By Colin MacGillivray
A MITCHELL Shire showdown is set for this weekend’s Country Basketball League north-east division semi-finals, with Seymour’s men to host Wallan in a rematch of the final regular season game at the weekend.
The Blasters and Panthers met on Seymour’s home court on Saturday night, with the Blasters downing the visitors 77-67.
Seymour played a near-flawless first half to establish an 18-point lead, but the game was soured by a knee injury to star Blasters forward Keenan Gorski.
“Our first half was really good. It was one of the best halves of basketball we’ve played this season defensively and offensively,” Blasters coach Craig Hockley said.
“Unfortunately we had an injury to Keenan Gorski right on the half-time buzzer. It looks like he’s done something to his knee. We’re waiting for some results to come back, but it looks like he’ll be out for the rest of the finals series unfortunately.
“The second half was a bit flat for our guys after that. We were a little bit down on our performance from the first half, but we had a good lead at half time and it enabled us to still win.”
Forward Tyler Best shouldered the scoring load in the absence of Gorski, finishing with a game-high 27 points.
Best has scored 99 points in the past four games, and Hockley said he would be key to the Blasters’ finals campaign.
“In the last month Tyler has really stepped up. He’s shooting the ball well, whereas early in the season he was probably a bit hesitant shooting,” Hockley said.
“Now he’s really looking for his shot and has a scoring mentality rather than a passing mentality, which is good.”
Hockley said bench player Harry Stones and guard Abraham Solano would also be called on to shoulder a greater scoring load in the finals.
He said he expected both teams to make adjustments between the final game of the regular season and Saturday nights’ semi-final at Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre.
“We’ll be looking for the bench guys to step up and contribute a little bit more, because Keenan averages about 20 [points] a game. We’ll need to spread the load a little bit,” he said.
“[Wallan has] had a look at us and we’ve had a look at them, so both teams will probably make some adjustments and try a few different things.”
Wallan’s hopes of an upset win will rest on the shoulders of leading scorers Ryan Philippe and Luke Liesegang, who were held relatively quiet at the weekend and scored a combined 30 points.
Wallan and Seymour’s women will also play semi-finals this weekend, with Seymour to host the Albury Cougars while Wallan will be away to minor premier Wodonga Lady Wolves.The two sides played a thrilling contest on Saturday, with Seymour erasing a 19-point half-time deficit to win 72-66.
Big games from Ruby Pantisano, 14 points, Kaitlyn Bickerton, 13, and Carley Cranston, 11, looked to have put the Panthers in a winning position, but another huge game from Blaster Tayha Watkins – who topped 30 points for the fifth time this season – led a stirring comeback.
The Blasters outscored the visitors 23-6 in the final quarter to cap off the win, securing a second-place finish in the process.
The win meant the Blasters avoided the powerful Lady Wolves, who lost only one game this season, in the semi-finals.
Seymour’s women will host Albury at 5.30pm on Saturday, with the men taking on Wallan at 7.30pm.
