Wallan Panthers men’s team will go into an elimination final after mixed results in a Big V division two double-header at the weekend.
The Panthers lost 75 to 92 to Altona Gators on Saturday night, but secured a 28-point victory against Surf Coast Chargers on Sunday.
An undermanned Wallan went into the Altona game missing three players from its lineup.
Struggling to consistently score in the first quarter, Wallan had multiple turnovers and missed shots while the Gators used their height to secure second and third shot attempts and score off most offensive plays.
Wallan centre Tom O’Connor got in foul trouble early with two offensive fouls four minutes into the game, and the Panthers closed out the first quarter down by 10 points.
The Panthers gave away fouls early in the second quarter while struggling to get scoreboard movement as Altona took a 16-point lead.
Arcaim Lallemand had another strong quarter, bringing the game back to within 11 points as Wallan headed into halftime trailing 35 to 46.
Wallan’s captain Keenan Gorski found his rhythm at the start of the third quarter, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to shrink the margin to five points.
Gaining momentum, the Panthers overran the Gators as a three-point play by Lallemand brought them into the lead before Altona regained control to lead 70 to 59 at the last break before taking out the match by 17 points.
Wallan’s head coach Tim Annett said it was a frustrating game.
“We just didn’t play four quarters. Altona got the jump early and we fought our way in front in the third quarter but we couldn’t sustain it eventually going down,” he said.
“It was a very physical game. We have a good rivalry with Altona – we have had it for the last couple of years.
“A lot of calls were made both ways and a couple of our guys like Tom O’Connor ended up in foul trouble early, which didn’t help us.
“It was just one of those games which ended up being a little bit frustrating and unfortunately we cost ourselves in the fourth quarter.”
Lallemand, with 31 points, was the highest scorer of the game, and his 12 rebounds secured another double-double.
“Arcaim is starting to hit form in the important time of the year. He had an injury layoff midway through the year with about four weeks off and he’s starting to peak fitness now which is a good thing for us,” Annett said.
“He had an awesome game Saturday night.”
An undermanned and undersized Wallan struggled to stop Altona’s second and third scoring efforts.
“We were missing Tyler Best this weekend and he’s one of our better rebounders and with our bigs getting into foul trouble we certainly were a little bit undersized,” Annett said.
It was a different story in Sunday’s home game, with Wallan beating Surf Coast by 28 points.
Wallan’s Dominic Bruno scored 24 points, while O’Connor had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Coming off the bench, Jayden O’Brien contributed 19 points.
The Panthers controlled the first half and headed into halftime leading 42 to 23.
The Chargers came out strong in the third quarter outscoring Wallan but the Panthers maintained their lead and with Bruno hitting four consecutive three-pointers in the fourth quarter, Wallan took the win 88 to 60.
“It was a tight game for most of the first half. I know we had a little bit of a lead on the board but we couldn’t shake them,” Annett said.
“It was probably through some good shooting late in particular from Dom Bruno that broke the game wide open.
“We obviously had a really close game against them last time and we knew if we just played to our strengths, rebounded the ball well and used our size to our advantage we should be able to get the win.”
Wallan’s elimination final will be against Mornington Peninsula at home on Sunday.
“It’s probably the second time all season we’re going to have a full squad so I’m definitely looking forward to that,” Annett said.
“We think we know what it takes to beat them and we’re going in quietly confident we can get the job done and hopefully advance to the following week.”
