Wallan Panthers survived a scare in their Big V men’s division two game against Melton on Sunday, nearly coughing up a 27-point lead before holding on to win 87-83.
Playing at Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre, the Panthers dominated most of the contest, leading 71-44 with 1.27 left in the third quarter after a Tyler Best jump shot.
But Melton’s Liam Allison caught fire, scoring eight points in less than a minute to give the visitors a glimmer of hope at the final break.
Allison’s hot shooting continued in the fourth quarter, with the guard scoring 14 of his game-high 26 points in the final frame, including three three-pointers.
With 1.36 left in the contest, Melton reserve Poth Machar’s layup brought the Thoroughbreds within three points for the first time since the first quarter, but a big offensive rebound from Wallan forward Tom O’Connor on the subsequent possession earned him a trip to the free-throw line.
O’Connor buried both foul shots and, after Melton split a pair of free-throws on its ensuing possession, Best made another pair to effectively close the game out.
Best scored a team-high 23 points for Wallan, drawing praise from coach Tim Annett.
“Tyler continued his good form. He’s led the team right through the year,” Annett said.
“He’s added another layer to his game offensively and he’s averaging nearly 20 points a game now, so he’s definitely stepped up another level.”
Annett said the late-game slide was concerning, but that his team had played well enough through the first three quarter to earn a win.
“We had some possessions offensively where we tried to rush things. We got comfortable with how the scoreboard was looking and probably didn’t focus on what needed to be done and play as well as we did in the first half,” he said.
“Defensively, they started making some shots. We were well aware at the start of the game that if they started making shots, they’re a team that can score quickly. We just didn’t seem to be able to stop it.
“We did enough in the end to still get the win, but there are definitely some things we need to work on.”
Annett said he was pleased with his team’s position, sitting fourth on the ladder with a 4-2 record, as the Panthers prepare for a challenging home game against Altona at 8pm on Saturday.
“We had a really interrupted pre-season with injuries, and we’ve finally got a couple of guys back now, so we’re starting to work through our rotations and get through some training sessions together,” he said.
“Keenan Gorski is only going to get better the more he plays. He’s still looking very rusty, but we all know what he’s capable of. We’ll get him back in the starting line-up in the next couple of weeks and no doubt he’ll help lead the team.
“We think our best is yet to come in the second half of the year.”
Wallan’s division two women were edged out in a thriller, losing 82-84 to Surf Coast on Sunday.
Despite a combined 47 points from Kylah Collins and Olivia Dalmau, the Panthers were unable to quell a dangerous Chargers line-up that got 22 points from Cortney Hollowood, 16 from Kim Hammond, 15 from Jessica Scannell and 15 from bench player Tara McKenzie.
For Wallan, reserve Kaitlyn Bickerton was the only other player to notch double digit scoring figures with 13.
It was the first loss of the season for the women’s team, which will now host the RMIT Redbacks at 6pm on Saturday night.
Wallan’s youth league division two men will attempt to ride the momentum of a 12-84 win against Melton when they face Pakenham in a road game on Sunday.
Wallan’s bench players saw plenty of court time in the win, with Jayden O’Brien scoring a game-high 27 points on an impressive 15-16 from the free-throw line and Dion Stacey notch 21.
