By RUSSELL BENNETT
BIG V basketball Division 2 leaders the Shepparton Gators taught the Pakenham Warriors an on-court lesson on Sunday afternoon, blazing their way to an 88-57 blowout win at the Colosseum.
Ryan Rogers’ Pakenham side was down by just seven points the first break – having restricted the Gators to just 18 points in the first period.
But the Warriors were outscored and outplayed in each quarter from that point on.
There were some promising signs for Pakenham – such as increased court time for boom recruit Brett Rainbow as he looks to regain full fitness after a calf complaint – but it was a dark day overall for the side which shot just 30 per cent from the floor and was dominated in the rebound count 52-32.
The Gators had doubled up Pakenham’s score with the bulk of the second period still to play, but the Warriors’ fighting spirit shone through – getting the margin back to two points at 28-26.
But by the half, the Gators had stormed away once more – leading 41-27.
The second half was, by and large, a procession for the visitors as they went on to win by 31.
Warriors swingman Jim Viray’s nice lefty, mid-range jumper was falling early and he finished with a team-high 14 points while Jay Richardson and James Magrath put their bodies on the line for the cause, as per usual.
But the Gators’ transition offense just caused far too many problems for the home side and Pakenham, by contrast, struggled to get any consistent looks in the paint during its half-court sets.
Gators Guard Matthew Bartlett was the starring attraction – finishing with 36 points at better than a point a minute and draining six of eight from downtown; while imposing forward John Lewis seemed almost impossible to keep off the low block.
The Warriors will look to put the weekend’s result behind them as they face the Western Port Steelers – again at home – this Saturday night from 6pm.
