WALLAN Panthers’ Big V division two men’s double-header weekend saw the side secure an 87-82 win Saturday night against Sherbrooke before falling to Altona 88-70.
Sharif Black starred as the Panthers’ leading scorer for the weekend, scoring 37 points against Sherbrooke and 34 points against Altona.
Keenan Gorski contributed to the Panthers’ tallies, with 10 and 18 points respectively, while Leigh Saffin’s dangerous shooting from afar saw him make six three-point shots to contribute 23 points in the win against Sherbrooke.
With scores tied at 18 going into quarter time during the Sherbrooke-Wallan match, all signs pointed to a close contest.
Going into the half-time break, Wallan broke away with a seven-point lead. A 26-20 third quarter though gave Sherbrooke the confidence to go into the final term down only by one point.
Black starred in the third quarter for the Panthers, scoring 12 of his side’s 20 points while a combined effort by Sherbrooke’s Andrew Savige, Buay Jok and Loang Rout kept their side in with a chance ofw inning. However, the home side fell short on the final buzzer by five points.
Meanwhile against Altona, the Panthers held a narrow 43-38 lead at the half-time break, after making five free throws in the final four minutes of the quarter.
However, it was Altona’s Nick Formosa, Thomas Georgiadis and Anthony Kimble leading the way early in the third quarter, setting up a 67-59 leading going into the fourth.
Wallan will now take on Maccabi at RB Robson Stadium this Saturday at 8pm, with their opponent hoping to make it three in a row.
It was a tough weekend for the Panthers’ women, who went down to Sherbrooke 80-41. The women’s team led by one point in the first quarter, but a 23-to-two second-quarter blitz by Sherbrooke set the Suns up for the 39-point win.
