By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Pakenham Warriors Big V basketball Division 2 men’s side snuck away with a nail-biting one-point win, 80-79, over their namesakes from Oakleigh on Saturday night.
But the Pakenham men – and their coach Jeff Reid – weren’t fooled by the result. They still have plenty of work to do on both ends of the floor.
Recording an all-important win was ultimately all that mattered for Pakenham, but Reid’s men need to sharpen their game over the coming weeks.
“We went through phases of really good basketball but then just couldn’t keep it up,” Reid said of Saturday night’s game.
“We led by 10 and they just kept coming back.
“I really don’t know what to put it down to.
“I’m not sure our fitness is quite where it should be at the moment.
“When we’re tired we stop talking out there and don’t do the little things well.”
Reid added that, in these moments, the team’s decision-making suffers during lapses of concentration.
“The game was much closer than it should have been but we just couldn’t put them away,” he said of Oakleigh.
“We were up 10 points with six minutes left and we won by a point.”
In the last minute of the game, newcomer Trent Lee – the hero in Pakenham’s thrilling win over Coburg – hit a jumper off a broken play to put his side up by three points.
“They then called a timeout with 27 seconds left and with seven seconds left we thought they’d take a three but their import took it to the rack for a basket,” Reid explained.
A last-second, half-court Hail Mary from Oakleigh then ricocheted off the backboard – giving Pakenham the win… a great escape.
Reid wants his side to cut down on its turnover count – which reached 21 on Saturday night – but, bottom line, a win is a win.
Reid said the most pleasing aspect of the game was the continued stellar play of gun forward Hayden Davey.
“He just improves with every game he plays,” he said of Davey, who finished with a stat-stuffing 24 points (on 50 per cent from the field), 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 assists.
“Kenneth (Hall), our import, also made some inroads.
“He’s starting to feel comfortable out there and you can see it.”
One downside from the contest was a calf injury sustained by one of the team’s leaders, Josh Smith.
This week Pakenham takes on an Altona team Jeff Reid’s men admittedly don’t know a great deal about.
“We’ll go in knowing they put up 90 points last week so we’ll have to lock down defensively, but our main thing is looking after the ball,” he said.
“Winning the rebound count is a focal point for us as well. We don’t want to keep giving up second-chance points.”
The Warriors’ Youth League Division 2 men’s side enjoyed a double-digit win, 83-73, at home over Corio Bay on Saturday afternoon.
Lewis Newman continued his stellar form with a huge 23-point, 16-rebound double-double while Lee Belton recorded a double-double of his own with 14 points and 10 boards.
But on the other side of the ledger, poor first quarters continue to haunt Pakenham’s Division 2 women’s side – which is still in search of its first ever win.
The Warriors went down 89-54 to Mornington on Saturday night after trailing by 20 points at quarter-time.
“We go into games expecting to win them,” said coach Darren Thomas.
“We don’t want to go in thinking if we get within 20 then that’s as good as a win.
“So far we’ve played one bad quarter in each of our games, and that’s the first quarter.
“If we could be square in games at quarter-time we’d be in with a huge chance of winning games.
“But the things that don’t work for us in the first quarter are working for us later and that’s killing us.
“Offensively we get good shots consistently, it’s just the execution that needs work.”
For the Warriors, it’s all about learning how to win – and to gain the mentality that goes along with it.
But the side is taking steps forward. Thomas said he was particularly impressed with Hayley Leknius, a recruit from Sherbrooke.
“Her physical presence is more advanced than some of the others,” he said.
“She’s not afraid of drawing contact.”
Keira Lee is another who has also left her mark with her leadership within the young Pakenham group.
“For us to be competitive we need to do the simple things right and be accountable on defence,” Thomas said.
The Warriors men will this Saturday host Altona from 7pm, while the women’s side will take to the court – also against Altona – in the curtain-raiser from 5pm. Pakenham’s Youth League men’s team will host Warrnambool on Sunday from 2pm.
