Coming off the bye, Wallan Panthers men’s team experienced mixed results in a Big V division two double-header against Mildura Heat and Sherbrooke Suns at the weekend.
In a quick turnaround, Wallan first played the Heat at home on Saturday night, winning 77 to 52.
Wallan’s Tyler Best and Arcaim Lallemand both hit double-doubles with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 points, 11 rebounds respectively.
The Panthers started strong with a layup from Tom O’Connor and back-to-back three pointers from the Best brothers, with the side maintaining momentum to end the quarter up 24 to 19.
Taking advantage of Mildura’s missed shots, the Panthers finished off a strong first half, ahead 49 to 34 at half time.
A slow start to the third quarter saw both teams unable to score until Wallan’s Dominic Bruno hit a jump shot.
Wallan’s defensive pressure was strong in the third quarter and it went into the fourth quarter with a 20-point lead.
The Panthers comfortably led for the rest of the game winning by 25 points.
However on Sunday, Wallan couldn’t back up its efforts and lost a home game to Sherbrooke 69 to 87.
There was some movement in Wallan’s starting five with Leigh Dean in the line-up instead of Jake Best from the night before.
Tom O’Connor had a double-double hitting 19 points with 13 rebounds and the consistent Lallemand scored 17 points and nine rebounds.
Sherbrooke won the jumpball, finishing with a quick layup to open the game.
Wallan’s Bruno responded with a three-pointer of his own, followed by a steal and O’Connor making a two-pointer putting Wallan in front.
The lead continued to shift in a competitive opening quarter but with Wallan struggling to score, Sherbrooke took the advantage leading 25 to 16 at the first break.
Lellemand started strong in the second quarter, scoring Wallan’s opening six points as the side continued to chase the Suns.
Unable to close the gap, the Panthers headed into halftime trailing 34 to 43.
It remained Sherbrooke’s game in the third quarter with strong boards and finishes leaving the Panthers trailing by 20 points heading into the final quarter.
The Suns’ Nick Tarrant was able to draw some fouls from the Panthers, hitting key foul shots to keep Sherbrooke comfortably ahead.
Wallan’s Lincoln Stewart got on a seven-point run bringing the game to within 13 points, but the Panthers couldn’t get ahead going down 69 to 87.
Wallan face Maccabi at home this Saturday.
Women
Wallan Panthers women went down 71 to 73 against Blackburn Vikings at home on Saturday.
Kylah Collins had another impressive game with 28 points, 16 rebounds and eight steals.
The Vikings kicked off the game with a three-point play after a turnover from Wallan’s Melissa Buckley and foul from Olivia Woods. The two sides remained within one point of each other until a three-pointer from the Vikings gave them some breathing room.
Wallan continued applying scoreboard pressure but couldn’t regain the lead, down 12 to 15 at the first break.
In the second quarter the Panthers clawed their way back to within one point, but the Vikings were soon on another scoring run, bringing the game back out to 13 points.
Wallan had scoring attempts but struggled to finish with one of the final plays of the game, resulting in four missed shots, four rebounds and one turnover.
Wallan’s Sarah Scott got a steal with 37 seconds remaining but a missed layup saw Blackburn rebound and finish with a halftime lead of 38 to 25.
In the third quarter the Panthers brought the game back to within seven points and the Vikings struggled offensively.
A three-pointer off from defensive rebound brought the Panthers back to within four points, but another scoring run by Blackburn helped them keep the lead, 53 to 48.
An impressive offensive effort by Colins in the final minutes of the fourth quarter brought the Panthers to within five points. Dalmau hit a three-pointer off an offensive rebound in the final five seconds of the game but it was not quite enough with the Panthers going down by two points.
