By JARROD POTTER
THE last-quarter blues almost cost Pakenham dearly in its Big V basketball double-header against Maccabi and Keilor over the weekend.
Regardless the Warriors came away with two crucial wins.
With a 28-point lead at three-quarter time – following a ferocious 22-4 second term – Pakenham eased off the accelerator giving Maccabi the chance to get back to within six points in the dying minutes.
Pakenham coach Ryan Rogers brought back in his starters to get the job done, as Maccabi went about fouling captain James Topp as the clock ticked down.Topp hit 1/8 from the free throw line for the match, but hit the shot that counted – the last shot to register a 68-61 win.
Big V legend Jeff Reid continued to live up to that mantle – firing off 20 points and six rebounds on Saturday, while Jay Richardson (five points, 11 rebounds) was a machine defense and Topp (13 points, nine rebounds) all but claimed another double-double.
“Great result for us – we probably let things slip on Saturday night,” Rogers said.
“Should’ve had a pretty comfortable night, but it was good to get two wins.”
Rogers put the onus on his bench players who were unable to maintain the 28-point lead and were subbed out as the pressure rose.
“I wasn’t panicked – I put some of our second tier guys in the game and thought they’d be able to hold and sustain the lead and they didn’t come out ready to play,” he said.
“It was quite the opposite on how they trained so that was disappointing and this is a little bit of a kick for them.
“I never felt threatened to be quite truthful – I could’ve made a couple of subs a little bit quicker, but it’s not about that.
“We need 12 guys if we’re going to be successful in the latter part of the year.”
Sunday panned out similarly for the Warriors in its 69-67 win to Keilor – this time with the lead going back and forth as Keilor used its height to advantage.
Keeping the Warriors off the glass, the Thunder reeled in 10 defensive rebounds to Pakenham’s zero offensive boards in the last quarter and charged home to hit the lead with three minutes remaining.
Its usual suspects proved pivotal in the win – Topp (20 points, 10 rebounds), Reid (19 points, six rebounds) and Winder (12 points, seven rebounds) led the way while the performances of Jay Ferriere and Richardson were impressive without being statistically measurable.
“We got into a little bit of foul trouble and Keilor’s size – they’re probably the biggest team in the league – kept battling in there in the paint and they got the lead back with two to three minutes to go in the fourth,” Rogers said.
“We came down and ran good half court sets and high percentage scores to hold out for a really gutsy win.
“Jay Ferriere his point numbers weren’t high but he controlled the team very well and Jay Richardson – his numbers don’t indicate the bearing that he has on the game – down for only six rebounds but I had him for about 15 myself.”
The cross-town rivalry between Pakenham and Casey takes on a whole new level of intensity this Saturday at 5pm – as the battle between last year’s cellar dwellers is now for first position.
“We feel we’re getting better and better – getting our three wins on the trot and next two wins at home -we’re only hoping to build on that,” Rogers said.
Tip-off is 5pm.
