Weekend of ups and downs for Braves Men

There was a similar pattern to both Bendigo Bank Braves Men’s NBL1 South games on the weekend, but two different results.

Stephen Black’s team got off to slow starts against Diamond Valley at home on Saturday night and Sandringham away on Sunday, before finding their groove in the third quarters of both games.

Against Diamond Valley at Red Energy Arena, Bendigo was able to stay close to the Eagles despite a 4-13 start.

Bendigo was one-from-seven from the floor in the first four-and-a-half minutes, before two big drives from Lachie O’Brien resulted in scores, and the Braves kicked into gear.

A huge rejection from Koch Bar with 44 seconds to go in the first quarter was followed by an Andrew Robinson three. Then Rowan Mackenzie took an offensive foul on the next Eagles play, which resulted in another Robinson triple.

That 22 seconds gave Bendigo some impetus going into the first break. While they were down 18-25, they had come back from a 13-point deficit.

Bendigo’s fightback continued in the second quarter, evening things up midway through the term, before taking the lead in the final minute.

But the comeback wasn’t finished, not by a long way. The third term was some of the best basketball the team has produced under Black, with hustle defense stopping the Eagles from getting any momentum on the scoreboard.

At the other end it was almost total freedom, with Bendigo piling on 41 points. Bar and Smythe continually opened the key for their mosquito fleet, led brilliantly by Mackenzie and Mitch Clarke.

With a 21-point lead at the final break, the crowd was comfortable, a little less so after a 2-13 start to the fourth quarter.

But Bendigo settled, winning 98-85. Robinson led all scorers with 26 points, and Mackenzie finished the night with 14.

Clarke (13) and Bar (12) were also impressive, and Smythe (eight) and Lachie O’Brien (nine) continued their good seasons.

Bendigo backed up against an NBL-heavy Sandringham on Sunday, and again started slowly.

With a 26-53 half-time deficit, it would have been easy for Bendigo to simply lay down and let the Sabres roll over them.

However, like the night before, Bendigo took off in the third quarter, a 14-0 run paring the deficit back to a manageable number.

But the damage was done, and despite winning the second half, Bendigo went down 89-65.

Mackenzie top scored with 15 points and Smythe, who was impressive against some top-quality talls, finished with 12.

Black said sticking with opponents when things aren’t going his team’s way is a key skill for his team.

“We weren’t playing the way we wanted to play in the first half on Saturday night, but we stuck with them,” he said.

“When things started to go our way in the third quarter and everything started to flow, we were close enough to take full advantage.

“Last night we stayed within arm’s reach, and we came good. There were some disappointing sections, but some good basketball as well.”

When it came to Sunday’s game, Black was philosophical.

“Today we knew we were playing a quality team, a team that’s physical and can really man-handle us,” he said.

“We spoke about how we were going to overcome that and play a type of game that would play to our strengths.

“But by the time we were able to click back into today’s game, the damage had been done.

“I was disappointed we couldn’t compete as well as we wanted to, today.”

Photo - Craig Dilks Photography