Werribee Devils have produced a stunning revival to eclipse the Sherbrooke Suns 83-82 in the Big V basketball men’s state championship at the Werribee Sports and Fitness Centre on Sunday.
The Devils were supposed to be down and out, tiring on the back end of a weekend double header. They trailed the Suns by 24 points but somehow summoned the energy to launch a miraculous fightback in the second half.
Devils coach Mark Hughes said his team never gave the impression it wanted to throw in the towel.
“The boys didn’t drop their heads and, to their credit, showed a bit of heart and character,” he told the Weekly.
“It was just going to be work hard, a possession at a time, get a score, get a stop and, if we keep scoring and keep stopping them enough, the pressure will build on them, and it did.”
At no stage during the first three quarters did the Devils have the lead.
They were down 11 points at the start of the fourth as a result of a slipshod shooting percentage from the first half.
Their first lead came with four minutes, eight seconds left on the clock in the fourth.
After a bit of an arm wrestle for the lead, it would be Devils import Aaron McCuin who took the game by the scruff of the neck, rebounding strongly, landing shots and getting to the free throw line to finish with 19 points and 21 rebounds.
“He’s a workhorse, blue collar, just goes in there and gets it done,” Hughes said.
“He was a bit unlucky, too. He should’ve got a few more fouls; they hammered him quite a few times.”
McCuin made an important free throw to put the Devils up by four. But the Suns landed a three-pointer through import Grant Johnson to cut the lead to one with two seconds on the clock.
Clock management came into play and the Devils held on to make it three wins from three starts this season. The new-look back court combination of Jordan Hughes and import Rustin Dowd came together nicely.
Hughes scored 27 points at the two spot, which allowed Dowd to be the prime distributor with 18 points and seven assists.
“They gelled really well together,” Hughes said. “It makes it easier for Jordan because prior to that the opposition showed him all of the attention.”
The Devils now have three blockbuster games against Waverley, Corio and Bulleen – three out of the top four from last year.
