Wallan Panthers’ men scored a convincing 85-62 win over Maccabi in Big V division two action on Sunday.
It was a game for Wallan’s twin towers with big men Tom O’Connor and Arcaim Lallemand having impressive games under the ring.
Both players secured a double-double with O’Connor having 11 points and 19 rebounds, while Lallemand had 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Wallan’s coach Tim Annett said utilising O’Connor and Lallemand’s height was a focus for the game.
“We had a lot more size than what they had so we knew we had to get the dominance inside and the big guys didn’t let us down,” he said.
Dominic Bruno, who also had a huge 30-point game for Wallan, opened the game with a layup to kick off the scoring.
Bruno’s additional two free throws put Wallan ahead early, and the Panthers kept up their momentum, closing out the first quarter up 22 to six.
The Panthers continued to dominate in the second quarter heading into halftime up by 16 points.
“I think our attitude at the start of the game was good,” Annett said.
“Going into a game where we thought we should win, it was good to see the guys switched on for majority of the first half and as the game went on we had control by halftime.”
Both sides had scoreless transitions at the start of the third quarter until Tyler Best scored a three-point play off a layup.
Maccabi brought the game back to within 12-points until Wallan got on another run heading into the final quarter, up 66 to 46, before winning by 23 points.
Annett said it was a good outcome for the Panthers.
“We probably knew going into the match it’s a game we should win,” he said.
“We had a couple of guys missing so it was good to win by that margin.”
Wallan will play top-of-the-ladder Whittlesea Pacers at home this Sunday.
“We’ve got back to third position now and we play top of the ladder this weekend so it’ll definitely be a good hit out for us going into finals,” Annett said.
“We get a few guys back too so we should have a really good game.”
Wallan Panthers division two women’s side had a bye on the weekend.
This Sunday, Panthers fans will be treated to back-to-back seniors games as the women take on Coburg at home before the senior men.
