WERRIBEE Devils will head into the Easter break with dented egos after stumbling for the first time this season to a revved-up Geelong Cats in the Victorian Basketball League Big V men’s division 1 at The Annex on Sunday.
The Devils went into the contest undermanned with injuries taking their toll and gun youngster Josh Oswald overseas on international duty with the Australian under-19s.
Devils coach Paul Jones, however, had a no-excuses policy when talking after the 80-71 loss.
“We took a team that should have been able to get the job done,” he said.
“We were very disappointing. We didn’t play our game style or the tempo we wanted. It was more about our mental approach then anything.”
The Devils started with the confidence of a team on a two-game winning streak.
They were dangerous in the paint and had success from down town to boast a six-point lead after the first period.
Things were going swimmingly for the Devils until late in the second quarter, when, in the space of five minutes, the game took a dramatic twist. “We shot one field goal in about five minutes,” Jones said.
“We could have put them away in that time. That really hurt us and they were tough to stop from then on.”
The Devils fought valiantly to get back on level terms with seven minutes left in the fourth. Perhaps their efforts to chase down the deficit used up all their petrol and the Cats regained momentum late to post a comfortable win.
Jordan Hughes, who backed up from youth league action from the night before, had a stand-out game for the Devils with 34 points, which included six-of-12 from the three-point arc, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Cirkook Riak reeled in 10 rebounds and Kristian Rocci was busy with 10 points and three rebounds in limited time. – Lance Jenkinson
Men’s division 1: Geelong Cats 80 d Werribee Devils 71.
