the Cavs, who didn’t score for the next six minutes of play as Hobart broke free.
Blake Taylor and Nathan Frost kept the Cavs afloat, but the visitors took a nine-point lead into the first break.
A rally in to open the second term cut the lead to four points, with Casey’s second unit stifling the Hobart offence and inhibiting its ability to score.
A Mitch Riggs three cut the margin to three points, before the Chargers began to exploit a lack of interior presence under the basket.
As quickly as the home side worked its way back into the game, a scoring flurry from Chargers restored the separation from earlier in the contest, as Hobart took a 13-point lead into half time.
Emilien dug into his bag of tricks in the second half, displaying an impressive range of shooting prowess from both inside and beyond the three point line as the Cavs’ major offensive threat.
It was at the other end of the court, however, where the execution was not there.
Continuing to attack from under the rim, Hobart were making layups with ease to keep the Cavs at bay.
As the pressure on the ball-carrier intensified from the Cavaliers, often sending two defenders to the ball, the Chargers were able to find the resulting open player for easy baskets.
A 15-point difference at the final break was always going to be a huge ask for the home side desperate for a win.
Scoring the first five points of the last, a 20-point lead was an even more challenging task.
But the Cavs kept the pressure on, cutting the lead to eight with four minutes remaining on the back of an 8-0 run.
A quick 6-0 run to Hobart, however, assisted by some fouling from the Cavs, restored the double-figure buffer, and was enough to sink any hopes of a remarkable comeback.
Hobart were superior in nearly all aspects of the contest, shooting better percentages from all variables, while also out-rebounding and out-assisting the hosts.
Emilien was the Cavs’ highest scorer with 18 points.
Casey’s women fared much better, getting the better of Hobart by 25 points and ending a seven game losing streak in the process.
From a 14-4 run to open the game, outside of a brief 30 seconds in the third quarter, the Cavaliers never looked back, leading at every change and finishing with a 33-18 final quarter in the 110-85 result.
A vast spread of contributors saw six players score in double figures, led by forward, Lauren Van Kluenen’s 24 and Rachel Bell’s 19.
Taylah Simmons, meanwhile, added 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The home side shot a hefty 61 per cent from the field and 52 per cent from behind the three point line in what was comfortably its highest score of the 2023 season, having breached the 100-point barrier for the first time.
Round 13 sees Casey hit the road for clashes against Frankston on Saturday night and Melbourne on Sunday.
Both teams sit 18th in their respective ladders.
