Round 9 of our Championship Men division has now wrapped up, marking officially over halfway through our season. Our top contenders are still holding strong, but our playing field remains level, with some major upsets over the weekend.
Let’s unpack Round 9.
Hume City (109) def. Blackburn (99)
Tipping off our Round 9 saw Hume take the win, a relief for the team after falling down their last two games. Despite a tight first quarter, Blackburn leading for the first five minutes, Hume City took the lead to ultimately help them win the game. A massive 34 points from Stone and 24 points from McKinney, paired with 9 assists to get them over the line. Blackburn’s best efforts from Martin (24 points) and Legan (31 points), not to mention Kimble’s 15 rebounds was not enough to get a win, only winning one of their last five.
Keysborough (119) def. Camberwell (82)
Keysborough now winning three of their last five were able to take home another win on Saturday night, defending Camberwell by 37. Leading for the entirety of the game, it made it a struggle for the Dragons to keep up, even despite their pressure in the last half and going on an 11-point run, it was too late to come back. Cougar’s Williams had 37 points for the game at 58% FG, 7 rebounds and 6 assists was enough for them dominate and take home a win.
Sunbury (101) def. Mckinnon (89)
Sunbury taking home a win from our fourth placed Mckinnon was one to watch if you missed it. Sunbury due for a win after losing their last four, it was an impressive game from the Jets. Yorke-Frazer scored 22 points at 73% and 10 assists. Sunbury got out to an 18 to 5 lead early in the first. Both struggled early in the second, turning the ball over. McKinnon struggled to find the bottom of the net in the 4th with Sunbury making the most of their opportunities.
Western Port (83) def. Pakenham (75)
The second upset of the weekend, Western Port came to prove themselves against Pakenham to win just their second game of the season. The Steelers were able to hold strong for the game, even leading by 13 in the last quarter but Pakenham wanted to fight until the last moments, only trailing by two in the final minutes. However, they gave it away handing Steelers free throws to ultimately give the team a substantial lead. Permenter had 21 points, with nearly 70% FG. Pakenham are still a strong contender for August and are set to face Hume in the Round 10 (5th vs 6th). Star player Morton now averaging 11 rebounds for the last three games aswell, the question ponders how far they will continue to go this season.
Shepparton (89) def. Melbourne University (84)
A game that was set to be close proved to be just that. Melbourne University had a 14-point run in the first quarter that helped them lead the game until the last quarter. A huge effort from both teams that just didn’t want to give up and leave it until the final minutes to establish their winner. Shepparton were able to come back in only the last 7 minutes of the game and continued to hold the lead from there, a massive effort from the team, including Thomas, who had 23 points and five assists, shooting over 66% the entire game. Shepparton with three out of the last five game wins and Melbourne with two out of the five means that both of these teams will need to find their confidence and a way in the coming weeks to continue play into August.
Bellarine (115) def. Blackburn (89)
A tough game for Blackburn coming in to play Bellarine who have only lost one of their last five. A close first half with Blackburn taking the lead twice, shooting at 47%. Viking’s Martin was the top scorer from the game, with 36 points and 2 assists. Ultimately, Bellarine were a stronger team and Varley’s 3pt in the second stole the game and from there, they remained in front to solidify a 26-point win. Bellarine went into the second half on fire and asserted dominance with a 12-point scoring run to put them 25 points up. Despite Blackburn coming back to fight in the last quarter and into the final seconds and scoring only 1 point less than the Storm, it could not be the week for them to take home the win. The Bellarine stars, Green and Varley had 60 points and 8 assists between them and were standouts for the match.
McKinnon (100) def. Wyndham (93)
One of the best turn arounds this season by the Cougars as they finish their weekend 1 and 1 taking out Wyndham on Sunday. After a disappointing loss to Sunbury on Saturday, the Cougars hung strong and battled back after being down 10 at the half against a powerful Wyndham unit. Chipping away in the third on the back on Andersons 12-point quarter, the Cougars brought it to 74 a piece leading to the last break. It became a free throw game for the Cougars late in the last 2 minutes as Wyndham attempted to speed up the reigning champs. It was these clutch free throws which kept McKinnon just out of reach even with the likes of Donly and Jones’s shooting strokes, still hitting tough shots late in the clock. Wyndham remain on top as this becomes just their second loss for the season while McKinnon move into the top 4.
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Photo credit: @torchchavez
