The undefeated U16 Boys C took to the court on Friday night against a dangerous Saints Bullets outfit, who were looking to move into the top two with a win.
A sloppy opening few minutes from both sides finally gave way to baskets from Christian Young for Saints and Tom Connally for Ballan, quickly followed by a Barney Batiste layup and a Noah Pace runner as Ballan opened up a small lead. Ballan was looking the more dangerous, generating a slew of good lucks that they were unfortunately unable to convert. Luckily big Joe Bunnage was on hand, colleting numerous offensive boards, creating problems for the Saints bigs.
The introduction of Koby Robertson for Saints changed the flow of the match. His slashing drives and clever playmaking gave the Brumbies defense fits. When he wasn’t slicing through the defense to score inside, he was spraying sharp kickout passes to his teammates, Max Jerger connecting on a pair of threes from Robertson assists.
With Saints quickly opening up a nine point lead, Ballan needed a reaction and got it from the Pace brothers. Noah hit a deep three pointer and another cute floater whilst James bustled his way to the basket, getting to the free throw line.
At the half, Brumbies trailed 20-25, a scoreline that perhaps flattered Ballan.
The Brumbies came out of the break with a renewed focus on defense, Harrison Clark, James Pace and Connally all moving their feet well to stymie Saints dangerous guard rotation. Bunnage and defensive ace James Prosser were getting the job done inside, contesting shots and cleaning up on the boards.
Noah Pace continued to be a thorn in Saints side, repeatedly penetrating the key, either finding cutters or scoring himself. He made a pair of gorgeous passes leading to a Prosser layup and free throws for younger brother James.
With Ballan trailing by two points and only a few minutes to play, the Brumbies coach decided to hold back on a bench rotation and roll with the five he had on the floor. It turned out to be a wise decision as the two players that were due to come to the bench, Connally and Batiste, both made telling contributions to the Brumbies late game heroics.
Connally poked the ball away from Jerger to create a turnover from which Prosser scored, quickly answered by Robertson. On Saints next possession, Batiste snared a huge rebound in traffic with Connally swishing a huge three in the ensuing possession, handing the Brumbies the lead. Batiste again controlled a tough miss in traffic as Ballan’s defense continued to shine. The big man finally sealed the game with a lovely scoop shot off the window with just under 10 seconds remaining.
Saints hared down the court with one chance to launch a potentially game tying three, but again Ballan held firm as the combination of Connally and Noah Pace forced Robertson to fumble the ball, Saints never getting their final shot away as Ballan came from behind to snatch a 42-39 win.
Under 8's lost to Drummo Dragons 9-39 Under 10 Boys D lost to Drummo Dragons 4-15 Under 10 Boys B lost to Excies Acmy 5-24 Under 12 Boys C defeated Celtic Tigers 58-26 Under 12 Boys E defeated Phoenix Wasps 14-11 Under 12 Girls defeated Sovereign Knights 19-10 Under 14 Boys F White defeated Sovereign Knights 21-15 Under 14 Boys F Blue defeated Saints Hawks 57-4 Under 14 Boys D lost to Celtic Tigers 24-30 Under 14 Boys B defeated Excies Acmy 54-28 Under 14 Girls D lost to Sovereign Knights 10-29 Under 14 Girls B defeated Celtic Tigers 29-24 Under 16 Boys G Blue defeated Wildcats 47-39 Under 16 Boys G White defeated Phoenix Rush 54-18 Under 16 Boys E defeated Saints Crocs 55-25 Under 16 Boys C defeated Saints Bullets 42-39 Under 19 Boys H lost to Phoenix Raiders 31-49 Under 19 Boys E defeated Phoenix Vikings 75-26 Under 19 Boys D defeated Wildcats 46-18 Under 19 Girls defeated Phoenix Sky 26-17
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