THERE were plenty of wins for Pakenham Warriors basketballers as the Under 20 Men held their nerve under pressure while both Under 16 Boys’ sides had good wins. The Under 16 Girls Blue lost a thriller and both under14 teams recorded encouraging wins.
UNDER 20 MEN
The Warriors travelled to Sandringham on Friday night to play Sandringham. The first half was fairly even, but Pakenham scored quick goals before halftime to lead 2619 at halftime.
In the second half Sandringham applied plenty of physical pressure but after a time out the Warriors settled down and went on to a convincing win.
The scoring was evenly spread with Ian Mewburn, Cheyne Pettit and Wes Pettit on 14 points each and Sean Dixon and Shane Hart on six. Justin Vaux’s speed up the court closed down the Sabres’ fast breaks as the Warriors look forward to finals action.
Scores: Pakenham 54 d Sandringham 37.
UNDER 16 GIRLS BLUE
Hosting Camberwell on Friday night, the Warriors started well. The Dragons were in foul trouble early and with Alexandra West in great form it was looking good. The Warriors missed foul shots and basic layups, which proved costly in the end. At halftime Camberwell led 1514.
There was 10 minutes in the second half where Warriors took their foot off the pedal to allow Camberwell to surge to an eightpoint lead. Great defensive pressure by Claire Round and Katie Cornish and smart baskets by April Hart under the ring were not enough to get Warriors over the line. In a concerted effort in the last minute the Warriors got within two points of the Dragons. West finished with a game high of 14 points.
Scores: Pakenham 34 lost to Camberwell 36.
UNDER 16 BOYS GOLD
Pakenham played at home against Nunawading 4. The first half was a fairly even contest. James Bridgett was strong offensively with 11 points for the first half, assisted by Zach Money with six points. Pakenham led 2118 at halftime.
Pakenham managed to hold the lead in the second half but was unable to pull away from the determined Nunawading. With several players in foul trouble Luke Fortune made the most of his opportunities, scoring six valuable points, Money kept up the pressure on Nunawading with his six points. Nathan Page ran hard all game never giving up. Pakenham held on to win
Scores: Pakenham 43 d Nunawading 36.
UNDER 16 BOYS BLUE
The Warriors hosted Cranbourne Ice and, although they never played their best basketball, still managed to come away with a victory. Jake Heyen (eight points) continued his good form of the past few weeks and was inspirational with his courage in a physical encounter. The Ice applied physical pressure applied to the ball carriers in an effort to cut off the supply to the scorers inside the key. Jason Budge (13 points) found himself on the foul line five times in the first half and gave the warriors the lead at halftime of 2518.
The battle continued in the second half with Daniel Jeavons, Josh Dawson and Dale O’Callaghan contributing well to enable the Warriors to remain in control.
Scores: Pakenham 49 d Cranbourne 42.
UNDER 14 GIRLS
The Warriors travelled to Ringwood to play Whittlesea on Friday night and and Whittlesea scooted away to an 80 lead. However, the game quickly turned around when Stephanie Dicker started to dominate the defensive rebounds and Alice Barfoot added some run. The first half finished well when Emma Round scored both her free foul shots, and the girls led 1912.
The team continued to play solid basketball in the second half. Dicker and Barfoot got better as the game went. JosieLee Uniacke made good rebounds and intercepts. The Warriors’ excellent teamwork gave them the match.
Scores: Pakenham 35 to 27.
UNDER 14 BOYS
Pakenham was at home to Eltham 6 and had most of the play in the first half but could not convert. Both teams played tight defence and it showed in the 1513 score at halftime.
Early in the second half Eltham sneaked away to a sevenpoint lead, but the Warriors hit back with Brendan Gillen (eight points) competing against three defenders in the back court fed the ball to Sean Armstrong (13) for 10 points for the half. Adam Young chipped in for two points. Near the end scores were level and Lewis Vigliarolo stepped up to score with some skilful work inside to seal the game.
Scores: Pakenham 38 d Eltham 36.
